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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-05 Revised Proposed Local Law - PILOT Law for Solar Energy SystemsTOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE LOCAL LAW NO. _____ OF 2022 A LOCAL LAW ADOPTING THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE’S SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM PILOT LAW OF THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE, NEW YORK. BE IT ENACTED by the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville, as follows: SECTION 1. TITLE. This Local Law shall be known as the “Solar Energy System PILOT Law of the Town of Cortlandville, New York.” SECTION 2. STATUTORY AUTHORITY. This Local Law is intended to be consistent with and is enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville pursuant to its authority to adopt laws under the New York State Constitution, the New York State Municipal Home Rule Law, the New York State Town Law, and the New York Real Property Tax Law. It is intended and hereby declared to address matters of local concern only and is intended to act in furtherance of the Town’s authority with respect to zoning and land use laws and its police and taxation powers, related to solar energy systems. SECTION 3. PURPOSE AND INTENT. This Local Law is adopted to ensure that the benefits of the community’s solar energy resource are available to the entire community, by promoting the installation of solar energy generating equipment through a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), granting reduced costs to system developers and energy consumers, and providing a revenue stream to the entire community. SECTION 4. DEFINITIONS. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: Annual Payment: the payment due under a PILOT Agreement entered into pursuant to Real Property Tax Law § 487(9). Annual Payment Date: January 1st of each year. Capacity: the manufacturer’s nameplate capacity of the Solar Energy System as measured in kilowatts (kW) or megawatts (MW) AC. Owner: the owner of the property on which a Solar Energy System is located or installed, or their lessee, licensee or other person authorized to install and operate a Solar Energy System on the property. Residential Solar Energy System: a Solar Energy System with a nameplate generating capacity less than 50 kW AC in size, installed on the roof or the property of a residential dwelling (including multi-family dwellings), and designed to serve that dwelling. Solar Energy Equipment: collectors, controls, energy storage devices, heat pumps and pumps, heat exchangers, windmills, and other materials, hardware or equipment necessary to the process by which solar radiation is (i) collected, (ii) converted into another form of energy such as thermal, electrical, mechanical or chemical, (iii) stored, (iv) protected from unnecessary dissipation and (v) distributed. It does not include pipes, controls, insulation or other equipment which are part of the normal heating, cooling, or insulation system of a building. It does include insulated glazing or insulation to the extent that such materials exceed the energy efficiency standards required by New York law. Solar Energy System: an arrangement or combination of Solar Energy Equipment designed to provide heating, cooling, hot water, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical energy by the collection of solar energy and its conversion, storage, protection and distribution. SECTION 5. PILOT REQUIRED. 1. The owner of a property on which a Solar Energy System is located or installed (including any improvement, reconstruction, or replacement thereof), shall enter into a PILOT Agreement with the Town of Cortlandville consistent with the terms of this Local Law, except for a) Residential Solar Energy Systems b) Solar Energy Systems that do not seek or qualify for an exemption from real property taxes pursuant to Real Property Tax Law § 487(4). 2. The Lessee or licensee of any owner of a property required to enter into a PILOT Agreement by this section, which owns or controls the Solar Energy System, may enter into the PILOT Agreement on behalf of the owner of the property. 3. Pursuant to Real Property Tax Law § 487(9)(b), the Town of Cortlandville hereby expresses its ongoing intent to require a contract for PILOT for such Solar Energy Systems, and this Local Law shall be considered notification to owners or developers of such systems and no further action is required on the part of the Town of Cortlandville with respect to the notification requirements by the Town of Cortlandville as set forth in Real Property Tax Law § 487(9)(a). 4. Nothing in this Local Law shall exempt any requirement for compliance with state and local codes for the installation of any solar energy equipment or a solar energy system, or authorize the installation of any solar energy equipment or a solar energy system. All solar energy systems must file a Real Property Tax Exemption application pursuant to Real Property Tax Law § 487 to receive a tax exemption. SECTION 6. CONTENTS OF PILOT AGREEMENTS. 1. Each PILOT Agreement entered into shall include: a) Name and contact information of the Owner or other party authorized to act upon behalf of the Owner of the Solar Energy System. b) The SBL number for each parcel or portion of a parcel on which the Solar Energy System will be located. c) A requirement for fifteen to twenty successive annual payments, to be paid commencing on the first Annual Payment Date after the effective date of the Real Property Tax Exemption granted pursuant to Real Property Tax Law § 487. d) The Capacity of the Solar Energy System, and that if the Capacity is increased or increased as a result of a system upgrade, replacement, partial removal or retirement of Solar Energy Equipment, the annual payments shall be increased or decreased on a pro rata basis for the remaining years of the Agreement. e) That the parties agree that under the authority of Real Property Tax Law § 487 the Solar Energy System shall be considered exempt from real property taxes for the fifteen-year life of the PILOT Agreement. f) That the PILOT Agreement may not be assigned without the prior written consent of the Town of Cortlandville, which consent may not be unreasonably withheld if the Assignee has agreed in writing to accept all obligations of the Owner, except that the Owner may, with advance written notice to the Town of Cortlandville but without prior consent, assign its payment obligations under the PILOT Agreement to an affiliate of the Owner or to any party who has provided or is providing financing to the Owner for or related to the Solar Energy System, and has agreed in writing to accept all payment obligations of the Owner. g) That a Notice of this Agreement may be recorded by the Owner at its expense, and that the Town of Cortlandville shall cooperate in the execution of any Notices or Assignments with the Owner and its successors. h) The Town of Cortlandville Town Board may establish by resolution the payment amount and terms of PILOT Agreements and/or Community Host Agreements by developers of Solar Energy Systems with the Town of Cortlandville or may delegate to the Cortland County Industrial Development Agency the authority to negotiate such agreements on behalf of the Town of Cortlandville. i) That if the Annual Payment is not paid when due, that upon failure to cure within thirty days, the Town of Cortlandville may cancel the PILOT Agreement without notice to the Owner, and the Solar Energy System shall thereafter be subject to taxation at its full assessed value. SECTION 7. SEVERABILITY. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this Local Law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder hereof, but shall be confined in operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part hereof directly involved in the controversy in which such determination shall have been rendered. SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Local Law shall be effective upon its filing with the Secretary of State in accordance with the Municipal Home Rule Law, and shall apply to all solar energy systems constructed.