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Residents press Fairport trustees on accessory dwelling unit taxation; board says no ADU plan at this time
Summary
A resident cited New York State Taxation guidance that newly constructed ADUs may receive a 10‑year exemption on increased assessed value; trustees said no ADU changes are currently proposed and referred technical tax questions to planner Jill Wiedrick and the town assessor.
At the Oct. 14 Village of Fairport citizens forum, resident Bob Cantwell asked whether the village or its zoning consultant had considered the tax and assessment implications of legalizing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), citing New York State Department of Taxation and Finance guidance that increased assessed value for eligible new ADUs may be exempt from taxation for up to 10 years.
"The increased and assessed value of eligible newly constructed accessory dwelling units shall be exempt from taxation for a period of 10 years," Cantwell said, reading the guidance he had obtained through the town assessor.
Mayor Damorex and trustees responded that the village currently has no proposal to adopt ADU provisions and that taxation and assessment are separate processes handled by the town assessor and the village budget process. "I can tell you for right now, nothing like that is proposed and nothing like that is planned," the mayor said.
A resident who identified as a real‑estate attorney asked additional practical questions about ADU rules—owner‑occupancy requirements and whether ADU status would be recorded on property records so buyers would know a house contains an ADU. Board members said the draft zoning code is posted on the village website and advised callers to contact village planner Jill Wiedrick for details; the board also explained that the new code is being adopted as a comprehensive local law (effectively a replacement code) rather than a redline comparison to the old code.
Trustees said the zoning‑code project remains the board’s immediate priority and that detailed work on related projects (including sustainability plan action items) will begin after they clear the zoning work. The board agreed to pass Cantwell’s tax question to planner Jill for follow‑up and to coordinate with the town assessor where needed.
This discussion does not change village policy; board members repeatedly noted that enabling ADUs in a zoning code does not directly set assessment or taxation policy, which proceeds through the assessor and budget processes.
The board expects additional zoning‑code discussion at an upcoming work session tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27.
