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Property Matters
The past two weeks have seen a flurry of activity around buying land for new schools. This is a complex subject and very sensitive. It's sensitive because although I am a big believer in open government, property negotiations cannot be done in the public sphere.Without writing a post longer than any reasonable person has time for, I cannot explain everything here. What I will do instead is point you to press accounts of the situations and then give you my own rundown of the numbers in question. There are two properties at issue. One is referred to as the Rouse property, the other as the Lenah property. Between them, there is enough space for two High Schools, two Middle Schools and an Elementary School. That's room for nearly 7,000 students.
The best story regarding the Rouse property is by Leesburg Today. It is the most complete, covers the most important facts and gives voice to the most perspectives. The Loudoun Times Mirror published a short piece on the Rouse property that doesn't give you much insight but is a fair summary. Unfortunately it is the Washington Post's abysmal reporting that will get the widest circulation. The Post made a few changes to the online version of its story yesterday, but not before the original text went to print in this morning's Loudoun Extra. I have been assured that corrections will be printed in Sunday's edition but it's a sure thing that few will read them, so I have written also today about how the Washington Post got it wrong.
Finally, the Post ran a short piece on the School Board's contract for the Lenah Property yesterday but you'll get more information in the Times Mirror's earlier stories about parents in favor of and parents opposed to the Lenah site.
So now let's clear some things up. The biggest question is obviously about money. Here's how it breaks down:
#1: The assessed value of the Rouse Property is $2.6 million. That's the basis for the taxes the owner pays.
#2: The county's assessor, the guy whose job it is to set the assessed value, told the Supervisors recently that the property is worth $5.7 million. That's according to the assessor's own spreadsheet and a June 27 memo by Supervisor Jim Burton. Each of these is a public document.
Now the first thing you need to ask yourself is... why is the property is assessed at $2.6 million when the County's Assessor puts the value at $5.7 million?
#3: LCPS's attorneys hired an appraiser. The appraiser puts the value at $9.5 million, writing in a June 25 analysis that "the value of the Rouse property may be understated in our appraisal."
Why is the assesor's valuation radically smaller than the appraiser's valuation? Stated simply, the assessor evaluates thousands of parcels of land quickly. The appraiser evaluates a single parcel of land extensively.
Why take the advice of one over another? In a government acquisition, the appraiser is required to conform to Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice in order to make his appraisal defensible in a court of law should condemnation proceeding ensue. The assessor is not trained in appraisal methodology and is subject to no accountability for his figures.
#4: Based on the appraisal (which came nearly a year before the assessor's evaluation) LCPS reached an agreement to pay $11.5M, more than the appraisal value but less than the cost of any other course of action including condemnation or an alternative property site. The extra $2M is called a premium. From the appraiser:
"Acquisition premiums are frequently paid by condemning authorities to avoid construction delays and condemnation proceedings. The time lost waiting for the results of a trial and the need to find alternative education facilities during the interim are vastly more expensive. As a result... premiums of 15% to 20% may be justified as an additional cost.."The appraiser also provided an opinion letter to LCPS in response to the Assessor's analysis. This is the document that you need to read, and it is publicly available.
"Finding a tract like the large Rouse parcel with services at or near the property at a value of about $54,000 per acre is nearly impossible. Finding an available site in any one of the major mixed-use planned developments in the same general area... could cost triple or even quadruple acquisition costs[sic]. The benefits of acquiring the Rouse tract at $11.5 million for a single closing for all three schools compared to the potential alternatives noted above make the Rouse acquisition both prudent and financially responsible." (emphases mine)These documents are in the possession of every School Board member and Supervisor. You can get copies for yourself with a request to the public information offices of either board. I stand by the School Board's decision. Based on the advice of the people who we pay to provide professional, independent, objective advice, I believe that the actions of the Board of Supervisors on the Rouse property will ultimately cost the taxpayers of Loudoun County millions of dollars.
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