Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: June 13, 2016
Moving Party(ies): Drennan Farms Ltd., Phillip Shawn Drennan
Respondent(s): Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”) Region 24
Respondent(s): Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Property Location(s): 84805 Tower Line and 36222 Glen’s Hill Road
Municipality(ies): Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Roll Number(s): 4070-640-007-01600-0000 and 4070-640-007-01900-0000
Appeal Number(s): 3057134, 3091634, 3057135, 3091635 and 3158937, 3158915 (deemed 2016 appeals)
Taxation Year(s): 2014, 2015 and 2016 (deemed appeals)
Hearing Event No.: 597538 and 604130
Legislative Authority: Section 40 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31, as amended
Heard: September 16 to 18, 2015 and October 13, 2015 in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Ontario
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel+/Representative
Drennan Farms Ltd. and Phillip Shawn Drennan
Phillip Shawn Drennan
MPAC
Donald G. Mitchell+ and Joanne Greidanus
Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
No one appeared
DISPOSITION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY RICHARD LIMOGES
1Drennan Farms Ltd. has brought a motion requesting that I recuse myself from deciding the appeals before the Assessment Review Board (“Board”) at this hearing. This motion was brought on the final day of a four day hearing just prior to summation and without any prior notice. I have carefully considered the motion and decline to recuse myself for the reasons set out below.
2Mr. Drennan also previously made a motion for Member Scott McAnsh to recuse himself, without advance notice, on day two of this hearing in view of the Member’s previous position as President of the Sierra Club Canada, which is the subject of McAnsh’s separate decision related to this hearing.
Facts
3Mr. Drennan’s recusal request is first based on one of my previous decisions wherein a report authored by Drennan’s key witness, Ben Lansink and said to be also brought in as evidence at this hearing, was previously used as evidence in an unrelated matter dealing with a residential dwelling in Lambton Shores. In that hearing, which was held on November 7, 2013, the Appellants submitted a bound copy of a report entitled “Diminution in Value Wind Turbine Analysis” prepared in October 2012 by Ben Lansink AACI, P.App, MRCS, in order to support their claim that the placement of a cell phone tower nearby would impact the current value of their property. Mr. Lansink was not sworn in as an expert or even present to explain or defend his assumptions and findings, or to relate them to the extrapolation to impact from cell phone towers. This case is one of ten cases used by MPAC in support of their position in this hearing. The Appellant’s Exhibit 18 is ‘Wind Turbines Melancton Clear Creek MPAC Diminution in Price, Current Value’ and was prepared February 15, 2013 by Ben Lansink AACI, P.App, MRCS. Without having both reports before me simultaneously,