Irvine Co. Wins Delay of Tax Dispute Hearing

The Irvine Co. won delay of an appeals board hearing Tuesday in its approximately $1.7-billion dispute with the Orange County tax assessor over the taxable value of the company’s giant landholdings.

A three-man assessment appeals board, meeting in Santa Ana, overruled objections of the county assessor’s office and agreed to Irvine Co. attorney Robert E. Currie’s request that various legal issues--particularly the authority of the assessor to establish a new market value for the company’s huge land holdings--be settled before the question of land value itself is addressed. Currie said the Irvine Co. was awaiting reports from its appraisers and wouldn’t be ready to present its findings until June or July.