PRINTER'S NO. 2393
No. 1819 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY TANGRETTI, FRANKEL, KILLION, ARGALL, BALDWIN,
BOYD, CALTAGIRONE, CASORIO, DALLY, DeWEESE, D. EVANS,
FABRIZIO, FLICK, KOTIK, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GERBER, GOODMAN,
GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARPER, HENNESSEY, JAMES, JOSEPHS, LEACH,
LEDERER, LESCOVITZ, MANDERINO, MANN, MELIO, MARKOSEK,
PETRARCA, HALUSKA, SHANER, STURLA, TIGUE, CAWLEY, WOJNAROSKI,
READSHAW, CORRIGAN, SHAPIRO, CURRY, BELFANTI, McCALL,
MICOZZIE, S. MILLER, PALLONE, PISTELLA, RAYMOND, REICHLEY,
SAINATO, SANTONI, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, STETLER, WALKO, WHEATLEY,
YUDICHAK AND MUNDY, JUNE 29, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, JUNE 29, 2005
AN ACT
1 Providing for the establishment of the Historic Preservation
2 Incentive Program for historic commercial and residential
3 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 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 and interior work
11 performed on an eligible commercial property or an eligible
12 residential property consistent with the Standards for
13 Rehabilitation of the Secretary of the Interior set forth at 36
14 CFR 67.7 (relating to standards for rehabilitation).
15 "Eligible commercial property." A building used or zoned to
16 be used for income producing purposes which is either a historic
17 structure or is located in a historic district.
18 "Eligible property." An eligible commercial property or an
19 eligible residential property.
20 "Eligible residential property." A single-family dwelling or
21 a building which:
22 (1) is a single family dwelling used as the owner's
23 principal residence or is a building that is divided into no
24 more than four residential units, one of which is used as the
25 owner's principal residence;
26 (2) is owned by one or more natural persons; and
27 (3) is listed or eligible for listing in the National
28 Register of Historic Places or is located in a historic
29 district. Priority may be given to properties located in an
30 Elm Street area, a Main Street community or an enterprise
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1 zone.
2 "Elm Street area." A geographically defined portion of a
3 municipality which has been designated as an Elm Street area by
4 the Department of Community and Economic Development in
5 accordance with the terms and conditions of the act of February
6 9, 2004 (P.L.61, No.7), known as the Elm Street Program Act.
7 "Enterprise zone." A geographic area designated by the
8 Department of Community and Economic Development as an
9 enterprise zone.
10 "Historic district." An area in this Commonwealth which has
11 been designated as a historic district by any of the following:
12 (1) The Federal Government.
13 (2) The Commonwealth.
14 (3) Section 2 of the act of June 13, 1961 (P.L.282,
15 No.167), entitled "An act authorizing counties, cities,
16 boroughs, incorporated towns and townships to create historic
17 districts within their geographic boundaries; providing for
18 the appointment of Boards of Historical Architectural Review;
19 empowering governing bodies of political subdivisions to
20 protect the distinctive historical character of these
21 districts and to regulate the erection, reconstruction,
22 alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of buildings
23 within the historic districts."
24 (4) The Historic Preservation Ordinance, Section 14-
25 2007, of the Philadelphia City Code.
26 (5) Title 11 of the Pittsburgh City Code, Chapter 1,
27 Section 3, as amended by City Council on July 22, 1997.
28 "Historic structure." A building which is listed or eligible
29 for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, either
30 individually or as a contributing building within a historic
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1 district.
2 "Main Street community." A geographic area designated as a
3 Main Street community by the Department of Community and
4 Economic Development.
5 "National Register." The National Register of Historic
6 Places established under section 101 of the National Historic
7 Preservation Act (Public Law 89-665, 16 U.S.C. §470a).
8 "Residential applicant." One or more natural persons who own
9 an eligible residential property.
10 Section 3. Program.
11 (a) Establishment.--There is established a program in the
12 department to be known as the Historic Preservation Incentive
13 Program. The program shall provide grants to owners of eligible
14 properties located within this Commonwealth that undertake
15 eligible building improvements.
16 (b) Submittal.--An applicant must submit an application to
17 the commission requesting to be enrolled in the program in order
18 to receive a grant for the reimbursement of costs associated
19 with eligible building improvements to an eligible property
20 owned by the applicant.
21 (c) Application for enrollment.--The application for
22 enrollment must include all of the following:
23 (1) The name and address of the applicant.
24 (2) The location of the property.
25 (3) Proof of ownership of the property by the applicant.
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 photographs showing existing
30 conditions.
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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) In the case of a commercial applicant, a written
7 agreement between the applicant and the commission providing
8 that the historic nature of the property will not be altered
9 by the applicant or any successor owner for a period of five
10 years following completion of the work.
11 (8) Any other information required by the commission.
12 (d) Enrollment.--If the commission determines that the
13 property qualifies as an eligible property and that the proposed
14 improvements would qualify as eligible building improvements,
15 then the commission may enroll the property in the program and
16 shall notify the applicant and the department of its action.
17 (e) Application for grant.--Upon notification of enrollment
18 as provided in subsection (d), the applicant shall submit a
19 grant application to the department in order to receive a grant.
20 The application must be submitted on a form to be developed by
21 the department and accompanied by copies of receipts for payment
22 of local real estate taxes for the preceding calendar year.
23 (f) Grants.--
24 (1) For a residential applicant, the department shall
25 award a grant to the applicant in an amount to be determined
26 by the department based upon the size and amount of approved
27 cost of the eligible building improvements, not to exceed
28 $15,000.
29 (2) For a commercial applicant, the department shall
30 award a grant to the applicant in an amount to be determined
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1 by the department based upon the size and amount of approved
2 cost of the eligible building improvements, not to exceed
3 $2,000,000. Priority shall be given to eligible commercial
4 properties that have an approved Part 3 - historic
5 precertification - request for certification of completed
6 work for Federal rehabilitation tax credits.
7 (3) The department shall notify the applicant and the
8 commission of the amount of the grant awarded.
9 (g) Certification.--Following completion of the work, the
10 applicant must file a certification with the commission stating
11 that the work has been completed. The certification must be
12 accompanied by photographs showing the completed project,
13 evidence of the actual expenditures made by the applicant and
14 evidence that the property, as improved, complies with all local
15 building, fire, safety and health codes. Commercial applicants
16 must spend at least $5,000 and residential applicants must spend
17 at least $2,500 on eligible building improvements. If the
18 commission is satisfied with the certification submitted, it
19 shall notify the applicant and the department of the approved
20 cost of eligible building improvements.
21 (h) Agreement.--The department is not required to enter into
22 a grant agreement with the applicant prior to awarding and
23 disbursing a grant.
24 Section 4. Awarding of subsequent grants for eligible
25 residential properties.
26 (a) Authorization.--A grant in an amount equal to 50% of the
27 local real estate taxes paid by the residential applicant during
28 the previous calendar year may be awarded to a successful
29 residential applicant on an annual basis for a period of up to
30 five years, including the initial award authorized by section 3
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1 or until the applicant no longer owns and occupies the property,
2 whichever occurs first. If the local real estate taxes assessed
3 against an eligible residential property following the awarding
4 of an initial grant are increased as a result of the
5 reassessment of the eligible residential property due to the
6 completion of the eligible building improvements made to the
7 property, the amount of the annual grant award shall increase so
8 that the eligible residential applicant shall be entitled to 50%
9 of the increased amount of the local real estate taxes.
10 (b) Procedure.--In order to receive the grant on an annual
11 basis, a residential applicant must file an application with the
12 department on a form to be developed by the department. At a
13 minimum, the application shall require the residential applicant
14 to state that the applicant is the owner of the eligible
15 residential property and that the exterior of the property has
16 not been altered since the work was completed. The application
17 must be accompanied by copies of receipts for payment of all
18 local real estate taxes for the previous calendar year.
19 Section 5. Allocation of grant funds; limitations.
20 (a) Source.--Funds for this program shall be provided to the
21 department from funds authorized for this purpose.
22 (b) Proration.--If the total amount of grants to be awarded
23 exceeds the amount of funds available for the program in any
24 year, the amount of grants may be prorated among the successful
25 applicants.
26 (c) Minimum.--No less than 31% of the funds available in any
27 year shall be available for grants to successful residential
28 applicants.
29 (d) Limitations.--
30 (1) In no event shall a successful applicant receive
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1 grants totaling more than the amount of expenditures made for
2 eligible building improvements.
3 (2) In no event shall any grant be awarded unless:
4 (i) the applicant is current with respect to all
5 local real estate taxes assessed against the applicant's
6 eligible property; or
7 (ii) the applicant, in good faith, is contesting
8 local real estate taxes assessed against the applicant's
9 eligible property, provides the department with evidence
10 of the contest and has set aside sums to cover any tax
11 liability in the event the contest fails.
12 Section 6. Administration.
13 (a) Dates.--The commission shall establish an annual
14 deadline for the filing of applications for program enrollment.
15 (b) Guidelines.--The department and the commission shall
16 develop guidelines for the implementation of the program
17 established by this act.
18 (c) Expenditures.--The commission and the department may
19 utilize up to an aggregate of 5% of the funds available for the
20 program annually, not to exceed $500,000, as allocated by the
21 Governor, for expenses incurred in administering the program
22 established by this act.
23 Section 7. Noncompliance.
24 In the event of a breach of the agreement entered into by a
25 successful commercial applicant with the commission under
26 section 3(c)(7), the department shall be entitled to a return of
27 all grant funds paid to the applicant, whether the breach occurs
28 during the period that the applicant owns the eligible
29 commercial property or following the sale of the eligible
30 commercial property.
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1 Section 20. Effective date.
2 This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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