State laws aimed at holding down tax bills appear to be the reason for a wide gap between the sale price and the assessed value of a wooded lot that DeKalb County plans to buy for $1.9 million and use as a park.
The county appraiser has valued the 6-acre tract at $393,000 for tax purposes. The site off Lavista Road is one of the rare undeveloped tracts in central DeKalb.
Questions about the gap arose when the County Commission earlier this month weighed whether to use bond money earmarked for parks to buy the land. The commission takes it up again today, though it’s unclear if a majority will agree to spend the money.
“I understand that district doesn’t have a lot of green space and there is a higher cost to land there,” said Commissioner Stan Watson. “But I’m still concerned with the price versus the assessment.”
Commissioner Jeff Rader, who has championed the possibility of the park in his district, cited private appraisals on the land in 2010 of $1.7 million and $2.3 million, respectively. An appraisal in May again put the value at $1.7 million, he said.
“Those appraisals still support the price,” Rader said. “We are all paying taxes to support green space. Every body in the county deserves access.”
The reason for the gap, DeKalb chief appraiser Calvin Hicks said, lies in new state laws designed to ensure homeowners don’t overpay taxes.
“Unfortunately, under the statutes we operate, there have been restrictions that basically curtail how we can look at property,” Hicks said.
Among them:
● The county is required to examine each of the four parcels in the Lavista tract separately and calculate value based on size and access. A private appraiser can assemble the four parcels as one lot, increasing value since just one of the four has road access.
● State law prohibits existing property values to increase from 2008 until 2012 without an investment. The land is question remains wooded, so its county value cannot go up.
● The county also is required to appraise the land as an undeveloped, empty lot. Private appraisers could adjust for speculative use, or the highest and best use.
Taken together, the rules push down what the county can consider the land worth for taxes.
The potential sales comes on the heels of complaints that residential property values have plunged too far in some areas while barely budging in others.
Hicks blames other new state requirements, such as considering foreclosures as sales for the first time, for the discrepancy but has admitted mistakes. His office is re-examining five neighborhoods and most of Avondale Estates.
The Lavista Road land wouldn’t qualify for a re-examination, given the restrictions.
And the purchase would fit with the goals of the county’s 2010 parks master plan, which showed that 67 percent of residents want more neighborhood parks.
That plan also calls for adding 141 more acres of park land to reach a total of 712 park acres in DeKalb — meaning the county has one acre of park for every 1,000 residents.
Green space is especially desirable in the central part of the county. Many nearby residents are eager for a park but are hesitant about the price, even taking the assessment restrictions into account. Among them is Tom Lockwood.
The middle school teacher accepts that the county assessment doesn’t reflect the land’s real value.
He also acknowledges that much of the property is inaccessible without the one sliver fronting Lavista.
But Lockwood also notes that developer Rick Porter paid $1.4 million for the land in 2008, at the height of the real estate boom.
“He paid top dollar for it, and it’s not a top-dollar market any more,” said Lockwood, who could walk to the proposed park from his Sagamore Hills home.
“The county should buy it if we can, but we have to negotiate on that price or walk away,” he added. “People take a loss when they sell sometimes, no matter what the assessment says.”
About the Author
