Cantina Grill, JV v. City & County of Denver County Board of Equalization ex rel. Pumilla

2012 COA 154, 292 P.3d 1144, 2012 WL 4021510, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1490
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 13, 2012
DocketNo. 11CA2270
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2012 COA 154 (Cantina Grill, JV v. City & County of Denver County Board of Equalization ex rel. Pumilla) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cantina Grill, JV v. City & County of Denver County Board of Equalization ex rel. Pumilla, 2012 COA 154, 292 P.3d 1144, 2012 WL 4021510, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1490 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge ROY.

11 In this property tax case, plaintiffs, food and beverage concessionaires at Denver International Airport (DIA) and holders of possessory interests in real property owned by the City and County of Denver (the City), appeal the trial court's judgment affirming the valuation of those possessory interests as assessed by defendants, the City and County of Denver County Board of Equalization (the Board) and the County Assessor. We affirm.

I. Background

T2 Plaintiffs (concessionaires) serve food and beverages to the traveling public at DIA. The City is the owner of the real estate and improvements at DIA and operates the airport through its Department of Aviation. Because DIA is owned by the City, it is exempt from ad valorem taxation.

T3 Among them, concessionaires operate eleven concessions pursuant to virtually identical agreements with the City, the terms of which are not in dispute. While there may be other distinctions, the individual concessionaires have possession of spaces which house their operations, together with: (1) seating accommodations for the customers (a restaurant or lounge); or (2) a shared common area with seating accommodations for the customers (food court); or (8) no customer seating accommodation (vendor).

T 4 In 2002, the City began assessing concessionaires for their exclusive possessory interests in tax-exempt property in accordance with our supreme court's holding in Board of County Commissioners v. Vail Associates, Inc., 19 P.3d 1263 (Colo.2001), and valuing those interests in accordance with section 39-1-103(17)(a2), C.R.8.2011.

15 In May 2010, concessionaires received notices of valuation for ad valorem property tax purposes for their respective spaces. Concessionaires contested the valuations by unsuccessfully petitioning the Board. Concessionaires then sought review in the trial court pursuant to section 89-8-108(1), C.R.S. 2011.

T6 The trial court conducted a trial de novo at which concessionaires argued that (1) section 39-1-108(17)(a)(II)(A) and (B), C.R.S. 2011, are unconstitutional; (2) their possesso-ry interests are not taxable under Vail Associates; and (8) even if the possessory interests are taxable, the City did not follow the valuation procedures dictated by the statute. Following trial, the trial court entered its findings of fact and conclusions of law and [1148]*1148rejected concessionaires' claims. sionaires now appeal that judgment. Conces-

II. Statutory Background and the Vail Associates Test

T7 A "possessory interest" is a right to possess and use property that is less than the substantial equivalent of complete ownership. See Mesa Verde Co. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs, 178 Colo. 49, 51-52, 495 P.2d 229, 230-31 (1972).

8 In 1996, the General Assembly adopted what is now section 39-1-108(17), C.R.S.2011, which provides for valuation of possessory interests in exempt properties, and declared that (1) "the valuation of possessory interests in exempt properties is uncertain and highly speculative" and (2) it is necessary to provide specific standards for appraising possessory interests for tax purposes "to eliminate the potential for unjust and unequalized valuations."

19 As pertinent here, section 39-1-108(17)(a)(IID)(A), C.R.S.2011, states:

Except for possessory interests in land leased or permitted for use for ski area recreational purposes valued in accordance with subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) and except as otherwise provided in sub-paragraph (III) of this paragraph (a), the actual value of a possessory interest in land, improvements, or personal property shall be determined by appropriate consideration of the cost approach, the market approach, and the income approach to appraisal. When the cost or income approach to appraisal is applicable, the actual value of the possessory interest shall be determined by the present value of the reasonably estimated future annual rents or fees required to be paid by the holder of the possessory interest to the owner of the underlying real or personal property through the stated initial term of the lease or other instrument granting the possesso-ry interest....

{10 Further, pursuant to section 39-1-103(17)(a)(II)(B), C.R.S.2011:

The rents or fees taken into account under the cost or income approach to appraisal under sub-subparagraph (A) of this sub-paragraph (I1) shall exelude that portion of the rents and fees required to be paid for all rights other than the exclusive right to use and possess the land, improvements, or personal property. Such rents or fees to be excluded shall include, but shall not be limited to, any portion of such rents or fees attributable to any of the following: Nonexclusive rights to use and possess public property, such as roads, rights-of-way, easements, and common areas....

{11 However, the General Assembly provided that section 89-1-108(17) would become effective only if our supreme court determined that the Colorado Constitution requires that possessory interests in tax exempt property be taxed. Ch. 297, see. 4, § 39-1-1083(17), 1996 Colo. Sess. Laws 1582. Section 39-1-108(17), therefore, became effective in 2001 when our supreme court so determined in Vail Associates. See 19 P.3d at 1280.

€ 12 In Vail Associates, the supreme court held that a ski resort's possessory interest in tax exempt federal land was taxable provided that the possessory interest satisfied a three-pronged test demonstrating significant incidents of private ownership as determined by the possessor's right to possession, use, enjoyment, and profits of the property. Id. at 1278-79. The test announced in Vail Associates is that, to be taxable, the possessory interest must be such that (1) it provides a revenue-generating capability to the private possessor independent of the government property owner; (2) the private owner is able to exclude others from making the same use of the interest; and (8) the private ownership is of sufficient duration to realize a private benefit. Id.

III. Constitutionality of the Statute

" 13 Concessionaires first contend that seetion 39-1-108(17)(a)(II)(A) and (B) are unconstitutional. Specifically, they argue that the statute is unconstitutionally vague, both on its face and as applied to them, and that its provisions are unconstitutionally over-broad. We address and reject each contention in turn.

[1149]*1149A. Standard of Review

114 Our review of challenges to the constitutionality of a statute is de novo. People v. Villa, 240 P.3d 343, 352 (Colo.App.2009) (citing Hinojos-Mendoza v. People, 169 P.3d 662, 668 (Colo.2007)).

115 We presume that statutes are constitutional, and the party challenging a statute bears the burden of showing otherwise. E-470 Public Highway Auth. v. Revenig, 91 P.3d 1038, 1041 (Colo.2004).

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2012 COA 154, 292 P.3d 1144, 2012 WL 4021510, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1490, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cantina-grill-jv-v-city-county-of-denver-county-board-of-equalization-coloctapp-2012.