Forum details oversight on land tax break

County officials held a town hall meeting Monday for Albemarle residents seeking more information about the county’s new land use revalidation program.

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance last year — designed to make sure residents aren’t abusing the county’s land-use taxation program — which allows county officials to look over the shoulders of landowners who claim tax benefits for rural, undeveloped land.

“The point of revalidation is not to kick you out of land use,” County Assessor Bob Willingham told an audience of about six-dozen people on Monday, adding that the program aims simply to verify that those in the program actually qualify.

Many county residents get tax breaks on agricultural, horticultural, forestry or open space land, compared with fair market value. Those rural landowners are now being required to prove they actually qualify for the tax benefits by detailing how their property is being used — and county inspectors will visit properties for verification.

The program allows landowners to defer taxes on rural, undeveloped land as long as it remains such, as opposed to paying taxes on the property at fair market value. Landowners in the program still pay fair market value taxes for part of their property, such as their houses, yards and driveways.

At the first of two town hall meetings held by Willingham and Albemarle County Supervisor Kenneth C. Boyd, questions were answered about who qualifies, and how to fill out the county-issued revalidation form.

Revalidation forms are single pieces of paper that ask landowners about their land use, such as how much money they brought in from their crops in the past year.

Applicants will have until Sept. 1 to send their revalidation forms back to the county without a penalty. The forms could be sent to the county between Sept. 2 and Dec. 5 with a $125 fee. If the revalidation forms aren’t received by Dec. 5, participants will be purged from the program and required to pay back the money saved from the tax benefits over the past five years, plus interest, which could total thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Willingham has said that if a landowner applying for revalidation is close to complying with the land-use taxation requirements but not quite eligible, the county would work with that landowner to become compliant within a year. However, residents who are deemed far from qualified would be dropped from the program and required to pay back taxes, plus interest, within 30 days of the time they’re billed.

Landowners can go through an appeal process if they believe they are assessed unfairly.

Under the county ordinance, revalidation will occur every two years. Most localities that have land-use taxation programs already have a revalidation system in place.

Though some residents have questioned the fairness of the land-use taxation program, officials hope the revalidation process will help ensure residents that landowners are actually using their land for a use that qualifies them for the tax benefit, as opposed to wealthy people pretending their large properties are providing a community benefit.

Officials say the benefits of the county having such a program include promotion of farmland and well-maintained soil and water, as well as a reduction in suburban sprawl.

A second town hall meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday at the East Rivanna Fire Station at 3501 Steamer Drive in Keswick.