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Tonawanda council debates local vacancy tax to push reuse of long-empty commercial buildings
Summary
Council members discussed drafting a local law that would impose a vacancy tax on commercial properties left unoccupied past six months, citing examples of long-term downtown vacancies and potential revenue implications; legal and implementation hurdles were raised.
Tonawanda council members spent an extended portion of Monday’s meeting discussing whether the city could adopt a local law to tax long-term vacant commercial properties, an idea council members said could push owners to redevelop or lease empty storefronts.
A council member who spoke during the discussion outlined a model used in parts of New York State: after a property sits vacant for six months, a vacancy fee would “kick in” on the seventh month and be assessed to the property owner as an additional tax. The council member said “a 3%” rate was a common example cited in other municipalities and argued the tool could generate “potentially…hundreds of thousands of dollars a year” in a community with several high-value,…
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