2006 Code of Virginia § 58.1-3231 - Authority of counties, cities and towns to adopt ordinances; general reassessment following adoptio...

58.1-3231. Authority of counties, cities and towns to adopt ordinances;general reassessment following adoption of ordinance.

Any county, city or town which has adopted a land-use plan may adopt anordinance to provide for the use value assessment and taxation, in accordwith the provisions of this article, of real estate classified in 58.1-3230. The local governing body pursuant to 58.1-3237.1 may provide inthe ordinance that property located in specified zoning districts shall notbe eligible for special assessment as provided in this article. Theprovisions of this article shall not be applicable in any county, city ortown for any year unless such an ordinance is adopted by the governing bodythereof not later than June 30 of the year previous to the year when suchtaxes are first assessed and levied under this article, or December 31 ofsuch year for localities which have adopted a fiscal year assessment date ofJuly 1, under Chapter 30 ( 58.1-3000 et seq.) of this subtitle. Theprovisions of this article also shall not apply to the assessment of any realestate assessable pursuant to law by a central state agency.

Land used in agricultural and forestal production within an agriculturaldistrict, a forestal district or an agricultural and forestal district thathas been established under Chapter 43 ( 15.2-4300 et seq.) of Title 15.2,shall be eligible for the use value assessment and taxation whether or not alocal land-use plan or local ordinance pursuant to this section has beenadopted.

Such ordinance shall provide for the assessment and taxation in accordancewith the provisions of this article of any or all of the four classes of realestate set forth in 58.1-3230. If the uniform standards prescribed by theCommissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to 58.1-3230require real estate to have been used for a particular purpose for a minimumlength of time before qualifying as real estate devoted to agricultural useor horticultural use, then such ordinance may waive such prior userequirement for real estate devoted to the production of agricultural andhorticultural crops that require more than two years from initial plantinguntil commercially feasible harvesting.

In addition to but not to replace any other requirements of a land-use plansuch ordinance may provide that the special assessment and taxation beestablished on a sliding scale which establishes a lower assessment forproperty held for longer periods of time within the classes of real estateset forth in 58.1-3230. Any such sliding scale shall be set forth in theordinance.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of any county,city or town shall be authorized to direct a general reassessment of realestate in the year following adoption of an ordinance pursuant to thisarticle.

(Code 1950, 58-769.6; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 172; 1973, c. 209; 1974, c. 34;1975, c. 233; 1977, c. 681; 1978, c. 250; 1984, cc. 92, 675; 1987, c. 628;1988, c. 695; 1999, c. 1026; 2000, c. 410; 2001, c. 705.)