PRINTER'S NO. 1109
No. 943 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY FRANKEL, ARGALL, BELFANTI, BENNINGTON, BISHOP, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, CURRY, DePASQUALE, DeWEESE, FABRIZIO, FREEMAN, GEIST, GEORGE, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, HUTCHINSON, JAMES, JOSEPHS, W. KELLER, KILLION, KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, LEVDANSKY, MACKERETH, MANDERINO, MANN, MARKOSEK, McILHATTAN, MUNDY, MURT, MYERS, NAILOR, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PARKER, PETRONE, READSHAW, REICHLEY, RUBLEY, SAMUELSON, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SHAPIRO, SOLOBAY, STURLA, TANGRETTI, WALKO, WANSACZ, WATSON, WHEATLEY, WOJNAROSKI, YUDICHAK AND THOMAS, MARCH 29, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MARCH 29, 2007
AN ACT 1 Providing for the establishment of the Historic Preservation 2 Incentive Grant Program for historic commercial and 3 residential sites. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Short title. 7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Historic 8 Preservation Incentive Grant Act. 9 Section 2. Definitions. 10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 12 context clearly indicates otherwise: 13 "Applicant." A commercial applicant or a residential 14 applicant.
1 "Commercial applicant." Any natural person, corporation, 2 foundation, organization, business trust, estate, limited 3 liability company, licensed corporation, trust, partnership, 4 limited liability partnership, association or any other form of 5 legal business entity that owns an eligible commercial property. 6 "Commission." The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum 7 Commission. 8 "Department." The Department of Community and Economic 9 Development of the Commonwealth. 10 "Eligible building improvements." Exterior rehabilitation or 11 restoration work performed on an eligible commercial property or 12 an eligible residential property, including work involving 13 windows, consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's 14 Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, excluding 15 reconstruction, set forth at 36 CFR 67.7 (relating to Standards 16 for Rehabilitation). 17 "Eligible commercial property." A building used or zoned to 18 be used for income producing purposes which is listed on the 19 National Register of Historic Places, is a contributing property 20 in a National Register historic district or is located in a 21 local government historic district. The term includes a building 22 used or zoned to be used for commercial purposes which is also 23 used for residential purposes. The term also includes for-sale 24 condominium projects. 25 "Eligible property." An eligible commercial property or an 26 eligible residential property. 27 "Eligible residential property." A single-family dwelling or 28 a building which: 29 (1) is a single family dwelling used as the owner's 30 principal residence or is a building that is divided into no 20070H0943B1109 - 2 -
1 more than four residential units, one of which is used as the 2 owner's principal residence; 3 (2) is owned by one or more natural persons; and 4 (3) either: 5 (i) is listed on the National Register of Historic 6 Places or is a contributing property in a National 7 Register historic district; or 8 (ii) is located in a local government historic 9 district. 10 "Elm Street area." A geographically defined portion of a 11 municipality which has been designated as an Elm Street area by 12 the Department of Community and Economic Development in 13 accordance with the terms and conditions of the act of February 14 9, 2004 (P.L.61, No.7), known as the Elm Street Program Act. The 15 term includes an area which has exited the official program but 16 still has a program functioning to revitalize the designated 17 areas pursuant to the department's program guidelines. 18 "Enterprise zone." A geographic area designated by the 19 Department of Community and Economic Development as an 20 enterprise zone. The term includes an area which has exited the 21 official program but still has a program functioning to 22 revitalize the designated areas pursuant to the department's 23 program guidelines. 24 "Historic district." A local government historic district or 25 an area in this Commonwealth which has been designated as a 26 historic district under the National Historic Preservation Act 27 (Public Law 89-665, 16 U.S.C. § 470a). 28 "Historic structure." A building which is listed in the 29 National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as 30 a contributing building within a historic district. 20070H0943B1109 - 3 -
1 "Local government historic district." A historic district 2 designated by any of the following: 3 (1) Section 2 of the act of June 13, 1961 (P.L.282, 4 No.167), entitled "An act authorizing counties, cities, 5 boroughs, incorporated towns and townships to create historic 6 districts within their geographic boundaries; providing for 7 the appointment of Boards of Historical Architectural Review; 8 empowering governing bodies of political subdivisions to 9 protect the distinctive historical character of these 10 districts and to regulate the erection, reconstruction, 11 alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of buildings 12 within the historic districts." 13 (2) The Historic Preservation Ordinance, Section 14- 14 2007, of the Philadelphia City Code. 15 (3) Title 11 of the Pittsburgh City Code, Chapter 1, 16 Section 3, as amended by City Council on July 22, 1997. 17 (4) The City of Scranton under the City of Scranton 18 Commission for Architectural and Urban Design Review 19 ordinance. 20 "Main Street community." A geographic area designated as a 21 Main Street community by the Department of Community and 22 Economic Development. The term includes an area that has exited 23 the official program but still has a program functioning to 24 revitalize the designated areas pursuant to the department's 25 program guidelines. 26 "National Register." The National Register of Historic 27 Places established under section 101 of the National Historic 28 Preservation Act (Public Law 89-665, 16 U.S.C. § 470a). 29 "Residential applicant." One or more natural persons who own 30 an eligible residential property. 20070H0943B1109 - 4 -
1 "Standards." The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for 2 the Treatment of Historic Properties, excluding reconstruction, 3 set forth at 36 CFR 67.7 (relating to Standards for 4 Rehabilitation). 5 Section 3. Program. 6 (a) Establishment.--There is established a program in the 7 department to be known as the Historic Preservation Incentive 8 Grant Program. The program shall provide grants to owners of 9 eligible properties located within this Commonwealth that 10 undertake eligible building improvements. 11 (b) Application.--An applicant must submit an application to 12 the department requesting a grant for the reimbursement of costs 13 associated with eligible building improvements to an eligible 14 property owned by the applicant. The application must be 15 submitted on a form developed by the department in consultation 16 with the commission and must include all of the following: 17 (1) The name and address of the applicant. 18 (2) The location of the property. 19 (3) Proof of ownership of the property by the applicant. 20 The applicant may satisfy this requirement by providing 21 evidence satisfactory to the department that the applicant 22 will own the property at some point in time following 23 submission of the application and has sufficient control of 24 the property at the time of submission to perform the work 25 described in the application. 26 (4) A description of the property providing sufficient 27 information to establish that the property meets the criteria 28 for either an eligible commercial property or an eligible 29 residential property, including information specified in the 30 commission's guidelines. 20070H0943B1109 - 5 -
1 (5) A detailed description of the proposed work to be 2 performed, including plans, drawings and specifications as 3 appropriate. 4 (6) A detailed estimate of the cost of the work to be 5 performed. 6 (7) Proof that the applicant is current with respect to 7 the payment of all real estate taxes assessed against the 8 property or evidence that the applicant is contesting the 9 taxes in good faith and has set aside sums to cover any tax 10 liability in the event the contest fails. 11 (8) Evidence of the source of matching funds to be 12 utilized for the project. If the source of matching funds is 13 a loan from a financial institution, the applicant must 14 provide a copy of the loan application and commitment or 15 other evidence satisfactory to the department of the 16 applicant's ability to obtain the necessary financing. 17 (9) Any other information required by the department or 18 the commission. 19 (c) Review and recommendation by commission.--The department 20 shall forward the application to the commission for review. If 21 the commission determines that the property qualifies as an 22 eligible property and that the proposed improvements would 23 qualify as eligible building improvements, then the commission 24 may recommend approval of the property for the program and shall 25 notify the department of its recommendation within 45 days 26 following receipt of a completed application by the commission. 27 (d) Award of grant by department.--Upon receipt of the 28 commission's recommendation for approval as provided in 29 subsection (c), the department may award the applicant a grant 30 and shall notify the applicant and the commission of its action. 20070H0943B1109 - 6 -
1 (e) Certification and disbursement.--Following completion of 2 the work, the applicant must file a certification with the 3 commission stating that the work has been completed. The 4 certification must be accompanied by photographs showing the 5 completed project, evidence of the actual expenditures made by 6 the applicant and evidence, in the form of a letter or letters 7 from local code enforcement officials, that the property, as 8 improved, complies with all local building, fire, safety and 9 health codes. The commission shall complete its review of the 10 certification within 90 days of receipt of the certification by 11 the commission. The commission may request additional 12 information and conduct a site inspection as it deems necessary 13 to determine compliance with the requirements of the program 14 established by this act. If the commission is satisfied with the 15 certification submitted, it shall notify the department of the 16 approved eligible building improvements. The department shall 17 disburse the grant funds to the applicant. 18 (f) Agreement.--The department is not required to enter into 19 a grant agreement with the applicant prior to awarding and 20 disbursing a grant. 21 (g) Special rules relating to eligible residential 22 properties.--An application for a grant for eligible building 23 improvements for an eligible residential property must include 24 one of the following statements from the applicant: 25 (1) That the applicant has owned the eligible 26 residential property for at least five years prior to the 27 date of submission of the application. 28 (2) That the applicant has owned the eligible 29 residential property for less than five years prior to the 30 date of submission of the application but agrees to continue 20070H0943B1109 - 7 -
1 to own the property for a total of at least five years. 2 Section 4. Exemption from State taxes. 3 Grant amounts awarded by the department for eligible 4 residential properties shall not be considered income to the 5 applicant under section 303 of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, 6 No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971. 7 Section 5. Allocation of grant funds; limitations; priorities. 8 (a) Source.--Funds for this program shall be provided to the 9 department from funds authorized for this purpose. 10 (b) Proration.--If the total amount of grants to be awarded 11 exceeds the amount of funds available for the program in any 12 year, the amount of grants may be prorated among the successful 13 applicants. 14 (c) Minimum.--At least 31% of the funds available in any 15 year shall be reserved by the department for grants to 16 successful residential applicants. If reserved funds are more 17 than are needed to satisfy the total amount of such grants 18 awarded in any year, the department may utilize the excess funds 19 for grants to successful commercial applicants. 20 (d) Limitations.-- 21 (1) Subject to the other limitations set forth in this 22 subsection, a grant awarded to a successful applicant shall 23 not be more than 70% of the total amount of expenditures made 24 for eligible building improvements. 25 (2) In no event shall any grant be awarded unless: 26 (i) the applicant is current with respect to all 27 local real estate taxes assessed against the applicant's 28 eligible property; or 29 (ii) the applicant, in good faith, is contesting 30 local real estate taxes assessed against the applicant's 20070H0943B1109 - 8 -
1 eligible property, provides the department with evidence 2 of the contest and has set aside sums to cover any tax 3 liability in the event the contest fails. 4 (3) Up to $15,000 may be awarded to a residential 5 applicant in connection with a single project, and up to 6 $500,000 may be awarded to a commercial applicant in 7 connection with a single project. 8 (4) In order to receive money from a grant, the 9 applicant must complete the project being funded by the grant 10 within two years of receipt of notification from the 11 department of the award. 12 (e) Priorities.--Priority may be given to properties located 13 in Elm Street areas, Main Street communities, enterprise zones 14 and in local government historic districts. In addition the 15 department shall take into account geographical distribution of 16 grants in making awards. 17 Section 6. Administration. 18 (a) Guidelines.--The department and the commission shall 19 develop guidelines for the implementation of the program 20 established by this act. 21 (b) Expenditures.--The department may utilize up to an 22 aggregate of 3% of the funds available for the program annually, 23 not to exceed $500,000, as allocated by the Governor, for 24 expenses incurred in administering the program established by 25 this act. The department and the commission shall enter into an 26 agreement for the payment to the commission of a portion of sums 27 for expenses incurred by the commission. 28 Section 7. Repayment. 29 The department, at its discretion, shall be entitled to a 30 return of all grant funds paid to the applicant if, within five 20070H0943B1109 - 9 -
1 years following completion of the project, either of the 2 following occur: 3 (1) The owner of the eligible property makes 4 improvements to the exterior of the property which do not 5 meet the standards. 6 (2) The eligible property is removed from the National 7 Register, either individually or as a contributing building 8 within a historic district, whether or not as a result of the 9 owner making improvements to the exterior of the property 10 which do not meet the standards. 11 (3) The eligible residential property is transferred in 12 violation of the agreement made by the owner under the 13 provisions of section 3(g)(2), if applicable, unless the 14 transfer occurs as a result of the death of the owner or is 15 otherwise involuntary. 16 Section 20. Effective date. 17 This act shall take effect in 120 days. C5L37RLE/20070H0943B1109 - 10 -