Sec. 22-80. - Purpose.

It is the purpose of this article to provide that every assessee of any taxable property, or any person liable for the taxes thereon, whose property is physically damaged or destroyed in value of $5,000.00 or more, without fault of such assessee or person, may apply for reassessment of that property as provided herein.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-81. - Definitions.

To be eligible for reassessment the physical damage or destruction to the property must have been caused by a misfortune or calamity as those terms are used and defined in subsections (a)(1), (a)(2) and (a)(3) of section 170 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-82. - Application for reassessment.

An assessee of taxable property, or person liable for the taxes thereon, whose property was physically damaged or destroyed in value of $5,000.00 or more without fault of such person as a result of a misfortune or calamity occurring on or after or after July 1, 1984, may deliver to the assessor a written application requesting reassessment within 90 days of the date of the misfortune or calamity or of the effective date of this article, whichever occurs later. The application must show the condition and value, if any, of the property immediately after the damage or destruction, and the dollar amount of the damage, and must be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the State of California, verified by affidavit.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-83. - Manner of reassessment by assessor.

Upon receiving a proper application, the assessor shall appraise the property and determine separately the full cash value of land, improvements and personalty immediately before and after the damage or destruction. The assessor shall separately determine the percentage reductions in value of land, improvements and personalty due to the damage or destruction. The assessor shall reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this section, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in section 22-85; provided, however, that the total value of the damage or destruction must be at least $5,000.00 to be eligible for a reduction in the values appearing on the assessment rolls and the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-84. - Notice of reassessment and appeal.

The assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision on the proposed reassessment, if any. The notice shall state that the applicant may appeal the proposed reassessment, or lack thereof, to the board of equalization within 14 days of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is requested within the 14 days, the board of equalization shall hear and decide the matter as if a proposed reassessment had been entered on the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment period. The decision of the board of equalization regarding the damaged value of the property shall be final, provided that a decision of the board of equalization regarding any assessment made pursuant to this section shall create no presumption as regards the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the damage.

Those reassessed values resulting from reductions in full cash value of amounts, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the auditor by the assessor or the clerk of the board of equalization, as the case may be. The auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, such reassessment values shall not be subject to review, except by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-85. - Adjustment of taxes after reassessment.

The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the property so reassessed appeared at the time of the misfortune or calamity, shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment as determined in accordance with this section and the assessee shall be liable for: (1) a prorated portion of the taxes that would have been due on the property for the current fiscal year had the misfortune or calamity not occurred, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the current fiscal year prior to the misfortune or calamity; plus, (2) a proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the fiscal year after the damage or destruction, including the month in which the damage was incurred. Beginning March 1, 1985 and thereafter, if damage or destruction occurred after March 1st and before the beginning of the next fiscal year, the reassessment shall be utilized to determine the tax liability for the next fiscal year; provided, however, if the property is fully restored during the next fiscal year, taxes due for that year shall be prorated based on the number of months in the year before and after the completion of restoration.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-86. - Reassessment upon restoration or repair.

The assessed value of the property in its damaged condition, as determined pursuant to section 22-83 or section 22-84, compounded annually by the inflation factor specified in subdivision (a) of section 51, of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored, repaired, reconstructed or other provisions of the law require the establishment of a new base year value.

If partial reconstruction, restoration, or repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased by an amount determined by multiplying the difference between its factored base year value immediately before the misfortune or calamity and its assessed value in its damaged condition by the percentage of the repair, reconstruction, or restoration completed on that lien date.

When property is fully repaired, restored or reconstructed, its new taxable value shall be the lesser of (1) its full cash value, or (2) its factored base year value or its factored based year value as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (c) of section 70, of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. The new taxable value shall be enrolled on the lien date following completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Sec. 22-87. - Refund of taxes paid after reassessment.

Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due as determined pursuant to section 22-85, shall be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with section 5096) of Part 9, California Revenue and Taxation Code, as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the board of supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed pursuant to said Chapter 5.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84)

Secs. 22-88, 22-89. - Reserved.