ASPEN — Beginning May 1, a number of property owners throughout Pitkin County will receive a notice in the mail that the value of their land has changed according to the county assessor.

Those property owners who object to the new valuation will have until the end of May to file a protest with County Assessor Tom Isaac, who will set a hearing date to straighten it all out.

And, because 2008 is what Isaac called an “intervening” year, meaning the statewide, biannual revaluation of property does not take place, there will be only about 1,200 of those notices going out, rather than the 15,000 that will be sent for 2009.

By state law, the county must reassess all commercial and residential property every two years for tax purposes, and send a notice of the new valuation to the property owners. That happened in 2007 to a chorus of complaints and objections.

But in the intervening years, while the general revaluation is not an issue, property still can change in value for a variety of reasons, including everything from the construction of buildings to a change in use.

For that reason, Isaac said, the state has agreed that off-year notices are required only for those property owners whose property values have changed.

So, Isaac continued, if a property owner either gets a notice saying the value of his property has changed and believes the county is wrong, of if no notice arrives and the property owner is worried that it should have, “They can call my office, at 920-5160, or check our website at pitkinassessor.org.”

The assessor’s office used to send out notices to every property owner in the county, every year, whether it was a revaluation year or not. But two years ago, Isaac explained, state law changed regarding notices in intervening years.

Isaac said he saves the county taxpayers about $10,000 in postage and other costs in intervening years, by not sending notices to every property owner.

No matter which year it is, he added, he typically receives challenges to “about 10 percent” of the number of notices sent out, so he predicted that up to 120 property owners might file protests.

Although he was not sure what the tax implications of this year’s changes will be, he said, there are some commercial properties that came to his mind immediately as far as changes in valuation are concerned. Those included the Base Village redevelopment in Snowmass Village and the rash of new hotels being built in Aspen.

Plus, he said, “We’ve got some large dwellings out there ... in the West Buttermilk area.”

Still, in a county with a total valuation of $18 billion, he said, the changes are “minimal” when compared to what happens with the biennial revaluation.

jcolson@aspentimes.com