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Resident Peter Jordan asks county for help after Greenbelt rollback and tax assessment
Summary
A Santaquin resident, Peter Jordan, described land improvements and a subsequent Greenbelt rollback that led to rollback taxes; county staff directed him to staff for options now that the parcel is back in Greenbelt.
Peter Jordan of Santaquin told the Utah County Commission (meeting date not specified in the transcript) that recent improvements to his farmland and a wet spring left the parcel temporarily unable to meet production standards, after which county assessors removed Greenbelt (agricultural) classification and applied rollback taxes.
Jordan described investing more than $12,000 to install a concrete irrigation ditch and having the parcel laser leveled; he said overall improvements exceeded $20,000. He said the year after the work he had no planting in the fall (to protect the laser grade) and that a very wet spring that followed prevented production. Jordan told commissioners and staff that an assessor later classified the parcel as irrigated cropland based on the visible improvements and then removed the parcel from Greenbelt for a prior year’s production level.
Jordan said he appealed in 2022 and that the property was later returned to Greenbelt when it was leased and actively farmed. He said the county was seeking “30 something thousand dollars” in rollback taxes and that he had hired an attorney previously to pursue a resolution. Jordan requested the commission accept an offer he said he was prepared to pay to resolve the tax matter.
County staff and the dais responded by identifying administrative options now that Jordan’s parcel is back in Greenbelt. A county representative advised that, because the parcel has been returned to Greenbelt, staff can pursue year-by-year prorations and abatements and assist with filing the necessary forms. The county referred Jordan to Adam (county staff) for help filling out forms and to Rod (county staff in the audience) for tax-sale questions and to avoid tax-sale while the matter is resolved.
No formal action was taken by the commission on Jordan’s request during the meeting; staff were directed to assist him with paperwork and with guidance on avoiding tax sale while the status is reviewed.
