Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Exemption topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Montgomery County denies three-year tax-exemption renewal for Islamic Center of Blacksburg
Summary
After a contested work-session review, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors voted 6-1 on Nov. 25, 2024, to deny a three-year tax-exemption renewal for a vacant lot owned for the Islamic Center of Blacksburg, citing precedent and the absence of an existing worship building.
Montgomery County’s Board of Supervisors voted to deny a three-year tax-exemption renewal for a vacant lot owned by the Islamic Center of Blacksburg, rejecting the request 6-1 on Nov. 25.
County Administrator Ms. Hill told the board the Islamic Center owns a 0.795-acre undeveloped parcel at 113 South Park Drive and that the property had previously been granted tax-exempt status in 2021 for 2022. Ms. Hill said the fiscal impact of exempting the undeveloped lot would be about $3,896 per year at the current real-estate tax rate.
The applicant’s representative said the group has raised funds to cover required bonds (stated in the record as $62,000), has $50,000 for initial site work and expects the town to issue the final site-plan approvals soon. The representative said the town gives five years to complete construction once plans are approved and that the organization had invested in design and engineering work over several years.
Several supervisors expressed concern that renewing exemptions for vacant lots creates a precedent that could invite numerous similar applications. Vice Chair Fajkowski said exemptions should be reserved for organizations that “support our citizens” but criticized granting breaks for vacant land without a building, arguing it could produce “a tremendous amount of applicants.” Another supervisor noted the three-year approval window had elapsed without on-the-ground construction and urged more rigorous standards or a requirement that a building exist before an exemption is granted.
Supervisor Bone urged support for the organization and highlighted its community work; other supervisors said they were sympathetic to the organization’s pandemic-related delays but nonetheless opposed extending the exemption without demonstrated construction progress.
On the motion, roll call votes recorded one aye and six no votes; the board’s action was recorded as denial of the exemption request. The board discussed directing staff to draft or revise policy language for future exemption applications so that expectations and timelines for vacant-lot exemptions are clearer.
The board moved on to other business after the vote; staff noted the applicant may reapply in 2025 for calendar-year 2026, consistent with the county’s application timetable.
