Sky River LLC v. County of Kern

This is an appeal by Kern County from the trial court’s judgment, which rejected the decision of the Kern County Assessment Appeals Board (board) upholding the county tax assessor’s increased valuation of plaintiffs’ business property and the resulting increased property tax. The county contends the trial court applied the wrong standard in reviewing the administrative decision; it contends application of the correct standard would have resulted in a judgment upholding the administrative decision because it was supported by substantial evidence. The county further asserts that the trial court erred when it admitted new evidence that was not presented to the board and when it determined the tax assessor used incorrect revenue figures in calculating the income stream on which the property value was based in one of the appraisals. We conclude the trial court applied the correct standard of review, properly admitted evidence at trial, and correctly rejected the county’s revenue figures. Contrary to the trial court’s judgment, however, the matter must be remanded to the board for further proceedings because factual questions remain.

*725 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL…