SB0665sam001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Bill Cunningham

Filed: 3/23/2021

10200SB0665sam001 LRB102 15453 AWJ 23860 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 665

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 665 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding Section 15-62 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/15-62 new)

Sec. 15-62. Exemption for lease or sale of property for cultivation and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables or recreation. Property that is leased or conveyed to a nonprofit corporation or association for cultivation and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables or recreation under Section 11-11-4 of the Illinois Municipal Code is exempt when actually and exclusively used such purposes and not leased or otherwise used with a view to profit.

The Department of Revenue shall, by rule, develop an application process for a nonprofit corporation or association to prove it will be eligible for the property tax exemption under this Section once the property is leased or sold to it by the municipality. Once eligibility has been established, the Department shall issue an exemption certificate, contingent on the lease or conveyance, to the nonprofit corporation or association and, thereafter, an annual certificate of status upon proof of continued eligibility.

Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by adding Section 11-11-4 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/11-11-4 new)

Sec. 11-11-4. Lease or sale of property for cultivation and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables or recreation.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) There exists in certain older, urban municipalities an excess of vacant property that is not needed for public use.

(2) Vacant properties present numerous problems for these municipalities, such as: presenting the opportunity for criminal activity; deterring neighboring property owners from improving their properties and prospective purchasers and renters from locating into these areas; and serving as a location to dispose of unwanted items.

(3) These municipalities are often centers of high and increasing populations and population densities comprised, in part, of lower-income families.

(4) Due, in part, to increasing population densities, the deterioration of infrastructure, such as parks, and fiscal constraints, these municipalities have been challenged to offer residents opportunities to enhance the quality of their lives.

(5) Due to the scarcity of full service supermarkets and farmer's markets within these municipalities, municipal residents often suffer from a shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables.

(6) The shortages of recreational opportunities and sources of fresh fruits and vegetables have contributed to alarming increases in childhood obesity and other adverse health consequences for municipal residents.

(7) It would be beneficial to enlist nonprofit corporation or associations to develop these properties for a range of public purposes that could enhance the recreational, educational, and nutritional needs of local residents.

(8) Authorization for municipalities to lease and sell vacant land to nonprofit entities to cultivate these lands can provide both recreational opportunities and a source of fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables for local residents.

(9) The nonprofit cultivation of previously vacant land by nonprofit entities is a public purpose for which the long term lease and sale of these properties, and exemption from property taxation, is warranted, even in those instances when produce is sold to further the mission of these nonprofit corporations or associations.

(b) A leasehold for a term not in excess of 50 years may be made with a nonprofit corporation or association and extended for an additional 25 years by ordinance or resolution thereafter for any purpose described under subsection (a), including, but not limited to:

(1) The cultivation or use of vacant lots for gardening or recreational purposes.

(2) The lease of a tract of land of less than 5 acres to sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Any lease entered into pursuant to this paragraph may permit the nonprofit corporation or association to sell fresh fruits and vegetables on the leased land, off the leased land, or both, provided, that the sales are related and incidental to the nonprofit purposes of the corporation or association and the net proceeds received by the nonprofit corporation or association are used to further the nonprofit purposes of the corporation or association.

(c) When the city council of a municipality determines that all or any part of a municipal-owned tract of land, with or without improvements, is not then needed for municipal purposes, the city council may, by resolution or ordinance, authorize a private sale and conveyance of the same, or any part thereof, for nominal consideration without compliance with any other law governing disposal of lands by municipalities requiring adequate consideration. Such conveyance shall contain a limitation that the lands or buildings shall be used only for the purposes of such organization or association, and to render such services or to provide such facilities as may be agreed upon and, if said lands or buildings are not used in accordance with the limitation, title shall revert back to the municipality without any entry or reentry made on the property on behalf of the municipality.

Whenever a sale of property is proposed pursuant to this subsection, the municipality shall give at least 10 days' notice of such sale prior to a public hearing where an ordinance or resolution approving the sale is adopted.

(d) If the nonprofit organization or association uses the property leased or purchased under this Section for the cultivation and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables on a tract of land of less than 5 acres, the nonprofit organization or association may not be controlled, directly or indirectly, by any agricultural, commercial, or other business. The nonprofit organization or association is authorized to sell fresh fruits and vegetables either on the land that was leased or conveyed, off that land, or both, and the sales must be related and incidental to the nonprofit purposes of the organization or association and the net proceeds received by the nonprofit organization or association must be used to further the nonprofit purposes of the organization or association.

(e) Property leased or conveyed under this Section is exempt from property taxation under under the Property Tax Code if the property is actually used for the cultivation and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables and owned by a nonprofit organization or association that includes among its principal purposes the cultivation and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables. Before property may be leased or conveyed under this Section, the nonprofit organization or association shall provide to the municipality an exemption certificate issued under Section 15-62 of the Property Tax Code.".