Summary
In Atwell, this court approved the granting of a tax exemption under R.C. 5709.10 on a mere showing of park district ownership, without considering the use made of the subject property.
Summary of this case from Montgomery Co. Park Dist. v. KinneyOpinion
No. 39116
Decided June 16, 1965.
Taxation — Exemptions — Section 5709.10, Revised Code — Property belonging to park district — Golf course operated by board of park commissioners.
APPEAL from the Board of Tax Appeals.
This proceeding was instituted before the Board of Tax Appeals by the filing of a complaint seeking an order to have the 1963 tax status of certain real property owned by the Board of Park Commissioners of Cleveland Metropolitan Park District changed from a tax-exempt status to a taxable status. The property consists of approximately 192.5 acres of land improved as a golf course, with the necessary buildings for the operation of a golf course, and is known as Manakiki Golf Course.
The subject property was acquired by the Board of Park Commissioners of Cleveland Metropolitan Park District as a gift and is being operated by the park board as a golf course open to the public. It is the policy of the board to fix greens fees at a rate which is estimated over a period of years to cover the cost of operation and maintenance, so as to make the course self-supporting, without profit or loss.
The Board of Tax Appeals found that the subject property is open to the public, that it is being operated without a view to profit, and that it qualifies as public property used exclusively for public park purposes, and ordered that the county auditor be instructed to retain it on the 1963 tax-exempt list as not being subject to taxation.
An appeal from the decision of the board brings the cause to this court for review.
Mr. Paul H. Torbet, for appellants.
Mr. Walter C. Kelley, Jr., for appellee Board of Park Commissioners. Mr. Fred V. Skok, prosecuting attorney, for appellee county auditor.
Section 2 of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution provides that the General Assembly shall have "the general power * * * to determine the * * * exemptions" from "taxation." Section 5709.10, Revised Code, provides that "property belonging to park districts, created pursuant to Section 1545.01, Revised Code, shall be exempt from taxation." The decision of the Board of Tax Appeals is affirmed on authority of Denison University v. Board of Tax Appeals, 2 Ohio St.2d 17.
Decision affirmed.
TAFT, C.J., MATTHIAS, O'NEILL and VAN NOSTRAN, JJ., concur.
I agree solely on the ground that the Board of Tax Appeals reasonably and lawfully found that the public property was "used exclusively for a public purpose." Section 2 of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution.
VAN NOSTRAN, J., of the Fifth Appellate District, sitting for BROWN, J.