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City Council to support property tax adjustment bill

City Council members decided to support a state bill that would allow Charlottesville officials to tax residential properties at lower rates than commercial properties at last night's meeting.

The bill, introduced in the House of Delegates in January by Dels. Lynwood Lewis (D-Accomac) and Kenneth Alexander (D-Norfolk), would differentiate between residential and commercial property, and would allow localities to impose lower taxes on residential properties. Charlottesville is one of many localities supporting the bill, which will be discussed during the 2007 House session.

City Council member Kevin Lynch said he thinks there is a "good chance" that the issue will be well-debated because many localities are experiencing a sharp rise in residential property assessments compared to commercial assessments.

Off-Grounds Housing Manager Vicki Hawes said she believes the measure is intended primarily to help those residents whose property assessments have increased over the past 15 to 20 years. The resulting higher property taxes have proven burdensome for many residents, causing some to sell their homes to investors who could potentially rent to students.

Suzette Denslow, deputy director of the Virginia Municipal League, which takes no position on the bill, said similar bills in other states have exclusively benefited residents. The bill's broad language would allow officials to leave the residential tax rate unchanged while increasing property taxes for commercial property, she said.

Denslow said the state Chamber of Commerce has traditionally opposed such a measure because it could lead to higher tax rates for businesses.

Hawes said she does not think the trend or rising rent rates will reverse if the bill is passed.

"It may level off for a bit, but I don't think our rents are going to come back down," Hawes said, noting that she believes high rent rates are largely caused by the number of new apartments being built near the University.

All Council members agreed to support the bill, though a different measure regarding an affordable housing initiative was deemed the top priority among items in the city's 2007 legislative program.

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