Yuba County Municipal Code Ch. 5.15 Tax Relief for Owners of Damaged or Destroyed Property

This Chapter is adopted pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code § 170.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.010; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 785; Ord. No. 1244)

This Chapter is adopted to provide property tax relief for property owners whose property is damaged or destroyed without their fault after the immediately preceding lien date by misfortune or calamity.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.020; Ord. No. 638)

(a) Every person who at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 was the owner of or had in his or her possession or under his or her control, any taxable property, or who acquired such property after such date and is liable for the taxes thereon for the fiscal year commencing immediately following July 1, and whose property was damaged or destroyed without his or her fault, may file an application for reassessment of the property pursuant to this Chapter and Revenue and Taxation Code § 170.

(b) To be eligible for reassessment the damage or destruction to the property shall have been caused by any of the following:

(1) A major misfortune or calamity, in an area or region subsequently proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of disaster, if that property was damaged or destroyed by the major misfortune or calamity that caused the Governor to proclaim the area or region to be in a state of disaster. As used in this Paragraph, "damage" includes a diminution in the value of property as a result of restricted access to the property where that restricted access was caused by the major misfortune or calamity.

(2) A misfortune or calamity.

(3) A misfortune or calamity that, with respect to a possessory interest in land owned by the State or Federal government, has caused the permit or other right to enter upon the land to be suspended or restricted. As used in this paragraph, "misfortune or calamity" includes a drought condition such as existed in this State in 1976 and 1977.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.030; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 785; Ord. No. 1244; Ord. No. 1318)

The application for assessment shall be filed within 12 months of the misfortune or calamity.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.040; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 1318)

(a) The application for reassessment shall be filed with the Assessor within 12 months of the misfortune or calamity. The application shall show the condition and value, if any, of the property immediately after the damage or destruction, and the dollar amount of the damage. The application shall be executed under penalty of perjury or, if executed outside of the State of California, verified by affidavit.

(b) If no application is made and the Assessor determines that within the preceding 12 months a property has suffered damage caused by misfortune or calamity that may qualify the property owner for relief under this Chapter, the Assessor shall provide the last known owner of the property with an application for reassessment. The property owner shall file the completed application within 12 months after the occurrence of said damage. Upon receipt of a properly completed, timely filed application, the property shall be reassessed in the same manner as required in Section 5.15.060.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.050; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 785; Ord. No. 1244; Ord. No. 1318)

If the sum of the full cash values of the land, improvements, and personal property before the damage or destruction exceeds the sum of the values after the damage by $10,000.00 or more, the Assessor shall reassess the property as required by Revenue and Taxation Code § 170 and notify the applicant in writing of the amount of the proposed reassessment as provided therein. 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 the mailing of the notice. The Assessor may initiate the reassessment without application of the owner where the Assessor determines, in his or her sole discretion, that within the preceding 12 months taxable property located in the County was damaged or destroyed.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.060; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 785; Ord. No. 1244; Ord. No. 1318)

If partial reconstruction, restoration or repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be determined in accordance with Revenue and Taxation Code § 170. Upon the completion of the repairs, restoration, or reconstruction, the Assessor shall make an additional assessment or assessments in accordance with Revenue and Taxation Code § 170.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.070; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 1244)

If a reassessment is made, the Auditor shall enter the reassessed value on the Roll and the tax shall be re-computed and the tax shall be canceled or moneys refunded pursuant to the provisions of Revenue and Taxation Code § 170.

(Prior Code, § 5.15.080; Ord. No. 638; Ord. No. 785; Ord. No. 1244)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, provision or portion of this Chapter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or provisions of this Chapter or their applicability to distinguishable situations or circumstances. In enacting this Chapter, it is the desire of the Board of Supervisors to validly regulate to the full measure of its legal authority in the public interest, and to that end, the Board of Supervisors declares that it would have adopted this Chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, provision, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions thereof might be declared invalid or unconstitutional in whole or in part, as applied to any particular situation or circumstances, and to this end the provisions of this Chapter are intended to be severable.

State Law reference— Similar provisions, Government Code § 23.