(a) Hearings before an assessment hearing officer shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 1601) governing equalization proceedings by a county board of equalization or an assessment appeals board. The assessment hearing officer may conduct hearings on applications where all of the following apply:

(1) The applicant is the assessee and has filed an application under Section 1603.

(2) For counties in which the board of supervisors has not adopted the provisions of Section 1641.1, the total assessed value of the property under consideration, as shown on the current assessment roll, does not exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000); or the property under consideration is a single-family dwelling, condominium or cooperative, or a multiple-family dwelling of four units or less regardless of value.

(3) The applicant has requested that the hearing be held before an assessment hearing officer.

(b) In addition to subdivision (a), the board of supervisors may, by resolution, require the assent of the assessor to hearings before an assessment hearing officer in all cases in which the total assessed value on the current roll of the property under consideration exceeds a sum set by the resolution. However, that requirement shall not apply in cases involving owner-occupied residential property.

(Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 164, Sec. 3. Effective July 24, 1995.)