Sierra County Municipal Code Ch. 5.25 Reassessment of Possessory Interests Damaged and Reduced in Value

Every person who at 12:01 a.m. on January 1st has a possessory interest in land owned by the state or federal government or who acquired such interest after such date and is liable for the taxes thereon for the fiscal year commencing immediately following July 1st and the permit or other right to enter upon the land has been suspended or restricted without his fault, because of a misfortune or calamity, including without limitation a condition of drought; may, within 12 months of such misfortune or calamity, apply for reassessment of such property by delivering to the Assessor a written application showing the condition and value, if any, of the possessory interest immediately before and after the suspension or restriction. The damage to the interest must be shown in the application to be in excess of $10,000. The application shall be executed under penalty of perjury or if executed outside the state of California, verified by affidavit. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

Upon receiving a proper application, the Assessor shall verify the amounts claimed on the application in the before and after condition. The Assessor shall then compute a percentage relationship of loss and reduce the current assessed value by that percentage. The Assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the amount of the proposed reassessment. The notice shall state that the applicant may appeal the proposed reassessment to the local Board of Equalization within six months of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is requested within the six-month period, the Board shall hear and decide the matter as if the proposed reassessment had been entered on the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment period. The decision of the Board regarding the value of the suspended or restricted permit shall be final provided that a decision of the local Board of Equalization regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this section shall create no presumption as regards the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the suspension or restriction. The reassessments resulting from those reductions, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the Auditor by the Assessor or the Clerk of the Board, as the case may be. The Auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, said reassessment shall not be subject to review except by a court of competent jurisdiction. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

If the amount of damage as verified by the Assessor is not at least $10,000, no adjustment shall be made to said roll and no taxes shall be canceled or refunded. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

If no such application is made pursuant to SCC 5.25.010 and the Assessor determines that a possessory interest has been suspended or restricted without fault of the holder thereof because of a misfortune or calamity which may qualify the holder thereof for relief under this chapter, the Assessor shall provide the last known holder of such possessory interest with an application for reassessment. The holder shall file the completed application within 60 days of notification by the Assessor. Upon receipt of the properly completed, timely filed application, the Assessor shall proceed to reassess property in the same manner as required above. In the event that no application is made, the Assessor is hereby authorized to reassess the property as provided in this chapter and to notify the last known owner of the property of the reassessment. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 823, eff. 1/5/95; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the property so reassessed appeared at the time of its original assessment shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment determined in accordance with this section. In the event that the resulting figure is less than the tax theretofore computed, the tax shall be determined as follows:

A. With respect to property on the secured roll, a prorated portion of the tax due on the property as originally assessed at the rate established for property on the secured roll for the current fiscal year, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the year during which the property was in an undamaged condition plus a proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition at the rate established for property on the secured roll for the balance of the fiscal year.

B. With respect to property on the unsecured roll, he shall be liable for a prorated portion of the tax computed on the original assessment of the property and a prorated portion of the tax computed on the reassessment of the property as determined in the preceding paragraph. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due shall be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to California Revenue and Taxation Code, Division 1, Part 9, Chapter 5 (commencing with Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 5096) as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the Board of Supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed pursuant to Chapter 5 of said Code. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03)

The assessment of the property in its damaged condition as determined by this section shall be reviewed at the lien date following the date of the misfortune or calamity and shall be assessed in the same manner as prescribed by law for any other assessable property. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

As used in this section, “damage” means a possessory interest in land owned by the state or federal government wherein the permit or other right to use the land has been suspended or restricted because of a misfortune or calamity such as the drought condition, as existed in this state in 1976 and 1977. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)

This section applies to all counties, whether operating under a charter or under the general laws of this state. (Ord. 941, eff. 4/17/03; Ord. 517, eff. 1/3/78)