Assessed value of Nutana homes rise despite bad smell
Mark Bobyn and Jerry Kristian think the City of Saskatoon’s 2017 assessed value of their properties in the Nutana neighbourhood fails the smell test.
Bobyn and Kristian own homes in a desirable location near the South Saskatchewan River, but they are also near a sewage lift station that has been blamed for unpleasant odours since it became operational in 2011.
Appearing before city council’s finance committee on Monday, Kristian said the 26 per cent increase in the assessed value of his home fails to take into account the odour issues.
“Our situation is unique,” he told the committee. “The city pushed the lift station onto us with the promises of no smell, no inconvenience, no impact on values or quality of life.”
He said it’s an “extremely embarrassing” situation and he avoids hosting family dinners for fear of the smell.
Bobyn told the committee the two houses he owns on Saskatchewan Crescent are sometimes uninhabitable for up to two days as a result of the sewer stench. He said the source of the smell remains a mystery as it could be the lift station or the sewer trunk line that connects to it.
Bobyn called the situation the “most inhumane context to try to raise a small family imaginable.”
The 2017 reassessment boosted the assessed values of his properties by 37 per cent, compared to about 12 per cent for city-wide residential properties, he said.
The assessed value of Bobyn’s 496-square-foot home, built in 1914, has jumped to $527,500, up from $386,800 last year. In 2012, the value for the same property was pegged at $103,000.
Kristian’s 1,670-sq.-ft. home has seen a similar jump despite the unpleasant living conditions: $514,100 after 2017 reassessment, up from $408,400 in 2013 and $236,800 in 2012.
City assessor Darcy Huisman told the committee the city determines property values based on home sales in the area.
Coun. Cynthia Block, who represents Nutana, said the process fails to take into account “gross inconsistencies” in properties that affect their value, like the sewer smell. She also noted the assessed values of nearby homes on 11th Street have also gone up, even though they are located on an unstable riverbank.
The city’s chief financial officer, Kerry Tarasoff, said city council can abate or reduce property taxes, but the practice is not recommended because it would “open the floodgates.”
Mayor Charlie Clark said he would like some sort of tool to address unfair assessment when it can be traced to city infrastructure.
“It’s kind of a slap in the face, to be honest, in these situations,” Clark said.
Block said she plans to ask the city administration to examine the tools available to develop a process to take into account “gross inconsistencies” in property values. If such a process can be developed, Block said she would like to look at the possibility of homeowners receiving compensation for inaccurate assessments in 2017.
She also suggested the city’s municipal review commission examine the appeals process, including whether the city is the appropriate institution to hear reviews.
Although the city handles property reassessment every four years, the province makes the rules. Tarasoff said a legal review would likely be needed to determine the city’s ability to alter the process.
The city filed a lawsuit against AECOM Design Ltd. in June 2014 over the construction of the lift station.