Commission approves Ridge Rising item but requires Greenbelt reapplication before deferral

Utah County commissioners on Aug. 16 approved procedural action on an application involving Ridge Rising while making clear the property owner must reapply for Greenbelt status before the county will consider a tax deferral or abatement.

Adam Beck of the County Attorney’s Office told the commission that county records show the parcel was rolled back on Dec. 14, 2022, and that assessor notes indicate no eligible agricultural production at the time. Beck and Ben Stanley, also with the county attorney’s office, said that a rollback sustained by the Board of Equalization removes Greenbelt status and that requalification typically requires two consecutive years of documented agricultural production.

A Ridge Rising representative, recorded in the meeting as Andrew Bybee, disputed the rollback. Bybee said the owners have held the land since February 2013, that it went into Greenbelt when acquired and was farmed until a loss of irrigation in 2019, and that they subsequently added cattle and other measures to maintain agricultural use. “We have been in Greenbelt since 02/2013,” the representative said, arguing the parcel meets the practical test for agricultural production.

County attorneys and staff responded that images and assessor notes in the packet show production was not documented as of the rollback date and that bringing animals or resuming farming after a rollback does not automatically restore Greenbelt status. Ben Stanley explained that an owner whose parcel is rolled back must reestablish two years of production and submit an application to be considered for reinstatement; only after Greenbelt status is restored can the commission consider a multi‑year deferral and abatement.

Commissioners laid out the practical effect: if the owner restores Greenbelt status and the abatement application is revived, the typical deferral/abatement agreement lasts five years with one‑fifth of the rollback abated each year the parcel remains on Greenbelt. County staff said the deferral does not require immediate payment of the rollback at the time the agreement is signed; if the owner stays on Greenbelt for five years the assessed rollback may be abated according to the established schedule.

The commission voted 3–0 to approve item 30 as presented and to allow Ridge Rising to resubmit or reactivate its application once the Greenbelt determination is made. Commissioners and staff encouraged the owners to file the Greenbelt application promptly and to provide documentation (receipts, tax records, dated photos and other evidence of production) to the Greenbelt analyst, Diane Garcia, to support reinstatement.

The commission’s action resolves the immediate agenda motion but does not change the county’s technical finding that the parcel was rolled back in December 2022; any abatement remains contingent on the owner proving Greenbelt eligibility and completing the county’s application process.