Redwood judge rules against city

A Redwood County judge has ruled in favor of a plaintiff in a second case involving Tracy special assessments.
Judge Patrick Rohland, in a Feb. 8 ruling, granted an appeal from Jim Garvin, regarding the $12,744 in special assessments that had been levied against his property at 243 Morgan St., and set aside the city’s original assessment amount.  However, unlike a Lyon County Court ruling that eliminated the special assessments for appellants, Judge Rohland remanded the case to the City of Tracy for reassessment of the property at a lesser amount, in accordance with state statute.
Judge Rohland agreed with Garvin’s contention, that the city’s infrastructure project had no affect on the fair market value of his property, and that the city had not presented any evidence about the value of the real estate before and after the project. The judge also ruled that Garvin was entitled to reimbursement from the city for expenses.
The Garvin appeal of special assessments imposed from the 2015 Morgan and Fourth streets improvement project, was  similar to a case heard in Lyon County by Judge Leland Bush. (See related story).  However, the Garvin case was moved to Redwood County because Garvin personally knew Bush.