Developer fees are one source of revenue to the city but property taxes paid by both developers and land speculators are another source of city revenue that deserves some attention. Attention to what is not payed.
Some developers and speculators owning larger acreage properties within the city are paying property taxes on a Deschutes County assessed value of their property of $77.07 per acre. For example this privately owned but developer associated bare land taxlot:
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/183021
Real Market Value: $493,510.00
Assessed Value: $633.00
2017 tax: $28.57
Acreage: 8.22
Overhead view of the property: https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/183021
2017 tax $28.57? How is that done? Declare under penalty of false swearing that "the primary purpose of the land is to grow trees for timber to be sold on the commercial market" and get that approved by the Deschutes County Assessor.
Really? Growing trees in the city for the purpose of sale as timber?
Land speculation and development is where the money and purpose really is.
Property without the Designated Forestland classification would be taxed at a much higher assessment than $633.00 for 8.22 acres. This property has been taxed at that low rate annually since 1996
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/TaxInformation/183021
A property across the street has only 1.99 acres of Designated Forestland plus a house on 1 acre. In computing the property tax total for the property the County Assessor assigns the 1.99 acres a assessment land value of 77.07 per acre.
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Index/169808
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Improvements/169808
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/169808
Their neighbor gets a 77.07 tax assessment per acre on 3.58 acres of Designated Forestland. https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Index/244558
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Improvements/244558
Look at all the trees on the property to be harvested for timber that the owner declared under penalty was the purpose of the land use.
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/244558
Ready to cut now? Enjoy the view of stumps. A professional tree cutter told me that the owner would have to pay anyone to cut those few trees not get payment for them. In addition the usual rate for stump grinding is $100 per stump.
This is only an an example of more than a 100 acres of land within the city declared to be used for the primary purpose of planting and growing trees on a minimum of two acres that has been granted the tax classification of Designated Forestland and assessed at a value of $77.07 per acre. There is even more in the UGB. This for example:
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Index/158158
43.69 acres taxed $136.56 because the trees are going to be harvested for timber some day?
Look at the overhead view of the property and count the trees!
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/158158
I call it a tax evasion scam for the benefit of a few at the expense of the many.
What they don't pay we do in one way or the other.
City code states that "timber agriculture" is a non-permitted land use in a residential zoned area of the city. Makes sense. I brought this to the attention of the Bend City Manager but the Code Enforcement section did not find it to be a violation.
The Deschutes County Assessor property records are public documents at DIAL
https://dial.deschutes.org/ There are many ways to access them. The interactive map button on the first page is a good way to look around the city from a tax point of view. Clicking on any property on the map takes you to the property record. Interesting things to find there.
Some developers and speculators owning larger acreage properties within the city are paying property taxes on a Deschutes County assessed value of their property of $77.07 per acre. For example this privately owned but developer associated bare land taxlot:
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/183021
Real Market Value: $493,510.00
Assessed Value: $633.00
2017 tax: $28.57
Acreage: 8.22
Overhead view of the property: https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/183021
2017 tax $28.57? How is that done? Declare under penalty of false swearing that "the primary purpose of the land is to grow trees for timber to be sold on the commercial market" and get that approved by the Deschutes County Assessor.
Really? Growing trees in the city for the purpose of sale as timber?
Land speculation and development is where the money and purpose really is.
Property without the Designated Forestland classification would be taxed at a much higher assessment than $633.00 for 8.22 acres. This property has been taxed at that low rate annually since 1996
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/TaxInformation/183021
A property across the street has only 1.99 acres of Designated Forestland plus a house on 1 acre. In computing the property tax total for the property the County Assessor assigns the 1.99 acres a assessment land value of 77.07 per acre.
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Index/169808
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Improvements/169808
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/169808
Their neighbor gets a 77.07 tax assessment per acre on 3.58 acres of Designated Forestland. https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Index/244558
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Improvements/244558
Look at all the trees on the property to be harvested for timber that the owner declared under penalty was the purpose of the land use.
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/244558
Ready to cut now? Enjoy the view of stumps. A professional tree cutter told me that the owner would have to pay anyone to cut those few trees not get payment for them. In addition the usual rate for stump grinding is $100 per stump.
This is only an an example of more than a 100 acres of land within the city declared to be used for the primary purpose of planting and growing trees on a minimum of two acres that has been granted the tax classification of Designated Forestland and assessed at a value of $77.07 per acre. There is even more in the UGB. This for example:
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/Index/158158
43.69 acres taxed $136.56 because the trees are going to be harvested for timber some day?
Look at the overhead view of the property and count the trees!
https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/158158
I call it a tax evasion scam for the benefit of a few at the expense of the many.
What they don't pay we do in one way or the other.
City code states that "timber agriculture" is a non-permitted land use in a residential zoned area of the city. Makes sense. I brought this to the attention of the Bend City Manager but the Code Enforcement section did not find it to be a violation.
The Deschutes County Assessor property records are public documents at DIAL
https://dial.deschutes.org/ There are many ways to access them. The interactive map button on the first page is a good way to look around the city from a tax point of view. Clicking on any property on the map takes you to the property record. Interesting things to find there.
Along the chain of development a lot of money is involved in the housing market between large bare land acreage and a small portion of it on which a house is built. Free private enterprise profits. It pays its just dues in taxes to the county and fees to the city that ultimately support Bend infrastructure and services.
That is the big picture scheme of things that gets quickly complex to follow down a road on which everyone has some stake holding interest.
One way it to take an example and follow it from beginning to end. I chose the lots and houses on Mt. Thielsen Drive and the large bare land property next to it that is yet to be developed.
What is a fair share for private sector development to contribute to our local public sector infrastructure and services? Houses are only one of the things being developed in Bend. After a new home is sold the owner they pick up the burden of property taxes we all share. Before then developers make an advance contribution to the public sector in fees and often taxes to support the cost of additional infrastructure and services and pass it on to the final home owner.
This overhead view shows the Mt. Thielsen Drive: https://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap/183021
The owner of the large property in red previously owned the lots now identified as Three Pines on Mt. Thielsen Drive to the west.
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