Summit Assessments

State law requires the assessor to classify land on the basis of use. Classification affects the assessed value.

Eight statutory classifications for real property:

Residential (Class 1) – sec. 70.32(2)(c)3., Wis. Stats.

» Any parcel (or part of a parcel) of untilled land not suitable for the production of row crops, on which a dwelling or other form of human abode is located

» Vacant land where the most likely use is residential development

» Mobile homes assessed as real property are classified as residential

» Apartment buildings of up to three units are also classified as residential

Commercial (Class 2)

» Land and improvements primarily devoted to buying and reselling goods

» Includes the providing of services in support of residential, agricultural, manufacturing and forest uses • Manufacturing (Class 3)

» State law (sec. 70.995, Wis. Stats.), provides for the state assessment of manufacturing property

» Contact the Manufacturing Bureau District Office for information on qualifying uses

Agricultural (Class 4)

» State law (sec. 70.32(2)(c)1g., Wis. Stats.), describes this as "land, exclusive of buildings and improvements, which is devoted primarily to agricultural use"

» Land devoted primarily to the production of crops (excluding forestry operations) or the keeping, grazing, or feeding of livestock for the sale of livestock or livestock products

» Buildings and dwellings associated with growing, production and associated services are classified as "Other" (Class 7)

» Agricultural Assessment Guide for Wisconsin Property Owners provides classification examples

Undeveloped (Class 5) – sec. 70.32(2)(c)4., Wis. Stats.

» Areas commonly called marshes, swamps, thickets, bogs or wet meadows

» Fallow tillable land (assuming agricultural use is the land’s highest and best use)

» Road right-of-way, ponds and depleted gravel pits

» Land because of soil or site conditions is not producing or capable of producing commercial forest product

Agricultural forest (Class 5m)

» Under state law (sec. 70.32(2)(c)1d, Wis. Stats.), defines agricultural forest as land producing or is capable of producing commercial forest products, if the land satisfies any of the following:

- Forest land is contiguous to a parcel that is classified in whole as agricultural land. The forest land and the contiguous agricultural parcel must have the same owner. Contiguous includes separated only by a road.

- Forest land is located on a parcel containing agricultural land for the January 1, 2004 assessment and on January 1 of the current assessment year

- Forest land is located on a parcel where at least 50 percent of the acreage was converted to agricultural land for the January 1, 2005 assessment year or thereafter

» Agricultural Assessment Guide for Wisconsin Property Owners provides classification examples

Productive forest land (Class 6) – sec. 70.32(2)(c)2., Wis. Stats.

» Land producing or capable of producing commercial forest products. Forest land cannot include buildings and improvements.

» Forested areas that are managed or set aside to grow tree crops for "industrial wood" or to obtain tree products (ex: sap, bark, seeds)

» Forested areas with no commercial use made of the trees, including cutover

» Cherry orchards, apple orchards and Christmas tree plantations are classified as agricultural property

» Lands designated Forest Crop Land and Managed Forest Land by the Department of Natural Resources are entered separately in the assessment roll » Improvements on Forest Crop Lands and Managed Forest Land must be listed as personal property under state law (sec. 77.04(1) and sec. 77.84, Wis. Stats.)

» Forested areas primarily held for hunting, trapping or in the operation of game preserves, must be classified as forest, unless clearly operated as a commercial enterprise or exempt

Other (Class 7) – sec. 70.32(2)(c)1m., Wis. Stats.

Buildings and improvements on a farm (ex: houses, barns and silos along with the land necessary for their location and convenience)