Governor signs vacant lot proposal for City of Norwich

A vacant lot on Mitchell Street in the City of Norwich. Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed a Real Property Tax Law amendment that will provide tax breaks to individuals building new residential property on vacant lots in the City of Norwich. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — On December 21, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a New York State Real Property Tax Law amendment that would provide a tax break to individuals building residential property on vacant lots in the City of Norwich.
According to City of Norwich Mayor Brian Doliver, owners of vacant lots who decide to build a single-family home on the lot would be able to retain the vacant lot assessment until the home is completed, or up to 18 months, whichever comes first.
After that time, the property would be re-assessed, and taxes would be based on 20 percent of that value, increasing by 20 percent every year for five years.
Doliver said the hope is this provides an incentive for property owners to build new houses, which is one step in addressing the need for housing within in the city.
"It’s an incentive to build," he said. "Housing is an issue in the State of New York, and all across the country. So we hope that this is one thing we can do."
City of Norwich Community Development Director Erik Scrivener said the city began working on this around five years ago. It took a long time to get done as it had to be approved locally, then moved up through the Assembly and the Senate before being signed by the governor, with many changes made along the way to narrow the scope of the exemption.
"We had been talking about housing and the possibility of building, because obviously housing is always an issue, whether it be single family homes or apartment complexes, all that sort of thing. So I sat down on my patio and I started to think of an idea, and I came up with a vacant lot proposal," Doliver said.
"Real Property Tax Law at the state level is what governs these types of exemptions. So this is a chapter that’s added to," Scrivener explained. "There was essentially a form that was passed on. The council approved it, the mayor signed it, and then that was passed on to [Assemblyman Joe Angelino and Senator Peter Oberacker], and they moved it forward at that point."
They said Angelino, Oberacker, and their staff were instrumental in getting this exemption passed, and the timing aligned perfectly with the government's push to increase available housing in New York.
"We had already been working on it but it was a couple years ago the governor had spoken about the need for more housing. So we were excited to say, okay, I think we’ll be able to get the governor’s signature on this," said Doliver. "So it kind of worked into our favor, that perfect timing that they were saying, okay, housing of all types."
The amendment has already gone into effect, and impacts properties that began construction on or after January 1, 2025. Doliver said the city's codes department, assessor, and community development department will be working together to keep track of new building in the City of Norwich.
"I think it will be a combination of the assessor and the codes department, and of course community development to maybe facilitate how this is going to work out. But the assessor will continue doing her job, assessing it as she would see. But then we’ll take it and just say, okay, they’re in the process of building. We’ll look to codes to say, okay, this is actually a completed house. So then at that point the code officer will say, the clock is ticking at that point," he said.
Scrivener said there's an estimated 60 to 70 vacant lots in the city that they believe would be eligible for new homes that would receive this exemption.
Doliver added that only six homes have been built in the City of Norwich since 2021, so he hopes this change in taxation will increase new building within the city. He said there is already an individual interested in building on a few vacant lots in Norwich.
He said this exciting opportunity for the City of Norwich would not have been possible without the assistance of Assemblyman Angelino, Senator Oberacker, Scrivener, and the City of Norwich Common Council.
"We had to take it to the state level for approval, so of course we contacted Assemblyman Angelino, and Senator Oberacker. They were very good to us, they worked very hard, both of them ... I can’t say enough about the staff members. They worked so hard, and of course we’re very appreciative of Assemblyman Angelino, Senator Oberacker, and of course Governor Hochul. And we had conversations with office staff from the governor’s office, so it worked out great," said Doliver. "The council was extremely excited and glad to do anything they can to do this. So they were very helpful."
"When Erik [Scrivener] came to us I would say we were around the 30-yard line, so we weren’t quite there, and Erik did quite a lot to help us," he continued. "So he was very good about getting us over the goal line."

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