33 A.2d 464 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1943
Argued April 16, 1943.
These appeals are from the 1940 City and County triennial assessments of land owned by appellants in the City of Pittsburgh, having a frontage of 60 feet on Duquesne Way and a uniform depth of 220 feet. The County, after revision, assessed the land at $54,250 and the City at $43,300, for the triennium. The lower court *426
on appeal reduced each of the assessments to $38,000 with an addition of $100 — as to which there is no dispute — for a small structure used as a parking lot office. Appellants bought the land on November 16, 1939 for $20,000 and it is their contention that the sale price determines the full value of the land for assessment purposes. The appeals before us are not de novo but in disposing of them we are not limited to an inspection of the record as on certiorari. We are bound to review the judicial action of the court below on the evidence disclosed by the record, (Rockhill I. C. Co. v. Fulton County,
"Actual value thereof and at such rates and prices for which the same would separately bona fide sell" is the standard of assessment for county purposes. Act of May 16, 1939, P.L. 143,
Under the circumstances, however, the fact that the property sold for but $20,000 is a significant fact bearing upon actual value. The land is located near "the point" and the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers. In 1936 the building then on the *427 land (since razed) was flooded to a height of from nine to sixteen feet. From fear of a recurrence of flood water there have been few sales in the district since 1936 and none which support the court's valuation. For the same reason buildings in the neighborhood have a limited use reflecting low rental values. The trend in the district is in the direction of demolishing existing buildings; there has been no new construction. The land in question had been on the market, in the hands of an active firm of real estate brokers, since 1936, and appellants were the only prospective purchasers during the period. The owner was a willing seller but was not obliged to sell.
In January 1940 appellant bought an adjoining piece of land fronting about 44 feet on Duquesne Way for $15,000. This lot has an advantage over the land in question, adding to its useful value, in that there is an alley affording direct access to the rear of the lot. The two pieces of land together are used as a parking lot. The land in question is leased for that purpose at an annual gross rental of $4,200.
The court properly equalized the assessments for city and county purposes and found the same valuation for both (Hunter'sAppeal,
In any view the assessment in question must be reduced to accomplish uniformity. The adjoining piece was finally assessed at $1.85 per square foot. Neither the owners nor the city or the county have appealed from that assessment. The inference is compelling that they all consider that as the actual value of the land. The land in question was assessed at $2.87 per square foot though it is identical in character except that there is no alley in the rear giving it a second outlet. It should not be assessed at a rate higher than the adjoining piece which has that advantage. The same standard must be used in measuring actual values of contiguous pieces of land of like character; both assessments cannot stand. The assessment in question should be computed at $1.85 per square foot to conform with the assessment of the adjoining land, as to which there is no dispute. "The principle of uniformity is the guide post pointing the way for the local assessor . . . . . . and for the courts in making such orders and decrees as may seem equitable and just on appeal":Lehigh Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. v. Luzerne County,
Accordingly, the order is modified by reducing the assessment in each appeal to $24,520. *429