Ventura County assessment hearings: board grants wide set of continuances, schedules follow-ups for Oct. 19 and Nov. 9

The Ventura County Assessment Appeals Board on Monday moved dozens of appraisal appeals to later dates, largely to Oct. 19 and Nov. 9, 2026, to permit additional evidence exchange and allow the assessor time to vet late submissions. The board approved motions to continue agenda items after the clerk presented a consolidated list of applicants requesting later hearings and the assessor identified missing materials.

The board’s action covered a long series of commercial appeals — including filings by national property firms and self‑represented homeowners — with most continuances accompanied by “data provisos,” deadlines requiring applicants to submit outstanding materials 15, 30 or 45 days before the new hearing date. Renee, the clerk of the board, said the provisos were targeted to give the assessor “enough time to perform our reviews” and avoid last‑minute adjournments.

County assessor staff told the board they have been receiving pieces of complex submissions over long periods and asked for firm timelines. Assessor representative Joe Phillips said the office sometimes needs “45 days prior to the hearing” to complete analyses on large portfolios and to separate intangible business value from assessable real property.

Several prominent continuances were recorded: an applicant identified as Steven de Dire asked to move two appeals to Nov. 9 due to parallel litigation; Ryan LLC agents negotiated new dates for multiple client appeals in October and November while promising to deliver outstanding evaluation material; and several self‑represented taxpayers agreed to continuances after the assessor said more documentation was needed.

Board members repeatedly urged both sides to exchange evidence earlier in the process. A board member said she has “been concerned about… findings of fact” being delayed and requested staff clarify statutory timelines for producing written findings. County counsel and the clerk reminded the board that findings of fact must generally be issued within statutory windows after hearings and that unissued findings can affect the parties’ rights.

The board set the next status and hearing dates for groups of cases and required parties to adhere to the data deadlines where specified. Several items were continued without provision because stipulations were reportedly imminent, while other contested valuations were pushed to dates where the parties agreed to present fuller records.