§ 82-196. Approval process.

Any eligible person, firm, partnership, or corporation which desires an exemption shall file a good faith written application on a form prescribed by the city and shall pay the applicable application fee.

(1)

Filing . Applications along with the application fee shall be filed with city's director of economic development. The application must be filed no later than January 31 of the year in which the exemption is desired to take effect.

(2)

Review . Within 15 calendar days of receipt of a complete application, the director of economic development, or designee, shall perform an initial review in order to determine if the application facially meets all requirements to qualify for an exemption.

a.

If the director of economic development, or designee, determines that the application does not facially qualify for an exemption, the director shall so notify the applicant in writing, and the applicant shall have 30 calendar days from the date of such notice to correct the application or appeal the director's determination to the city commission.

b.

If the director of economic development, or designee, determines that the application facially satisfies all requirements to qualify for an exemption, the completed application shall be referred to the property appraiser within 15 calendar days for evaluation and issuance of a report.

(3)

Property appraiser review . The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser shall review the application and report the following information to the city commission:

a.

The total revenue available to the city for the current fiscal year from ad valorem tax sources, or an estimate of such revenue if the actual total revenue available cannot be determined;

b.

Any revenue lost to the city for the current fiscal year by virtue of exemptions previously granted under F.S. § 196.1995, or an estimate of such revenue if the actual revenue lost cannot be determined;

c.

An estimate of the revenue which would be lost to the city during the current fiscal year if the exemption applied for were granted had the property for which the exemption is requested otherwise been subject to taxation; and

d.

A determination as to whether the property for which an exemption is requested is to be incorporated into a new business or the expansion of an existing business, as defined in F.S. § 196.012, or into neither, which determination the property appraiser shall also affix to the face of the application. Upon the request of the property appraiser, the city shall provide to him or her such information as it may have available to assist in making such determination.

(4)

Community redevelopment agency review . If a new business is locating to, or an expansion of an existing business is occurring in, a community redevelopment area, the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency shall be provided a copy of the application for review and comment. Input from the community redevelopment agency shall be in writing to the city commission and will be considered in deciding whether an exemption is to be granted.

(5)

Annual renewal application . In accordance with F.S. § 196.011(1)(a), grantees shall file an annual renewal application on a form prescribed by the city with the director of economic development and provide an original copy to the property appraiser.

(Ord. No. 4686-16, § 6, 2-27-2016)