The Trenton Times published the following article on December 13, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Trenton council backs 20-year tax incentive for developers
By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton
on December 13, 2013 at 11:45 PM, updated December 13, 2013 at 11:46 PMTRENTON — City council gave unanimous backing to a new law that would allow developers to go 20 years without having to pay full taxes on projects in the city.
Walter Denson, director of the Department of Housing and Economic Development, warned council members that there is still some gray areas in the law and there are unanswered questions regarding the city’s oversight of the projects, but he asked council to approve the ordinance so that the city meets next week’s deadline to enroll in the program. He said the council can always rescind the ordinance if it does not want to continue the tax incentive program.
Denson explained that the program, which is a part of the state Economic Opportunity Act, would give automatic approval for developers building projects in Trenton, which create urban development entities, to qualify for a 10-year tax freeze. The freeze would begin when the developers receive their certificate of occupancy for the building. Denson said the developer would continue to pay taxes on the property, but not on any improvements made to the land.