§ 211. Exemption from increase in local taxation. 1. A local legislative body is hereby authorized, by adopting or enacting an ordinance or local law, to exempt all or part of the real property held by redevelopment corporations during a maximum exemption period, which shall not exceed ten years, which represents an increase in any local tax over the maximum local tax. After the adoption or enactment of such an ordinance or local law, every parcel of real property held by any redevelopment corporation in the city shall be exempt during the maximum exemption period, from that portion of each and every local tax to the extent that such exemption has been granted by such ordinance or local law. If, during the last year of the maximum exemption period, such exemption is in existence on the day such local tax, or installment thereof, becomes a lien on such parcel of real property, such exemption shall extend for the full tax year for such local tax and shall not be apportioned because of the expiration of the maximum exemption period during such tax year.

2. For the purpose of fixing the date of commencement of the maximum exemption period for a group of parcels of real property in a development area, a city is hereby authorized, with the approval of its local legislative body, except that if there is a board of estimate in the city, then with the approval of the board of estimate, to contract with a redevelopment corporation to place in one or more groups the various parcels of real property therein. Such a contract may provide that all of the parcels in each group may be deemed to have had a common stated date of acquisition by the redevelopment corporation, regardless of the actual date of acquisition of each parcel contained therein. Such agreed date of acquisition shall thereupon serve as a basis for computing the maximum exemption period for each parcel of real property in the group. Such agreed date of acquisition shall not be later than the date of the actual acquisition of one or more parcels of real property in the group. After the making of any such contract, all of the parcels of real property in any such group shall be treated as a unit for the purposes of the assessment and collection of each local tax, and the maximum exemption period so computed shall be binding with respect to each local tax.