Graber v. Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals

30 Pa. D. & C.5th 129
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County
DecidedApril 13, 2013
DocketNo. 12-2051
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Pa. D. & C.5th 129 (Graber v. Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Graber v. Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals, 30 Pa. D. & C.5th 129 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

LASH, J.,

— The appellants, Randall S. Graber and Patricia L. Graber, husband and wife, (hereinafter “landowners”), have appealed the decision of the Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals (hereinafter “board”) directing a rollback from the preferential use assessment to fair market value assessment of real estate owned by landowners, pursuant to the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974 (Act 319), commonly known as the Clean and Green Act, 72 P.S. § 5490.1, et seq., (hereinafter “Clean and Green Act”). In directing the rollback, the board issued a notice setting forth that the breach was “due to a non-owner occupied business.”

Landowners challenged the board’s determination, arguing that landowners never applied for, nor intended, the business portion of the property to be included in preferential assessment. Subsequently, landowners amended their appeal to include a claim that the contents [131]*131of the notice of breach were insufficient, and that the preferential assessment was improperly terminated prior to granting landowners a hearing.

This court bifurcated the issues and heard testimony on the issue of notice on April 18,2013. This Court enters the following findings of fact:

I.FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The appellants are Randall S. Graber and Patricia L. Graber, husband and wife, (hereinafter “landowners”), adult individuals whose mailing address is 2285 Farmington Avenue, Boyertown, Berks County, Pennsylvania 19512.

2. Appellee, Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals (hereinafter “board”), is an agency of the County of Berks, with a principal place of business located in the Berks County Services Center, Third Floor, 633 Court Street, Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania 19601.

3. Landowners are the record owners of real estate located at 2285/2289 Farmington Avenue, Douglass Township, Boyertown Area School District, Berks County, Pennsylvania, (hereinafter “property”).

4. The property consists of approximately 21.19 acres of land improved with a commercial building and detached improvements. The parcel number for the property is 41-5386-11-56-1592.

5. The property was transferred to Landowners by deed dated January 12, 2007, and recorded in the Office of the Berks County Recorder of Deeds on January 19,2007, in Record Book 5058, Page 1754.

6. The previous owner of the Property, William E. [132]*132Brady, had applied for andreceivedpreferential assessment under the Clean and Green Act. Mr. Brady’s application was executed on February 10, 2004, and was recorded in the Berks County Recorder of Deeds Office on February 18, 2004, in book 4106, page 1295.

7. Landowners made application for preferential assessment under the Clean and Green Act by executing an application on February 13, 2007 (hereinafter “2007 application”), which was recorded in the Office of the Berks County Recorder of Deeds on February 26, 2007, in book 5080, page 0673.

8. The 2007 application sets forth, among other things, that the net acreage of the property is 21.190. The application stated that the use of the property qualifying it for preferential assessment was “agricultural reserve.” The application states that “16” acres was “forested or woodland” and “4” acres was used for a business, a “fishing pond.”

9. Landowners utilized the business acreage for several businesses, including leasing space to a third party to operate a restaurant, residential leasing, providing a private fishing area known as “Fishermen’s Paradise,” and selling bait. Landowners believe that the business uses are the same or similar uses as conducted by the previous owner.

10. The property was accepted into the Clean and Green program. According to representatives of the Berks County Assessment Office, the office considered the business uses as a “rural enterprise,” allowing 2 of the 4 acres to be given preferential assessment.

11. Subsequently, the Tax Assessment Office made a determination that landowners had breached the provisions [133]*133of the Clean and Green Act and issued a notice. The notice:, dated August 12, 2011, set forth: “Due to a non-owner occupied business, the agreement covering this tract has been breached.” No other reasons for the alleged breach were given The notice also established the tax rollback penalty with interest for the seven (7) preceding years at twelve thousand eight hundred seventy-eight dollars and twenty-four cents ($12,878.24).

12. Upon receiving this notice, landowners filed a new application for preferential assessment, this application being dated September 13, 2011 (hereinafter “2011 application”). In the 2011 application, the net acreage is again set at 21.19. The preferential use is listed as “forest reserve,” with 17 acres being forested. The business use is again listed as a “fishing pond,” with the business acreage being listed at “17,” determined to be a typographical error.1 The application also sets forth “list net acreage not to be considered: 4 acres containing the buildings are not to be included. This is the only property to be excluded; therefore, no map/survey is attached.”

13. Landowners duly filed an appeal of the notice of breach to the board. Following a hearing held on December 19, 2011, the board notified landowners of its decision to uphold the breach on the property. Landowners then appealed to common pleas court.

II. DISCUSSION

In Melcher v. Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals, 104 Berks County Law Journal 331 (2012), this Court similarly reviewed the sufficiency of a notice of [134]*134breach of the covenant for preferential tax assessment. In determining that the notice was fundamentally defective and violated Ms. Melcher’s due process rights, this court stated then and reiterates here:

Section 5490.3(d)2 of the Clean and Green Act requires governmental assessment authorities to provided notice to a landowner before terminating preferential assessment, providing, in pertinent part:
(d) The county board of assessment appeals may not terminate preferential assessment of land previously determined by the board to qualify for preferential assessment without:....
(2) written notice under section 5(a)(2)3 from the county assessor to the landowner that preferential assessment is to be terminated, stating the reason for such termination and the opportunity for a hearing under Section 9.4
This provision affords a landowner reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard and as such is a mandated protection of a landowner’s constitutional due process rights. See Close v. Berks County Board of Assessment, 839 A.2d 462, 464-466 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2003). See also Section 553 of the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S. Section 553.

Id. 332-33.

As landowners urge, the notice provides very little information on the reason for the termination, stating only [135]

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Related

Close v. Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals
839 A.2d 462 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
30 Pa. D. & C.5th 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graber-v-berks-county-board-of-assessment-appeals-pactcomplberks-2013.