THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 5, 1995 TAG: 9507050091
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
A Currituck County board has granted a Corolla Light developer's request to reduce the value of a prime real estate tract for tax purposes. But it left intact a valuation of nearly $1 million on other newly appraised properties within the Outer Banks resort.
The Board of Equalization and Review voted 3-1 Monday evening to reduce the value of a reserved well field from $309,000 to $500, which is the minimum value the county places on properties with no marketability.
The board, composed of the current Board of Commissioners, also let stand $912,657 in appraisals on property that, until this year, had erroneously been listed as tax-exempt.
A 1989 board had granted tax exemptions to Outer Banks Ventures Inc., for common properties within the upscale Corolla development, believing the lands were owned by the Corolla Light homeowners' association.
The developer, however, held onto the deeds to those areas, meaning the properties were still privately owned and taxable under the Machinery Act of North Carolina, which provides state guidelines for taxation.
None of the current commissioners was involved in the previous board's decision six years ago.
Outer Banks Ventures had contested some of the values recently placed on the tax rolls for the first time.
At a hearing in late April, the Board of Equalization and Review agreed to reduce a $488,000 appraisal of 5.21 acres to $500 when it learned the land contained a wastewater treatment plant.
On Monday, the board also sided with the company, headed by Richard A. Brindley of Kitty Hawk, when it voted to place the minimum value on 3.09 acres being held for emergency wells.
Because the tract is listed in the county records as a reserve well field, the developer is limited in how he can use the tract, County Attorney Bill Romm said at the meeting.
``He can sell it for a million dollars, but he can't put an outhouse on it without the board's permission,'' Romm said.
``I feel that the use of it is not there, so there's no value until the board decides otherwise.''
Currituck County Tax Assessor W.C. ``Mickey'' Dozier said the $309,000 price tag was justified because the property was marketable.
Outer Banks Ventures, he said, ``is under no obligation to hold this property for well fields and has provided no evidence that O.B.V. is required to do so.''
However, only Commissioner Eldon L. Miller Jr. dissented, contending that treatable water probably below the surface was a valuable commodity and made the land worth more.
Other properties will be taxed as follows:
The sound-front pool area next to Bell Tower Station for $149,618.
A tennis court and parking area for $368,446.
A golf course on top of a drain field just west of N.C. 12 for $175,500.
1.74 acres of county-required open space for the minimum $500.
A pro shop and parking lot next to the community association's athletic center for $217,593. by CNB