(a) Qualifying improvements on brownfields properties are designated a special class of property under Article V, Sec. 2(2) of the North Carolina Constitution and shall be appraised, assessed, and taxed in accordance with this section. An owner of land is entitled to the partial exclusion provided by this section for the first five taxable years beginning after completion of qualifying improvements made after the later of July 1, 2000, or the date of the brownfields agreement. After property has qualified for the exclusion provided by this section, the assessor for the county in which the property is located shall annually appraise the improvements made to the property during the period of time that the owner is entitled to the exclusion.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the terms “qualifying improvements on brownfields properties” and “qualifying improvements” mean improvements made to real property that is subject to a brownfields agreement entered into by the Department of Environmental Quality and the owner pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-310.32

(c) The following table establishes the percentage of the appraised value of the qualified improvements that is excluded based on the taxable year:

Year Percent of Appraised Value Excluded

Year 1 90%

Year 2 75%

Year 3 50%

Year 4 30%

Year 5 10%.

  (2000-158, s. 1; 2015-241, s. 14.30(u).)