06-26-2020, 07:49 PM
1. When I applied for the homeowner exemption (by mail), the RPT guy took a description of my shack over the phone and assigned a value to it. As I've pointed out before: the person at the counter will give you different answers than the guy who opens the mail. It's almost as if RPT has many people on its staff, and each of them interpret the rules/requirements differently. Such as whether "accessory" requires a permitted "primary" use.
2. If you don't pull permits, RPT will eventually use aerial photos + Pictometry (for which we collectively pay $1M/year license fee) to determine square footage, then they assign a valuation and send a bill. This information is not volunteered to other departments. . RPT will show you the pictures if you ask nicely -- but make it clear you're just curious, or they will threaten to "re-evaluate" your homeowner exemption.
3. No matter how much property tax you pay or what kind of permits you have, you still live here, and you will be taxed on everything else. You could theoretically avoid all the taxation but it would require extensive infrastructure and lots of free time.
4. Chem-Tainer sells septic tanks for money, they don't ask for permits. You can install it yourself or pay a guy (cash). Because septic is below-ground, it can go in the setbacks. The local rule of thumb seems to be "at least 5 feet from the property line". Leach fields are small on the lava. I have a septic system. It works great.
5. Rules aren't based on what *you* are doing *now*, your property must be fully-compliant because someone else might live there later and do different things. Example: vegan lifestyle doesn't "need" a septic system, but maybe that vegan sells the house to a carnivore someday. Much in the way that a cell phone tower might fall over and crush theoretical children playing in a playground that could exist -- but a cell phone tower obviously won't fall over and crush people in the Foodland parking lot, because the laws of zoning override the laws of physics.
It comes down to this: do whatever you want, just don't piss anyone off. Major hassles are just a phone call away. Mostly. I can't get rid of the torched abandoned vehicles, hoping one of the neighbors has a backhoe or something to push them off the side of the road. We all pay the same fees -- in this case, a "roadway beautification" surcharge on my vehicle registrations -- but we don't all get the same services.
2. If you don't pull permits, RPT will eventually use aerial photos + Pictometry (for which we collectively pay $1M/year license fee) to determine square footage, then they assign a valuation and send a bill. This information is not volunteered to other departments. . RPT will show you the pictures if you ask nicely -- but make it clear you're just curious, or they will threaten to "re-evaluate" your homeowner exemption.
3. No matter how much property tax you pay or what kind of permits you have, you still live here, and you will be taxed on everything else. You could theoretically avoid all the taxation but it would require extensive infrastructure and lots of free time.
4. Chem-Tainer sells septic tanks for money, they don't ask for permits. You can install it yourself or pay a guy (cash). Because septic is below-ground, it can go in the setbacks. The local rule of thumb seems to be "at least 5 feet from the property line". Leach fields are small on the lava. I have a septic system. It works great.
5. Rules aren't based on what *you* are doing *now*, your property must be fully-compliant because someone else might live there later and do different things. Example: vegan lifestyle doesn't "need" a septic system, but maybe that vegan sells the house to a carnivore someday. Much in the way that a cell phone tower might fall over and crush theoretical children playing in a playground that could exist -- but a cell phone tower obviously won't fall over and crush people in the Foodland parking lot, because the laws of zoning override the laws of physics.
It comes down to this: do whatever you want, just don't piss anyone off. Major hassles are just a phone call away. Mostly. I can't get rid of the torched abandoned vehicles, hoping one of the neighbors has a backhoe or something to push them off the side of the road. We all pay the same fees -- in this case, a "roadway beautification" surcharge on my vehicle registrations -- but we don't all get the same services.