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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending Article 207, § 207.09 of the Administrative Code, entitled “Catastrophic loss,” by providing for procedures when a Declaration of Disaster Emergency is made by the County or State government, followed by a declaration of a Major Disaster by the Federal government.
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WHEREAS, Article 207, § 207.09 of the Administrative Code provides that property owners who have suffered catastrophic loss to their property may request a reduction in value from the Office of Property Assessment; and
WHEREAS, the term “catastrophic loss” is defined as any loss due to mine subsidence, fire, flood or other disaster which affects the physical state of the real property and which exceeds 50% of the market value of the real property prior to the loss; and
WHEREAS, the provisions within the Administrative Code have never been applied in an event such as the disaster that occurred on September 17, 2004, when adverse weather conditions caused the persons and property of Allegheny County to suffer injury, damage, and suffering; and
WHEREAS, the extent of damage in Allegheny County and other Pennsylvania counties led the President of the United States to declare a major disaster for Pennsylvania opening the way for the use of federal disaster funds to help people recover; and
WHEREAS, expediting the requests for catastrophic loss relief is necessary to further assist those property owners who were affected by the damage from the September 17, 2004 flood, warranting special procedures in the event of a large-scale event such as this.
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 207, § 207.09 of the Administrative Code, “Catastrophic loss,” is hereby amended by adding a new subsection “C” as follows:
C. Property owners who have suffered catastrophic loss to their real property as a result of a major disaster, as declared by the President of the United States, shall have six months from the date of the declaration to request a reduction in their property value. Such request shall be made by submission of the Catastrophic Loss form promulgated and distributed by the Office of Property Assessments and shall not require any supporting documentation if none is available.
1. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the request for a reduction due to catastrophic loss, the Office of Property Assessments shall send an assessor to the property to determine if the real property value has been diminished by 50% or more.
2. Within ten (10) days of the visit to the property, the Office of Property Assessments shall advise the property owner in writing of its decision regarding catastrophic loss.
3. Property owners who are dissatisfied with the new value of the property or who are denied a reduction in value due to catastrophic loss shall have thirty (30) days from the date of the determination of the new value or the denial of reduction.
4. The revised value of the property shall stand until such time that notice is given to the Office of Property Assessments by the municipality that a building permit for improvements or re-building has been issued and/or an occupancy permit has been issued for the property, at which time the property can be reassessed.
SECTION 2. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 3. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.