Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax And Greenbelt topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Landowner urges county to honor 2022 offer after Greenbelt reclassification and rollback taxes
Summary
Peter Jordan told commissioners he spent more than $20,000 on irrigation and grading improvements, was removed from Greenbelt and assessed rollback taxes, appealed in 2022 and asked the county to accept a prior settlement offer; commissioners directed staff (Adam and Rod) to assist him with abatement/proration paperwork and to help avoid tax-sale proceedings.
Peter Jordan, who identified himself in the transcript as living in San Joaquin, told the commission he and his family have invested in improvements to their farmland and are facing rollback taxes after a change in the parcel's tax classification.
Jordan said the property received a concrete irrigation ditch ("over $10,000" and later referred to as "actually over 12") and a laser-leveling treatment; he said the total improvements exceeded $20,000. He told the commission that a green-belt assessor reclassified the land as irrigated/tillable cropland after the improvements and applied rollback taxes and full-value taxation. Jordan said he appealed in 2022, made what he characterized as a fair offer to resolve the tax issue, and that the county initially told him to "wait and see" whether Greenbelt status would be restored. He told the board he wants the county to accept the prior offer from 2022.
Jordan cited provisions in what he described as the Farmland Assessment Act and said the statute permits waivers of production requirements when failure to meet production thresholds is "no fault or act of the owner," for example because of an unusually wet spring. He told the commission that the wet spring prevented planting and that the loss of production should not disqualify his parcel when bona fide range improvements or crop-rotation practices are present.
A commissioner responded that because Jordan's parcel is now back in Greenbelt there are more administrative options available, including prorating and abatement year by year, and suggested Jordan work with county staff. The commissioner directed Jordan to staff member Adam to complete the paperwork and to Rod (identified in the room as wearing a cream shirt) to help with tax-sale concerns. The transcript records the commissioners' commitment to try to work with Jordan but does not record a formal vote or an immediate policy decision; the matter appears to require follow-up by staff.
The exchange did not resolve whether the county will accept Jordan's 2022 offer; instead, commissioners recommended administrative follow-up to explore abatement and proration options now available because the parcel is back in Greenbelt.
