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Board declines petition to rescind 2024 tax sale of California Pacific Land Trust parcel
Summary
The board rejected a request by a trustee to rescind the March 2024 county tax sale of APN 085013, finding statutory notice and procedures were followed; petitioner did not appear for the hearing.
Fresno County officials on March 25 denied a petition to rescind the county's March 2024 tax sale of APN 085013, a 40‑acre parcel linked to the California Pacific Land Trust.
Oscar Garcia, Fresno County Controller, Treasurer and Tax Collector, and Narayan Lang, chief of property taxes, presented the county's case to the board. They told supervisors the tax collector mailed notices, published sale notices and performed skip‑tracing as required under state law. Garcia and Lang said the county had evidence the trust and related addresses received multiple party‑of‑interest notices and that the property's ownership history showed repeated opportunities to pay or redeem taxes.
Lang told the board that notices were mailed on Jan. 26, 2024, within the 45–120 day window required by Revenue and Taxation Code section 3701, and that additional notices were sent after returned mail was identified through skip‑tracing. The staff presentation cited Revenue and Taxation Code section 4807 and other state rules that limit judicial actions to delay tax sales.
The petitioner, identified in filings as Bernard J. Austin (trustee and counsel for California Pacific Land Trust), did not appear at the hearing. County staff noted a stipulated final judgment recorded after the sale could not retroactively invalidate the sale. After public comment and staff presentations, a supervisor moved and the board voted to adopt staff's recommendation to deny the petition and not rescind the tax sale. The motion passed on a 5–0 vote with the board noting the petitioner’s absence.
Why it matters: Rescission of a tax sale can reverse ownership and disrupt titles; the board affirmed the county's tax sale procedures and preserved the recorded tax deed dated April 29, 2024, pending any separate legal action.
Details: County staff documented earlier redemptions and partial redemptions on the parcel in prior years and said the owner has an affirmative duty to pay taxes irrespective of whether a tax bill is received. The board noted that any recorded post‑sale judgments may affect distribution of excess proceeds but do not automatically invalidate a tax sale when statutory notice requirements have been met.
Speakers listed for this item included Oscar Garcia (Controller, Treasurer, Tax Collector) and Narayan Lang (Chief, Property Taxes). The petitioner Bernard J. Austin was noted in filings but did not appear.
