Norwegian Township v. Schuylkill County Board of Assessment Appeals

74 A.3d 1124, 2013 WL 4046669, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 325
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 12, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 74 A.3d 1124 (Norwegian Township v. Schuylkill County Board of Assessment Appeals) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Norwegian Township v. Schuylkill County Board of Assessment Appeals, 74 A.3d 1124, 2013 WL 4046669, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 325 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

OPINION BY

Judge McCULLOUGH.

The Board of Assessment Appeals of Schuylkill County (Board) appeals the August 28, 2012 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County (trial court) reversing the decision of the Board and determining that the property owned by Norwegian Township (Township) bearing Tax Parcel No. 20-06-0027 (Property) is exempt from real estate taxes. We affirm.

Background

On August 6, 2007, Community Banks, N.A. (Community Banks) transferred the Property to the Township for $1.00. (Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 31a.) On March 1, 2012, Schuylkill County sent a notice to the Township notifying the Township of municipal/county and school district tax liability for the Property. (Id.) The Township appealed to the Board, which held a hearing on May 8, 2012. (R.R. at 52a.) By order dated May 9, 2012, the Board affirmed its tax assessment of the [1127]*1127Property based on fair market value. (Id.) On June 8, 2012, the Township appealed the tax assessment of the Board to the trial court challenging the Property’s tax-exempt status.

On July 12, 2012, the trial court held a hearing on the Township’s tax assessment appeal. The parties stipulated to and the Board admitted the tax record card reflecting the Property’s assessed fair market value of $49,010.00. (Notes of Testimony (N.T.) at 3-4; R.R. at 31a.)

Leo John Grace (Grace), a supervisor and clerk for the Township, testified that Community Banks transferred the Property to the Township in 2007. Grace testified that the Township applied for grant money in 2007, and has been unsuccessfully applying ever since, to build a playground on the Property, but no funds were or are available. (N.T. at 5-6.) Grace stated that “since there is no grant money available ... we’ve been cleaning it and cutting trees, and we’re going to put some park benches in there, people from [the Township] can actually go sit until [grant] money does become available.” (N.T. at 6.) Grace added that the Township has also removed debris from the Property. (N.T. at 6-7.)

Grace further testified that there is complete access to the Property “for about ... three quarters of it, of the [Property, and we plan on doing the rest.” (N.T. at 7.) Grace stated that the Property is included in the Township’s maintenance program to cut the grass and clean up after storms “maybe three times a month, same as [the Township does] with the [other] playgrounds.” (Id.) Lastly, Grace asserted that the Township has applied for grants “several times through Amtek Engineering” and has spent thousands of dollars to make the Property open for public use. (N.T. at 17.) At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court kept the record open for the Township to submit photographs of the Property. (N.T. at 21-22.)

By opinion and order dated August 28, 2012, the trial court held that the Property was exempt from real estate taxes. The trial court noted that, while the burden for establishing tax exemption is usually on the taxpayer under the general rule that all real estate is taxable, the taxing authority has the burden of proof when establishing tax liability for government-owned property. Relying on Granville Township v. Board of Assessment Appeals of Mifflin County, 900 A.2d 1012 (Pa.Cmwlth.2006), the trial court stated that property acquired by a township is presumed to be immune from taxation unless there is evidence presented that the property is being used for a non-governmental purpose. The trial court also stated that, under Senior Citizen Health Care Council v. Board of Tax Assessment Appeals of Erie County, 678 A.2d 430 (Pa.Cmwlth.1996), if a township has made a good-faith effort to develop a property it owns for its intended use, then the property is tax-exempt. (Trial court op. at 1-3.)

The trial court determined that the Property was tax-exempt under Article VIII, section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution 1 and section 8812 of the Consolidated County Assessment Law (Law),2 which authorize the exemption of public property used for public purposes from taxation. (Trial court op. at 2-3, 5-6.) The trial court concluded as follows:

If the Township is currently using the property for public purposes then the property is tax exempt. Also if the Township has made a good faith effort [1128]*1128to commence developing the property for its intended use then the property would be tax exempt. See Senior Citizen Health Care Council. The testimony of Mr. Grace shows that the township purchased the property to be used as a park and/or playground. The Township’s efforts to create the park and/or playground have been slow because the Township has not been able to secure grant funding to help them pay for the development of the park and/or playground.
Without the grant funding, the land has not been able to be fully developed as a park and/or playground. However, the land is still an area for residents to use for recreational activities. With benches being added to the land it will be more apparent to Township [sic] residents that the property is available to members of the public. As testified to by Mr. Grace the location of the land makes it a good area for residents to use, to walk their dogs or for any other recreational activities.
Even if the Township [sic] efforts to build a playground or park have been delayed because of a lack of funding there is no evidence to suggest that the land in question has been used for a non-public purpose. Under these circumstances, taxation of the property is neither compelled nor intended by the Pennsylvania Constitution or the County Assessment Law. The land is available to the public for recreational activities and we believe that the land has been used by the Township to benefit the public. We also believe that the toumship has made a good faith effort [to] develop the land to be used as a park and/or playground.

(Trial court op. at 5-6.) (emphasis added.)

On appeal,3 the Board argues that the trial court erred in determining that the Board bears the burden of proving that the Township is not using the Property for a public purpose and therefore the Property is taxable. The Board asserts that the trial court erred in concluding that the Property is tax-exempt because: (1) the Township is not actively and currently using the Property for public purposes; (2) the Township merely “intends” to use the Property as a public park and/or playground and has not begun construction or expended significant sums of money towards this development; (3) the Township does not have the necessary funds to develop the Property for public purposes; and (4) the Township has failed to install improvements to the Property or notify its residents that the Property is available for public use as a park and/or playground.

Discussion

Burden of Proof

Initially, we must determine whether the trial court erred in placing the burden of proof on the Board to show that the Property is not used for a public purpose, and, thus, subject to taxation. Usu[1129]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 A.3d 1124, 2013 WL 4046669, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 325, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/norwegian-township-v-schuylkill-county-board-of-assessment-appeals-pacommwct-2013.