Gordon v. Town of Esopus, 15 N.Y.3d 86 (2010)
Land certified by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as managed forest land under Real Property Tax Law § 480-a is used as forest land for real property tax assessment purposes and must be assessed based on that use, not as vacant land.
Summary
Taxpayers challenged the Town of Esopus’s assessment of their land, arguing it should be assessed as forest land based on its DEC certification under RPTL 480-a, not as vacant land based on its potential for development. The Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division’s ruling in favor of the Town, holding that land certified as forest land by the DEC under RPTL 480-a is used as forest land and must be assessed based on that use, consistent with RPTL 302(1). The court emphasized the legislative intent to preserve forest land and the established administrative recognition of forest land as a distinct category of use.
Facts
Petitioners owned approximately 108 acres of land in the Town of Esopus. Since 1978, approximately 104 acres have been annually certified by the DEC as “forest land” under RPTL 480-a. RPTL 480-a defines “forest land” as land exclusively devoted to forest crop production, stocked with trees sufficient to produce a merchantable forest crop within thirty years. The certification process requires an annual application to the DEC, including a commitment to continued forest crop production for the next ten years under an approved management plan.
Procedural History
Taxpayers initiated tax review proceedings challenging the Town’s assessment of their land for the years 2002-2005. The Town argued the land should be assessed as vacant land based on its development potential. The Appellate Division ruled in favor of the Town. The Court of Appeals granted leave to appeal and reversed the Appellate Division’s order, reinstating the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Issue(s)
Whether land certified by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as managed forest land under Real Property Tax Law § 480-a is to be assessed as vacant land based on its development potential, or as forest land based on its current use.
Holding
Yes, because land certified by the DEC as forest land pursuant to RPTL 480-a is used as forest land and must be assessed under RPTL 302 (1) as such for real property tax purposes.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court reasoned that the legislative history and purpose of RPTL 480-a indicated an intent to protect forest land and make timber production more economical. While the Legislature removed a detailed assessment scheme from the 1976 version of the law, this did not indicate an intent to assess forest land as vacant land. The court noted that the statute consistently defined “forest land” as land “devoted to and suitable for forest crop production” (RPTL 480-a [1] [f]). The court cited the legislative findings that “lands presently devoted to growth of forest crops are often assessed at a level which renders continued dedication to such use uneconomical” (L 1974, ch 814, § 1). The Court further observed that the Office of Real Property Services publishes an Assessor’s Manual which has included classification 912 for forest land eligible for RPTL 480-a treatment. While acknowledging that tax exemption statutes are generally construed strictly against those arguing for nontaxability, the Court stated that such interpretation should not defeat the statute’s settled purpose, citing People ex rel. Watchtower Bible & Tract Socy. v Haring, 8 NY2d 350, 358 [I960]. The Court concluded that the clear legislative purpose in enacting RPTL 480-a mandates that land certified by the DEC as forest land is used as such and must be assessed accordingly for real property tax purposes.