Ventura County assessment appeals board postpones multiple hearings, denies one for no-show

Ventura County Assessment Appeals Board members on June 30, 2025, postponed hearings for a series of property assessment appeals to Aug. 18 or Oct. 27, 2025, and denied application 23-10172 after the applicant did not respond to hearing notifications.

The continuances were routinely granted with a standard proviso from the assessor's office that any data requested by the assessor be provided at least 30 days before the rescheduled hearing date. Several applicants also signed or confirmed two‑year waivers where required to preserve their right to a continuance.

The hearing officer announced the board's disposition of the calendar and handled each application individually. For application 23-10172, the hearing officer said he had attempted to contact the applicant and received no response; a motion to deny was made on the record and entered as the action for that item. For other matters, applicants or their counsel requested postponements to allow time to gather evidence, coordinate site visits, or obtain new representation.

Joe Phillips, an assessor's office representative, repeatedly told the board the assessor supported continuances where additional data or field checks were outstanding. “We agree with the continuance,” Phillips said during multiple items.

Notable items and outcomes recorded on the record: - Application 23-10172: Denied for lack of applicant response. The hearing officer stated attempts to contact the applicant had failed and a motion to deny was made. - Application 23-10689 (Sandbloss Living Trust): Postponed to Aug. 18, 2025, at the applicant's request to allow an appraiser (Andrew Pineda) more time to process data; assessor agreed and indicated no proviso was necessary for that continuance. - Application 23-11081 (William Tomasi): Postponed to Oct. 27, 2025, with a proviso that any data requested by the assessor be provided at least 30 days before the hearing; Tomasi asked the assessor to forward requested information. - Application 23-11253 (Glenn Becerra): Postponed to Aug. 18, 2025, with assessor agreement; no data had been provided at the time of the hearing. - Application 23-11371 (revocable trust; condo complex on Warwick Avenue, Thousand Oaks): Postponed to Oct. 27, 2025; the assessor described the property as a condo complex with multiple first-time sales and below-code construction that requires review of the full complex rather than a single unit. - Application 23-11474 (Lynette Holly Lee / Yaylene): Postponed to Oct. 27, 2025, with a proviso that any data requested by the assessor be provided within 30 days of the hearing; the hearing officer asked whether the applicant would sign a two‑year waiver to allow the continuance, and the applicant agreed. - Application 23-11840 (Daniella Tamayo): Postponed to Aug. 18, 2025, with the 30‑day data proviso; the record also confirmed a two‑year waiver was on file for that application. - Application 24-10345: Postponed to Aug. 18, 2025, with the proviso that assessor-requested data be provided 30 days before the hearing. - Application 24-10535 (The Leavitt Trust): Postponed to Oct. 27, 2025; the assessor requested a site visit to review improvements and asked for a data proviso; counsel for the applicant (Robert Cooney) agreed to schedule the visit.

Several applicants who appeared by Zoom said they needed additional time due to travel, changes in representation, or outstanding correspondence with assessor staff (examples included William Tomasi and an applicant who said they were traveling internationally). The hearing officer consistently offered two reschedule options: Aug. 18, 2025, or Oct. 27, 2025, and recorded the chosen date and any data provisos on the record.

On the issue of waivers, the hearing officer explained that for some continuances the board requires a two‑year waiver measured from the original application date (one example cited the application date 09/15/2023); applicants agreed on the record when asked. The assessor's office repeatedly requested that any outstanding evidence be provided at least 30 days before the rescheduled hearing so appraisers could review submissions.

The board closed the session after completing the calendar. The next scheduled hearing dates referenced on the record were Aug. 18 and Oct. 27, 2025.

Meeting notes: when applicants requested continuances the assessor’s office frequently agreed; several matters required site visits or complex appraisal coordination (for example, the Thousand Oaks condo complex). One application was removed from the agenda earlier in the meeting because the applicant withdrew; that removal was announced during the agenda review portion of the record.