Pasco property appraiser rejects Live Local apartment tax breaks

Pasco’s Property Appraiser Mike Wells last week denied applications of two apartment complex owners seeking property tax exemptions for providing “affordable housing” under the state’s Live Local law.

Wells determined that neither of the two complexes had proved that they qualified for the property tax exemptions for the number of affordable housing apartments they were claiming.

“After reviewing and diligently auditing the qualifying information presented by each applicant ... the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s Office has determined that Tapestry at Cypress Creek and The Gallery at Trinity have not provided sufficient information to qualify for the Live Local Exemption as of the July 1 determination date,” Wells told the Tampa Bay Times in an email.

But he also left the door open for those complex owners to provide additional information that he could reconsider later saying, “In the event we receive updated qualifying data during the petition and appeals period after July 1, this office or the Value Adjustment Board could ultimately change our present-day determination.”

County commissioners have already voted not to allow tax exemptions for the coming year for any development seeking the Live Local property tax break. But The Gallery at Trinity and Tapestry at Cypress Creek had already submitted their applications for the current year before the board took that vote.

Wells cited specific issues with the paperwork provided by the two complexes.

In his letter to Tapestry at Cypress Creek, Wells wrote that the complex does not meet the requirement because it “fails to demonstrate that more than 70 units are providing affordable housing to qualifying persons. The applicant has yet to provide all of the requested household income information and, as such, there is insufficient information available to determine whether the property qualifies for the exemption.”

Wells also noted that while the complex owners said they had set aside 191 units out of its 340 for affordable housing for qualified residents, the complex did not prove that and some of those units were actually vacant on January 1 and “a vacant unit is not providing affordable housing” and doesn’t qualify for the exemption, Wells wrote.

For the Gallery at Trinity, which said it was setting aside 75 of 289 apartments for the program, Wells wrote that the complex also did not prove that it had that number of units occupied by tenants meeting the appropriate income level.

Pasco commissioners, who have had multiple concerns with the Live Local law, actively lobbied state lawmakers this spring to allow them to opt out of giving exemptions. That option was ultimately approved by the Legislature.

Under Live Local, tax exemptions could be given for developments that offered apartments for residents who earned as much as 120% of the average median income. But local officials argued that the apartments in the upper range of income in Pasco were not in short supply so there was no need to provide incentives.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano said he wants to spend more time with lawmakers in the coming months to get them to continue to make changes to the Live Local law. He said he doesn’t want Pasco to take a financial hit to give tax breaks for apartments that are not affordable to the lowest income earners.

Pasco officials also were concerned that Live Local encouraged apartment construction by allowing builders to use land designated for commercial and industrial uses without review. They want to preserve those areas for construction that lead to permanent jobs.

County officials have been trying to move away from being a bedroom community. They also complained that providing property tax breaks for those lands would also make it harder to provide services to new residents.

Pasco County staff declined to comment on the ruling by Wells noting that there could still be a reversal if the apartment owners can prove their eligibility.