Notwithstanding any other contrary provisions of law, the city legislative body may by ordinance provide that every person of the city who on the lien date of any year was the owner of, or had in his possession, or under his control, any taxable improvement, which improvement was thereafter destroyed without his fault by fire or by any other means prior to July 31 of that year and cannot be thereafter rebuilt because of a zoning prohibition, may on or before a date to be specified in such ordinance make application for the reassessment of such improvement and deliver to the assessing official of the city a written statement under oath, accompanied by a certificate of a disinterested competent person or authority showing the condition and value, if any, of the improvement immediately after the destruction, and that the assessor shall, on or before October 31 of that year, assess the improvement, or reassess it if it has already been assessed, according to the condition and value immediately after the destruction and upon such notice as it may find to be proper the board of equalization for the city may, until November 30 of that year, equalize any such assessment or reassessment. It may also be provided in such ordinance that the tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the improvement so assessed appears or the improvement so reassessed appeared at the time of its original assessment shall be applied to the amount of equalized assessment or reassessment determined in accordance with this section. In the event that the resulting figure is less than the tax theretofore computed, the ordinance may provide that the taxpayer shall be liable for tax only for the lesser amount and that the difference shall be canceled. If the taxpayer has already paid the tax previously computed, the ordinance may provide that such difference shall be refunded to the taxpayer. This section shall be applicable to all cities to which the Constitution does not prevent it from being applied.
(Amended by Stats. 1966, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 147.)