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HOA withdraws rehearing request after city clarifies lien pause for Laguna Street assessment
Summary
At a Sept. 18 Abatement Appeals Board meeting, an HOA representative withdrew a rehearing request for case 69262121 (Laguna Street) after staff said an appeal had paused placing a lien on this year’s property taxes but did not cancel the underlying assessment; the owner of record urged the board to consider the assessment’s financial burden on unit owners.
At the Abatement Appeals Board’s Sept. 18 meeting, the homeowner association’s representative withdrew its request for a rehearing in case 69262121 (Laguna Street) after city staff clarified that an appeal had temporarily paused placing a lien on this year’s property tax roll but had not voided the assessment.
Robert Caruso, who said he was representing the property management company and the HOA at 2121 Laguna, told the board that HOA members received emails from city staff indicating the property had been ‘‘removed from the lien cycle because an appeal was filed.’’ City staff responded that the city had held recording of the order when the appeal was filed, which prevented placement of the lien on this year’s property taxes but did not cancel the assessment itself.
The question before the board was whether the emails constituted new information that would have changed the board’s July decision. Caruso said HOA members had misread the emails and, after staff’s explanation, asked to withdraw the rehearing request. The board confirmed no formal vote was required to accept the withdrawal.
Catherine Seiler, listed on the agenda as the owner of record and an appellant and who addressed the board during public comment, said the matter dates back to a 2017 issue and that a complaint was filed in February 2018, a contract was signed in May 2019, assessments were billed in 2020, and work finished in July 2023. Seiler said her name appears on correspondence because her unit is the first listed on the assessor’s roll and that she fears the assessment — which she described as "so large" — will require owners to pay out of pocket.
Department staff explained how the city handles condominium assessments and notices: notices are mailed to the lowest unit number on the assessor list when HOAs lack registered mailing addresses, and if an assessment is placed on the lien cycle it is apportioned and recorded against all owners rather than making one unit responsible for the entire building.
The board recorded these clarifications on the record and moved on; no vote on the underlying assessment was taken at the meeting. Earlier in the session the board approved the minutes by voice vote and later adjourned at 9:59 a.m., planning to reconvene at 10:30 a.m. as the Building Inspection Commission.
