Greenbelt & Urban Farming

The Board of Equalization reviews appeals from property owners challenging Greenbelt or Urban Farming denials or rollback assessments with strict deadlines.

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Appealing Application Denials

The Board of Equalization hears appeals from property owners who feel the Assessor's office incorrectly denied their application to have their property assessed as either Greenbelt or Urban Farming.

APPLY

Appealing Rollbacks

In Utah County, a rollback appeal is a property owner's challenge to the Assessor's decision to impose a rollback tax following the removal of their property from Greenbelt or Urban Farming status. This tax is assessed when the property no longer qualifies for the significantly reduced agricultural valuation and recaptures deferred property taxes for a period of up to five years. 

GREENBELT ROLLBACK APPEALURBAN FARMING ROLLBACK APPEAL

Appeal Deadline

Property owners can app eal application denials or rollback tax assessments. Appeals must be filed with the Utah County Board of Equalization no later than 60 days from the date of the notice. Appeals may be filed up to 120 days after the date of the notice if additional conditions, set by the Utah State Tax Commission, are met. Contact the Utah County Tax Administration office for questions about filing an appeal.

Appeal deadlines are established by U.C.A. 59-2-516 for Greenbelt and U.C.A. 59-2-1713 for Urban Farming.

About the Greenbelt & Urban Farming Acts

Farmland Assessment (Greenbelt)

The Utah Farmland Assessment Act, often referred to as the "Greenbelt" law, is a law passed by the State of Utah in 1969. Prior to 1969, Utah farmland was assessed and taxed according to its market value. However, as Utah population centers began to expand into the surrounding agricultural property, the market value of agricultural property began to rise. This increased market value produced property taxes that made some farming operations economically prohibitive.

In 1969, the Utah Legislature passed the Utah Farmland Assessment Act, which provided for qualified agricultural property to be assessed and taxed on its productive value instead of its market value. The Farmland Assessment Act is found in the following body of Utah State Law:

Urban Farming

Small-scale urban farming has become more common in recent years a result of rapidly increasing population growth and urban development throughout Utah. In addition, only 3% of fruit and 2% of vegetables needed to sustain the population are locally produced and small-scale urban agriculture plays a vital role in the local food system (Kurtz, J.E. et al., 2020). The Urban Farming Act was established in 2012 to help small-acreage property owners receive a tax benefit for cultivating food and other marketable crops. The Urban Farming Assessment Act is found in the following body of Utah State Law: