Thursday, September 20, 2018

Westside Transect - Wildlife Zone

https://www.dfw.state.or.us/lands/whcmp/brochure.pdf

Email to Dwschutes County Assessor:

Future properties in this Transect Zone may be eligible since one of the major reasons is wildlife habitat protection.  


"Is my property eligible?
Each participating county or city has identified specific land use zones (exclusive farm use, mixed farm and forest use, or forest use) and/or significant wildlife habitat areas that are eligible for the program. Interested landowners should call the local planning or assessor's department to determine if their property is in an eligible area.  A county or city official needs to fill out a form provided by ODFW to certify that the property is eligible. The form is available at: www.dfw.state.or.us/lands/whcmp."

I am interested but not a landowner.  

My question to you:  Are the proposed Transect Properties in a program eligible area?
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Assessor Reply:
Wildlife Habitat Special Assessment under Oregon Law is permissible and has to be adopted by the county board of commissioners in a given county.  At this time the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners has adopted this program for two zones  -  Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) and Forest Use (F1 & F2).

Ok.  I will figure it out myself by looking at the transact properties zone classifications! The better question to ask is when the properties are developed what will be their zone classifications?  If they will not be EFU or F1 or F2 then the answer is they will not be eligible for the Wildlife Habitat Special Assessment.

The presentation of the Westside Transect as promoting the protection of wildlife in a housing development has the look and feel of the application for the assessment of property that the owner manages for the protection of wildlife.  See prior blog entry for that.

What if all future resident property owners in the Transect applied for and were granted that property assessment category.  That assessment rate is the same as applied to farm and forest?

The forest rate assessment per acre for 2018-19 Eastern Oregon Forestland Program  is at this link signed by Governor Brown: $79.38.
https://www.oregon.gov/DOR/programs/property/Documents/specially-assessed-forestland-values.pdf

What if all 717 acres of the Transect was assessed at this per acre rate for property tax computation of approximately .015% of $79.38 Multiplied by the number of acres owned?  The result?  An extremely low tax on the portion of the property claimed and managed for the benefit of wildlife.

It is the same low tax result as the less than $100 annual combined  tax on 3 same owner properties in the city of Bend with an assessor Market Value of $2.4 Million on Bachelor View Rd.

What will the future owners of the divvied up Transect actually pay per acre for the property upon which they build an expensive wooded estate?  I am sure the developers have a target sales price projection.

$250,000 per acre reasonable market value (?)  if lots be sold independently at a market price to individual owners who build on the property.  However:  There is more money to be had by the developer if they build?  In any event there is ultimately a county assessor assigned assessment value for the purpose of property tax computation.  If it is officially approved Wildlife Protection classified property acreage then any and all other assessment land values do not apply.  Only the official assessment value of $79.38 per acre.

$79.38 assessment value per acre compared to what if it was not classified as Wildlife Protection?  $100,000?  Ball Park?

What if the wooded estate taxlot is 5 acres.  1 acre for the house.  4 acres with a Wildlife designation because the owner does something (nothing if nobody checks on the promises made) to provide something special for the wildlife on their property.

4 acres X 79.38 assessment per acre X .015 est. tax rate = $4.76
4 acres at  $200,000 assessment  X .015 est tax rate = $3,000.00
4 acres at  $100,000 assessment X .015 est tax rate = $1,500.00

Whatever the assessed value if the taxlot is not classified as Wildlife Protection there is a substantial tax reduction value in having the Wildlife Protection Assessment.

Forest Category F1 and F2 are eligible for the the Wildlife Protection Program.




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