Section 483-B. Historic barns

1.    Historic  barns  which  are
  reconstructed or rehabilitated shall be  exempt  from  taxation  to  the
  extent  provided  hereinafter.    After  a public hearing, the governing
  board of a county, city, town or village may adopt a  local  law  and  a
  school  district,  other  than  a  school  district  subject  to article
  fifty-two of the education law, may adopt  a  resolution  to  grant  the
  exemption authorized pursuant to this section.  A copy of such local law
  or  resolution  shall  be filed with the state board and the assessor of
  such county, city, town or village who prepares the assessment  roll  on
  which  the  taxes of such county, city, town, village or school district
  are levied.
    2.  (a) Such barns shall be exempt for a period of  one  year  to  the
  extent  of  one  hundred  per  centum  of the increase in assessed value
  thereof attributable to such reconstruction or rehabilitation and for an
  additional period of nine years subject to the following:
    (i) The extent of such exemption shall be decreased by ten per  centum
  of  the  "exemption  base" each year during such additional period.  The
  "exemption base" shall be the increase in assessed value  as  determined
  in  the initial year of the term of the exemption, except as provided in
  subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.
    (ii) In any year in which a change in level of assessment  of  fifteen
  percent or more is certified for a final assessment roll pursuant to the
  rules  of  the  state board, the exemption base shall be multiplied by a
  fraction, the numerator of which shall be the total  assessed  value  of
  the  parcel  on  such  final  assessment  roll (after accounting for any
  physical or  quantity  changes  to  the  parcel  since  the  immediately
  preceding  assessment  roll),  and the denominator of which shall be the
  total assessed value of the parcel on the  immediately  preceding  final
  assessment  roll.    The  result  shall be the new exemption base.   The
  exemption shall thereupon be recomputed to take  into  account  the  new
  exemption  base,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that the assessor receives
  certification of the change in level of assessment after the completion,
  verification and filing of the final assessment roll.  In the event  the
  assessor  does  not  have custody of the roll when such certification is
  received, the assessor shall certify the  recomputed  exemption  to  the
  local  officers  having  custody and control of the roll, and such local
  officers are hereby directed and  authorized  to  enter  the  recomputed
  exemption  certified  by  the  assessor on the roll.  The assessor shall
  give written notice of such recomputed exemption to the property  owner,
  who  may,  if  he  or  she  believes  that  the exemption was recomputed
  incorrectly, apply for a correction in  the  manner  provided  by  title
  three  of  article  five  of this chapter for the correction of clerical
  errors.
    (b)  No  such  exemption  shall  be  granted  for  reconstruction   or
  rehabilitation   unless   such   reconstruction  or  rehabilitation  was
  commenced  subsequent  to  the  effective  date  of  the  local  law  or
  resolution   adopted  pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of  this  section;
  provided, however, that such local law or resolution  may  provide  that
  such  reconstruction  or rehabilitation commenced prior to the effective
  date of such local law or resolution may qualify for the exemption.
    (c) No such exemption shall be granted to an historic  barn  which  is
  receiving  an exemption pursuant to section four hundred eighty-three of
  this title or which has received an exemption pursuant to  that  section
  within  ten  years  of  the  date of the application for exemption filed
  pursuant to this section.
    (d) No such exemption shall be granted to an historic  barn  which  is
  used for residential purposes.

    (e)  No  such  exemption  shall  be  granted  for  reconstruction  and
  rehabilitation expenses that materially alter the historic appearance of
  the barn.
    3.  Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner
  of such barn on a form prescribed by the state board.   The  application
  shall  be  filed  with the assessor of the city, town, village or county
  having the power to assess  property  for  taxation  on  or  before  the
  appropriate taxable status date of such city, town, village or county.
    4.  If satisfied that the barn is entitled to an exemption pursuant to
  this section, the assessor shall approve the application and  such  barn
  shall  thereafter  be exempt from taxation as herein provided commencing
  with the assessment roll prepared on the basis  of  the  taxable  status
  date  referred  to  in  subdivision three of this section.  The assessed
  value of any exemption granted pursuant to this section shall be entered
  by the assessor on the assessment roll with the taxable  property,  with
  the amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.
    5.    For  the purposes of this section, an historic barn shall mean a
  structure that  was  at  least  partially  constructed  before  nineteen
  hundred thirty-six and that was originally designed and used for storing
  farm equipment or agricultural products, or for housing livestock.
    * NB Applies to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1997