Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: February 05, 2020
Moving Party(ies): J. Warren Kirkendale
Respondent(s): Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”) Region 17
Respondent(s): The Town of Gravenhurst
Property Location(s): Two Lower Lots located on Island 25KL
Municipality(ies): The Town of Gravenhurst
Roll Number(s): 4402-030-025-06715-0000 and 4402-030-025-06720-0000
Taxation Year(s): 2008 to 2019
Hearing Event No.: 727695
Legislative Authority: Rule 26(b) of the Assessment Review Board Rules of Practice and Procedure
Heard: December 19, 2019 by written submission
| Parties | Representative | Submissions |
|---|---|---|
| J. Warren Kirkendale | Self-represented | Moving Party |
| MPAC | Shelby Roper | Received |
| The Town of Gravenhurst | Not Received |
DISPOSITION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY JOANNE LAWS
1The Moving Party, Dr. J. Warren Kirkendale, inherited Island 25KL from his mother in 2008. It is located on Kahshe Lake in the Town of Gravenhurst and is assessed in the residential tax class. He submits that in 2006 the island was severed from one parcel into five parcels, four being vacant land and one improved with a cottage. Dr. Kirkendale states this was a pre-emptive action due to a possible revision of the Town’s Official Plan to prohibit severances on islands. He now believes that two of those severed vacant lots (the “Properties”) have been over-assessed and is seeking permission from the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”) to file late appeals under s. 40 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31 (the “Act”) for the 2008 to 2019 taxation years.
2MPAC submits that Requests for Reconsideration were made for the 2009 and 2019 taxation years and were resolved by Minutes of Settlement and argues they should not be considered in this motion. Regarding the remaining taxation years, MPAC takes the position that the Board should not permit late appeals because Dr. Kirkendale has not met the requirements for filing a late appeal as provided in the Board’s Rule 26(b).
3I find that Dr. Kirkendale cannot appeal the 2010 to 2018 taxation years because Requests for Reconsiderations, which are a precondition to filing appeals for properties in the residential tax class, were not made with MPAC within the time prescribed in the Act.
4I further find that Dr. Kirkendale has not met the requirements of Rule 26(b) for the 2008 taxation year and, therefore, the application to file a late appeal for that year is denied.
5Because the 2009 and 2019 taxation years have been resolved through Minutes of Settlement, they are not addressed in this Motion.
6Accordingly, Dr. Kirkendale’s motion to file late appeals for the 2008 and 2010 to 2018 taxation years is denied.
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION OF MOTION
7The evidence before me consists of Dr. Kirkendale’s affidavit sworn October 3, 2019, in which he affirms that the contents of an attached letter, also dated October 3, 2019, are true. Also, before me are the response documents from MPAC which include the affidavit of Donna Ridley, sworn on December 4, 2019, written arguments from Shelby Roper and supporting documents.
8Dr. Kirkendale states that he has owned the two Properties, which he describes as the “two low lots”, since 2008. He further states that, in August 2019, “for the first time [he] examined not only the land, but also the water at the shoreline of the two low lots and was shocked to see that they are not even accessible by water”, and that he suspects they will be impossible to sell due to the lack of water access.
2009 and 2019 Taxation Years
9These two years have been resolved by the Parties though executed Minutes of Settlement. As such, it is unnecessary to address these taxation years.
Request for Reconsideration, 2010 to 2018 Taxation Years
10There is a two-stage appeal process for properties assessed in the residential tax class. The first stage is to request that MPAC reconsider its assessment pursuant to s.39.1 of the Act (“Request for Reconsideration”). This provides an opportunity for the parties to discuss and resolve the issues in dispute before entering the appeal stage with this Board. [Section 40(3)](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-a31/latest/rso