Ivor Sargent, seen here in this Guardian photo, won a recent tax appeal after the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission sided with his his case.
Land owners along the Island’s northeastern shore are likely to pay attention after a Montreal man won his first battle in a land dispute case over an old horse and buggy trail.
Ivor Sargent purchased an 89-acre parcel of undeveloped waterfront property in St. Margaret’s 25 years ago as part of his retirement plan.
But that plan, as he found out in 1997, has one problem – an overgrown road that has not been used since the early 1800s.
Classified by the Transportation Department as a non-essential highway, Old Queens Road subdivides his property into two parcels, leaving the waterfront portion inaccessible to Route 16.
Sargent took the matter to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission on May 27 and again on Sept 22 arguing his 2010 property assessment of $127,000 was inaccurate.
Represented by Charlottetown lawyer Danny Tweel, Sargent claimed his property was worthless because planning legislation does not allow a driveway to cross non-essential roads and said no one in their right mind would purchase his property knowing it could not legally be developed.
IRAC sided with Sargent in its Oct. 31 ruling, finding the property is worth a nominal value of $35,000 – the same price Sargent paid for the land in 1986.
“The Commission finds that all land has value. However, when residential building lots cannot be developed because lawful access required by the development legislation is lacking, then the current value of such land is only nominal,” the decision states.
Sargent, now 73-years-old, would like to sell the property and get on with his retirement.
“This whole situation is driving me crazy,” he said. “I’ve never had any trouble sleeping before until this came along. Now I have a sleeping pill prescription from my doctor because this problem is in my mind 24 hours a day.”
He feels the decision by IRAC to place a nominal value on his land is a stepping stone toward his ultimate goal of owning land that is fully accessible so he can receive a proper assessment and then sell the land at a profit.
“The most important thing, not only for me but for everybody along that coast, is how is government going to solve this problem? When word gets out that (my) tax bill was reduced to 25 per cent of what it was, I think there’s going to be a couple hundred property owners that are going to say ‘what the hell, what’s going on here?’”
Sargent first started to raise concerns to the Finance Department when his 2010 land assessment came in at $161,000.
Several revisions were made and the final assessment was found to be $127,000.
“They’re just all over the map,” he said. “They claim they have formulas, but none of the formulas make any sense when you study them.”
During the hearing before IRAC, the province, represented by lawyer Robert MacNevin, argued the property assessment was valid based on a development and maintenance agreement Sargent signed with Transportation officials.
The agreement forced Sargent into bulldozing trees and reopening the portion of roadway which crosses his property, in turn allowing him to access his waterfront property as long as the road was maintained at Sargent’s expense.
The decision by IRAC states that reviewing the development and maintenance agreement and its legality was outside the commission’s scope but it did say the agreement was “unusual” and found it did lower the property’s value.
Sargent’s case has hit the end of the road in terms of what IRAC has authority over and he is currently exploring other options with his lawyer, he said.
No one from the Finance Department was available to say whether or not Monday’s ruling by IRAC would be appealed by government.
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