Current through Bulletin 2024-18, September 15, 2024
(1)
(a) "Railroad right of way" (RR-ROW) means a
strip of land upon which a railroad company constructs the road bed.
(b) RR-ROW within incorporated towns and
cities shall consist of 50 feet on each side of the main line main track,
branch line main track or main spur track. Variations to the 50-foot standard
shall be approved on an individual basis.
(c) RR-ROW outside incorporated towns and
cities shall consist of the actual right-of-way owned if not in excess of 100
feet on each side of the center line of the main line main track, branch line
main track, or main spur track. In cases where unusual conditions exist, such
as mountain cuts, fills, etc., and more than 100 feet on either side of the
main track is required for ROW and where small parcels of land are otherwise
required for ROW purposes, the necessary additional area shall be reported as
RR-ROW.
(2) Assessment
of nonoperating railroad properties. Railroad property formerly assessed by the
unitary method that has been determined to be nonoperating, and that is not
necessary to the conduct of the business, shall be assessed separately by the
local county assessor.
(3)
Assessment procedures.
(a) Properties charged
to nonoperating accounts are reviewed by the Property Tax Division, and if
taxable, are assessed and placed on the local county assessment rolls
separately from the operating properties.
(b) RR-ROW is considered operating and
necessary to the conduct and contributing to the income of the business. Any
revenue derived from leasing of property within the RR-ROW is considered
railroad operating revenues.
(c)
Real property outside of the RR-ROW that is necessary to the conduct of the
railroad operation is considered part of the unitary value. Some examples are:
(i) company homes occupied by superintendents
and other employees on 24-hour call;
(ii) storage facilities for railroad
operations;
(iii) communication
facilities; and
(iv) spur tracks
outside of RR-ROW.
(d)
Abandoned RR-ROW is considered nonoperating and shall be reported as such by
the railroad companies.
(e) Real
property outside of the RR-ROW that is not necessary to the conduct of the
railroad operations is classified as nonoperating and therefore assessed by the
local county assessor. Some examples are:
(i)
land leased to service station operations;
(ii) grocery stores;
(iii) apartments;
(iv) residences; and
(v) agricultural uses.
(f) RR-ROW obtained by government grant or
act of Congress is deemed operating property.
(4) Notice of Determination. It is the
responsibility of the Property Tax Division to provide a notice of
determination to the owner of the railroad property and the assessor of the
county where the railroad property is located immediately after such
determination of operating or nonoperating status has been made. If there is no
appeal to the notice of determination, the Property Tax Division shall notify
the assessor of the county where the property is located so that the property
may be placed on the roll for local assessment.
(5) Appeals. Any interested party who wishes
to contest the determination of operating or nonoperating property may do so by
filing a request for agency action within ten days of the notice of
determination of operating or nonoperating properties. Request for agency
action may be made pursuant to Title 63G, Chapter 4.
