Real Estate Reassessments in Pennsylvania
The property reassessment situation is anything but clear in Allegheny County. Currently the issue on whether the assessments can be moved to a new base year or any base year or whether the base year system is constitutional, has many implications for local property owners. A recent article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette described the current mess in front of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08249/909747-100.stm. If the 2002 base year is eliminated at some point and if base year assessments are found unconstitutional, you can expect to see a significant push state wide to raise local revenues by reassessing properties.
If you’d like to learn more about how the reassessment process works, 1-2-3 Law Group taped a free podcast with an experienced real estate attorney and a property appraiser last fall. Listen to this show further described below or many of our other free legal podcasts by visiting http://www.makinglaweasy.com/free-legal-resources/.
<strong>EPISODE 17</strong> - Making Sense of Real Estate Assessments. Listen to two experts, a real estate attorney with 34 years experience and a state certified real estate appraiser with 31 years of experience talk about the reassessment mess. What should you do? What do notices you might be receiving mean? Why is this happening? Recorded live on Jan. 10th, 2008 at 4PM.
For more information, call 1-2-3 Law Group at 1-877-7-123-LAW (529).
The Making Law Easy Show Episode 17: Making Sense of Real Estate Reassessments
Listen to an experienced real estate attorney with 34 years of experience and and state certified real estate appraiser with 31 years of real estate experience talk about the reassement mess. What should you do? What do notices you might be receiving mean? Why is this happening? Recorded live on January 10th, 2008 at 4PM. To listen in live call 724-444-7444 and enter password 64441 at 4PM. Otherwise look to our website at Legal Reources for a complete listing of all of 1-2-3 Law Group’s podcasts on many topics of law that individuals and small businesses encounter.
Recent Zoning Law Decisions
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Fernley v. Board of Supervisors of Schuylkill Township that when a zoning ordinance fails to allow a for a legitimate land use in the community, the local government must justify why the use is not permitted. If the municipality or borough cannot do so, exclusionary zoning exists. If a landowner proves exclusionary zoning, then he or she is entitled to relief. The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas said in Lamar Advertising Co., v. Forward Township Zoning Hearing Board, that Forward Township did not permit billboards anywhere in the Township, and no legitimate reason existed for the exclusion. Therefore, Lamar was entitled to site-specific relief and permitted to place erect their billboard.
If you are a land owner and are facing a zoning ordinance, you may be entitled to receive a legitimate reason for your exclusion from your local Township.. If you are facing a zoning ordinance, you should contact a real estate attorney to evaluate your situation versus the current state of the law.
Question: When Is A Variance Not A Variance? Answer: When Everybody Is Doing It.
You make an application for a building permit and the zoning officer turns you down. He cites a section of the municipal zoning ordinance which specifically prohibits what you want to do. He says you can apply to the zoning hearing board for a variance. Should you?
Ordinarily, a variance is granted when the ordinance imposes a hardship on the property owner - but not always. Sometimes building practices and styles have changed while the ordinance is never updated.
One local municipality’s zoning prohibited internal illumination of business signs. The objective was to have lights shining onto the sign, rather than from the sign toward adjoining properties. But over the years, variances were frequently being granted because the sign location made it impractical to mount a spotlight that would properly illuminate the sign. At the same time, sign technology improved and backlit signs became more aesthetically pleasing and easier on the eyes. By now, the overwhelming majority of signs in that municipality are internally lit. Nevertheless, a variance must still be obtained to get a building permit for a backlit sign.
If you are thinking about seeking a zoning variance, do an informal study of properties in your area. Note the address of every property nearby that appears to set a precedent for your proposed construction. If you wish, you can go to the zoning office and ask to look at the building permit files . Choose several of the most recent examples of the type of construction you wish to do. The inspector will tell you whether the owners needed a variance and what criteria were used in granting it.
Zoning appeals can be complicated and may involve legal principles. Unfortunately, this process may not always be user-friendly. This is why most landowners in zoning hearings are represented by lawyers. The board expects those appearing before it to be familiar with the ordinance and the applicable state law. Consulting a lawyer familiar with zoning, land development and construction law is always a good idea when contemplating an appeal.