71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 1582
Senate Bill 763
Sponsored by Senator L BEYER
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Allows Director of Economic and Community Development
Department to create vertical housing zone if zone requested by
city or county and zone creation would achieve specified
purposes.
Establishes partial exemption for vertical housing development
projects established in zone. Permits exemption for ___ tax
years. Increases value of exemption for each floor of residential
housing in vertical housing development project.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to vertical housing zones.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + Sections 2 to 10 of this 2001 Act are added to
and made a part of ORS chapter 285B. + }
SECTION 2. { + As used in sections 2 to 10 of this 2001 Act:
(1) 'Light rail station area' has the meaning given that term
in ORS 307.605.
(2) 'Transit oriented area' has the meaning given that term in
ORS 307.605.
(3) 'Vertical housing development project' means the
construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of a building, or
a group of buildings, so that each building that is constructed,
reconstructed or rehabilitated consists of a first floor, or
first floor and other floors, to be used for commercial uses, and
one or more floors located on floors above the commercial use
floor to be used for residential uses.
(4) 'Vertical housing development zone' or 'zone' means an area
that has been designated a vertical housing development zone
under section 6 of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 3. { + The Legislative Assembly finds that cost
efficiencies in the delivery of municipal and mass transit
services rise and livability and economic well-being of core and
municipal transit areas are enhanced when high-density vertical
residential housing exists in core areas and in light rail
station areas or transit oriented areas. The Legislative Assembly
declares that establishing property tax incentives to encourage
the development of high-density vertical residential housing will
improve the balance between the residential and commercial uses
of core areas to ensure full-time use of these areas as places to
both live and work. The Legislative Assembly further declares
that property tax incentives will encourage the development of
vertical housing in vacant or underutilized sites adjacent or
near light rail or other fixed route mass transit facilities to
encourage the efficient use of mass transit facilities. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) A city or a county may apply to the
Director of the Economic and Community Development Department for
designation of an area within the city or county as a vertical
housing development zone.
(2) With the prior consent of the governing body of the city, a
county may apply to the director on behalf of a city for
designation of any area within that city as a vertical housing
development zone.
(3) A city and a county, or any combination of cities and
counties, may apply to the director for designation of an area
situated partly within the city and partly in unincorporated
territory within the county as a vertical housing development
zone.
(4) An application for designation of a vertical housing
development zone shall be in such form and contain such
information as the Economic and Community Development Department
may require by rule. The application shall:
(a) Be filed on behalf of one or more local government units as
described in subsections (1) to (3) of this section by action of
the governing body of each applicant;
(b) Contain a description of the area sought to be designated
as a vertical housing development zone, including proposed zone
boundaries; and
(c) Contain information sufficient to allow the director to
determine if the criteria established in section 6 of this 2001
Act are met. + }
SECTION 5. { + (1) The Director of the Economic and Community
Development Department shall review each application filed under
section 4 of this 2001 Act and shall approve or disapprove each
application within 60 days of the date the application was filed.
(2) The director may approve an application and thereby
designate the area that is the subject of the application as a
vertical housing development zone if the director determines that
the area meets the criteria set forth in section 6 of this 2001
Act.
(3) The determination of the director to approve or disapprove
an application is a discretionary determination. The
determination is final and may not be appealed. + }
SECTION 6. { + The Director of the Economic and Community
Development Department shall designate a vertical housing
development zone if:
(1) The proposed zone constitutes a core area of an urban
center of this state, a light rail station area or a transit
oriented area; and
(2) The purposes for which sections 2 to 10 of this 2001 Act
were enacted, as stated in section 3 of this 2001 Act, would be
promoted by the establishment of the zone. + }
SECTION 7. { + (1) Following zone designation under section 6
of this 2001 Act, if the Director of the Economic and Community
Development Department receives a request to terminate a vertical
housing development zone from the governing body of the city or
county that applied for zone designation under section 4 of this
2001 Act, the director shall terminate the zone.
(2) The termination of a zone under this section does not
affect the exemption of any property from tax under section 10 of
this 2001 Act if an application for the exemption was approved
prior to the zone termination. + }
SECTION 8. { + (1) Following the designation of a vertical
housing development zone under section 6 of this 2001 Act, a
person proposing to construct a vertical housing development
project and seeking the partial property tax exemption set forth
in section 10 of this 2001 Act shall apply to the Economic and
Community Development Department for certification.
(2) The application shall be on a form prescribed by the
department and shall contain any information required by the
department, including all of the following:
(a) The address of the proposed vertical housing development
project;
(b) A description of the existing state of the property;
(c) A description of the proposed construction, including the
number of floors to be constructed;
(d) A description or the commercial uses to which the first
floor or lower floors are to be put; and
(e) A description of the residential housing to be located on
the upper floors of the proposed vertical housing development
project.
(3) The application must be filed under this section on or
before the date residential units that are a part of the vertical
housing development project are ready for occupancy.
(4) The department shall review each application submitted
under this section and shall certify or deny certification based
on whether the proposed vertical housing development project
meets the criteria set forth in section 9 of this 2001 Act.
(5) The department may request any documentation or undertake
any investigation necessary to ascertain the veracity of any
statement made on an application.
(6) The department shall certify or deny certification within
60 days following the date the application is filed with the
department.
(7) A denial of certification may be appealed to the department
in the manner of a contested case under ORS 183.310 to
183.550. + }
SECTION 9. { + (1) The Economic and Community Development
Department shall certify a proposed project as eligible for the
partial property tax exemption under section 10 of this 2001 Act
if the application for certification describes a vertical housing
development project and the project is to be constructed in a
vertical housing development zone.
(2) The department shall send a copy of the certification to
the county assessor of the county in which the vertical housing
development project is to be located. + }
SECTION 10. { + (1) For the first tax year in which, as of the
assessment date, a vertical housing development project is
occupied or ready for occupancy following certification under
section 9 of this 2001 Act, and for the next __ consecutive tax
years, the vertical housing development project shall be
partially exempt from ad valorem property tax, according to the
following schedule:
(a) If the project consists of one floor of residential
housing, the project shall be 20 percent exempt.
(b) If the project consists of two floors of residential
housing, the project shall be 40 percent exempt.
(c) If the project consists of three floors of residential
housing, the project shall be 60 percent exempt.
(d) If the project consists of four or more floors of
residential housing, the project shall be 80 percent exempt.
(2) During the period in which property would otherwise be
partially exempt under this section, property shall be
disqualified from exemption under this section if a floor used
for residential housing is converted to another use. + }
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