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Ulster County committee amends ADU tax-exemption language, delays vote to March
Summary
The Ulster County Laws, Rules and Government Services Committee amended proposed local law No. 9 (2024) on a real-property tax exemption for accessory dwelling units and postponed further action to the March meeting after county counsel and the planning director flagged legal and drafting concerns including a short-term rental restriction.
The Ulster County Laws, Rules and Government Services Committee amended proposed local law No. 9 of 2024, which would provide a county real property tax exemption for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and postponed action until the committeemeeting in March. Chair Criswell presented the proposed amendments from the County AttorneyOffice and explained that the changes affect how requests for the exemption would be filed and the formwould be prepared by the state Department of Taxation rather than the county.
Why it matters: The law would create a tax exemption intended to encourage ADU creation; committee members raised legal and enforcement concerns because the draft included language limiting the exemption if an ADU were used for short-term rentals. County staff and counsel told the committee that the draft language may not conform with the cited state statute and could create enforcement complications for local assessors and building inspectors.
Committee discussion focused on two technical issues. First, the County AttorneyOffice recommended edits to the filing and form provisions (identified by the committee as changes to section j). Second, committee members and the director of planning flagged a provision in the draft that would terminate an exemption if an ADU were later used as a short-term rental; counsel said state Real Property Law may not allow an exemption to be rescinded in that way.
Chair Criswell described those County Attorney edits as "fair and reasonable" and asked for a motion to amend the proposal; the committee approved the amendment unanimously and then voted to postpone consideration to the March committee meeting so planning and counsel can reconcile the short-term rental language with state law. The committee recorded no opposition to the amendment or the postponement.
Next steps: Committee members asked staff to confirm whether the version Kingston adopted contains a short-term rental exclusion and for the County Attorney and planning director to return with redrafted language consistent with applicable state law before the March meeting.
