LOCKPORT — The Town Board voted Wednesday to prevent homeowners from receiving a property tax break if they convert their properties to condominiums.

The law passed, 4-0, with Councilman Paul H. Pettit abstaining because he lives in a condo.

Supervisor Marc R. Smith said he views the assessment advantage condos enjoy over regular homes as a “loophole” in the state Real Property Tax Law. But that law also allows towns to prevent existing properties from changing their ownership status to take advantage of it.

Carol McCarthy, a member of the board of the Royal Gardens Homeowners Association, said residents of that subdivision were interested in possible condo conversions.

“We had just started. We had lawyers come in,” said McCarthy, who attended Wednesday’s meeting but did not speak during a public hearing.

“If we could convert, it would cost people with mortgages about $2,600 to convert,” McCarthy said. “But if it went through, we would save 35 percent to 40 percent on our taxes. It would pay back in three years.”

The conversion cost stemmed primarily from legal and filing fees.

The only speaker at the hearing was Gerald Fischer, a resident of Carlton Lake, a development of 28 patio homes off Akron Road.

“Basically, what you’re doing is taking away my right to convert,” Fischer said.

Town Attorney Daniel E. Seaman said the law doesn’t ban conversions, merely the tax savings that would result. He and Fischer agreed that no one would bother to convert to condominium status without the tax break.

Seaman said, “A town may not ban the construction of new condominium units, under state law.”

“So the only people you can penalize are the people who live here now,” Fischer replied.

“A lot of people think it might be a penalty on everyone else who lives in the town,” Seaman shot back.

Fischer said the town is hurting senior citizens with the new law. “Where I’m from, 25 percent of the people are still working, but they’re all senior citizens. They don’t ask for parks or biking trails,” he said.

Smith said the town probably won’t accept the duty of maintaining streets and other infrastructure in any future condo developments.

“I can’t change what happened in the past. We look at [condo status] as an unfair advantage the state gave to certain associations. We can mitigate it somewhat by not accepting the infrastructure,” Smith said.

The town’s existing 140 condo units in three developments are not affected by the new law.

In another vote, the board agreed to spend up to $10,000 to buy an excavator and a generator for the Highway Department.