Homeowners hit by riverbank slope failure to see tax break

SASKATOON Homeowners who live in an area affected by riverbank slumping in the Nutana neighbourhood are celebrating a victory: Some of their property taxes are going down.

Two property owners along 11th Street East appealed the 2017 reassessed value of their properties based on the damage to their property value caused by slope failure.

They won their appeals — and their victory will be felt by 35 other properties on 11th Street and along Saskatchewan Crescent. Residents in the area had questioned their reassessed home values, some of which had risen above $1 million, since the slumping had made their homes impossible to sell.

“I’m not really happy with the way it worked out, but at least I’ve got satisfaction,” said Patrick Casey, who owns a home on 11th Street.

Casey, along with the owner of a vacant lot on 11th Street, appealed their assessments. The appeal sent the properties back to the city’s assessor for a second evaluation, taking into account the slope failure.

The City of Saskatoon opted not to appeal the decision and instead rendered a decision that could set a precedent.

The parts of the 37 properties that were damaged by the slope failure will be reassessed as though the land was vacant. Casey, for example, has 1,800 square feet of property that was deemed to have been damaged by slumping.

Casey and the owner of the vacant lot who appealed will have their 2017 property taxes adjusted, while the other property owners will not see adjustments until next year.

“It’s not every day in the city of Saskatoon where there’s slope failure, so it is something we’re grappling with because it is unusual and it is unique,” city assessor Darcy Huisman said in an interview.

Under provincial law, the city assesses property values every four years based mainly on market sales in a neighbourhood, but also using several other variables. The numbers sent to homeowners this year are based on properties’ values on Jan. 1, 2015. The values are used to set property tax rates.

This approach can fail to take into account circumstances like the unstable slope in Nutana. Some of the houses along 11th Street have more than doubled in value since the last reassessment.

Casey’s home has risen in assessed value to $649,000 from $510,500 in the last reassessment.

Coun. Cynthia Block, who represents the neighbourhood, failed to get sufficient support for a motion to try to address “fairness” in property assessment at Monday’s meeting of city council’s finance committee.

“I am not going to stop,” Block said in an interview. “It’s just too big.”

Block cited other issues that can affect a property’s value that are relevant in her ward, including homes afflicted by flooding and homes near a faulty sewage lift station beset by foul odour.

The problem, Block acknowledged, is trying to find a way to address obvious disparities without opening the floodgates to every property owner who can identify a factor that could affect value.

Block said she sees a difference between people who might be unhappy that their home has a bus stop in front of it and those with more serious issues, like slumping.

“I still think we have to be able to do something,” Block said.

Coun. Mairin Loewen, who alone voted with Block on the latter’s amended proposal to explore ways to “more accurately reflect circumstances” in assessment, also expressed hesitation.

“Don’t get me wrong, I actually am a little nervous about going down this path,” Loewen told the finance committee. The amended motion also failed in a 3-2 vote.

The committee endorsed a proposal to better educate residents about “coefficients,” the various factors that help determine a property’s assessed value.