KMK Law Real Estate Blog

Introduction:
On December 8, 2016, the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 235 ("SB 235") which, among other things, adds Section 5709.52 to the Ohio Revised Code (“ORC”). Effective March 28, 2017, this section authorizes local governments to approve property tax exemptions for the increase in property value for property that is either “newly developable property” or “redevelopment property.”  These terms essentially mean that as to a parcel of property, no commercial, industrial or agricultural operations are currently taking place on the property and that construction or reconstruction of a commercial or industrial building(s) is planned, but a certificate of occupancy has not yet been issued.

During this pre-development phase, the property tax exemption provided by SB 235 effectively freezes the taxable value in place during the exemption term until a certificate of occupancy is issued or upon the occurrence of other circumstances, as discussed below.

On December 8, 2016 the Ohio Senate passed House Bill (“HB”) 463. HB 463 in part amends Ohio Revised Code (“ORC”) Chapter 3735, which governs Community Reinvestment Area tax exemptions (a “CRA”).