HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976 07-22 Maplewood assessments slashed DISPATCH St.Paul Dispatch Thurs., July 22, '76
Maplewood assessment slashed
By J. C.WOLFE Total cost of the project came to er and water service as well as a held that special assessments can-
staff Writer $531,879 and because it was done paved street. not exceed the special benefit.
as a state-aid road the city re- He ordered the city to reassess
An assessment levied by the city ceived a reimbursement from the IN HOLDING that the assess- the 13 parcels to conform to his
Of Maplewood against property state of about $88,000, the judge ments levied by the city constitut- findings which would limit them
owners for a half-million dollar said. ed an improper taking of property to a total of $96,500. He directed
street improvement project was w i t h o u t compensation, Judge that the other 19 parcels shall not
slashed nearly 50 per cent today THE CITY subsequently im- Lynch followed previous state Su- be assessed because they gained
by Ramsey District Judge James posed a s s e s s m e n t s totaling preme Court decisions which have nothing in value.
M.Lynch. $171,158 against the 13 parcels
The court ordered the reassess- fronting on Lydia Aveneue and
meat of 13 parcels of property in $15,413 against 19 others on the
the affected tract and further di- grounds those were benefited by
rected that there can be no the street improvement.
charges against 19 others on the However, in the trial of the ap-
grounds they received no special peal, Richard M. Parranto, a real
benefit from the project. estate appraiser, testified as to
THE PROPERTY owners had the market value improvement of
the assessed parcels and the court
appealed from the assessment Iev- adopted Parranto's appraisals in
ied as the result of the improve- its findings.
hent of Lydia Avenue between
Bellaire Avenue and McKnight Those indicated that the 13 par-
Road — a distance of about 2,600 cels abutting the avenue rose a to-
feet. The work included widening tal of $96,950 in market value as
and resurfacing as well as instal- the result of the improvement but
Yation of sewers, water mains, the 19 others gained no benefit in-
lighting and landscaping. asmuch as they already had sew-