The Lawyers Weekly - February 24, 2012

Citadel
Continued From Page 10

ible basis for attacking the rea-
sonableness of the Minister’s
valuation of all the land…is that
he attributed no substantial
value to most of the Citadel
land, namely that under the
glacis. However, I am satisfied
that the explanation provided
by Mr. Hardy [an appraiser],
and accepted by the Panel, pro-
vides a reasonable explanation
of this apparent anomaly,” said
Justice Evans.

In his appearance before the SCC, Dan Campbell, a lawyer with Cox & Palmer who represents the Halifax Regional Municipality, raised the value of the courthouse itself to counter arguments by the Crown. According to an article in The Chronicle Herald, the legal banter went like this.

Federal Crown prosecutor Ginette
Gobeil contended that property
assessments are determined by
looking at the selling price of similar
property, but no comparisons exist for
national historic sites. “What value
would be placed on a site that loses
money every year? Probably $10. Or
maybe $1,” she said. Chief Justice
Beverley McLachlin, in turn, pointed
out that, “A lot of property that’s
valuable is a losing proposition. Ask
any residential homeowner.”
It’s not only homeowners losing
money, Campbell noted. “Forgive me
for pointing out this building is a losing
business,” he said to the court. “For
all the public good you do, you don’t
make very much money for the
Government of Canada. But I would
not conclude from that that the land
under this building is useless.”

Lawddities

An oddity in

Real Property

Law Lawddities

Legal Oddities in (Blank) Law

The too high tree house

Up a walnut tree, sits a house too high. In November, John koncsol, a code enforcement officer in Farmington, Mich., noticed the wooden structure during a drive.

The tree house, built by 13-year-old David Ratze and a dedicated group including family and friends, took nine weeks to complete. A warning letter sent to the Ratze family explained that the accessory building, at 18 feet off the ground plus the height of the structure itself was higher than the 15-foot limit, according to theoaklandpress.com.

Earlier this month, David, his father and others argued their case before the Board of Zoning Appeals. John McGuire, David’s swim coach, urged the board to “remember the love of climbing freely into the tree.” Unfortunately for David, this plea didn’t do the trick; the board denied the variance request 3-2.

If the group attempts to move and rebuild the tree house, it seems a safe bet they won’t forget a tape measure. — Matthew Grace

Lawddities
Lawddities

(final)

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