Seatrain Terminals of California, Inc. v. County of Alameda

The appeal at bench concerns the recovery of real property taxes for the 1973-1974 assessment year levied upon a possessory interest in two large cargo cranes owned by respondent City of Oakland (hereafter Port or respondent) and leased to and operated by Seatrain Terminals of California, Inc. (hereafter Seatrain or appellant). The background facts may be summarized as follows:

In 1969, appellant constructed a marine terminal facility on 29 acres of land located at 1395 Middle Harbor Road, Oakland, California. The southern boundary of the facility borders on the Oakland Estuary for some 1,100 feet. The facility consists of a paved area for cargo containers and chassis, a wharf area in which crane rails are embedded, a berth area, and an office inspection maintenance area. The wharf area where the cranes are operated was designed and constructed so as to be able to carry the huge weight of cargo container cranes. Thus, the area where the rails are embedded is supported by special concrete girders placed on 6-foot centers, whereas the remainder of the wharf is propped up by unbraced piles on 12-foot centers. The 2 parallel rails on the wharf run 100 feet apart.

The 2…