The State : Country Clubs Win Out

The state Supreme Court, in denying a hearing to Los Angeles County Assessor Alexander H. Pope, has allowed nonprofit country clubs to keep a significant Proposition 13 tax break which rolled property tax assessments back to 1975-76 levels. Pope had appealed a lower court decision in favor of 20 country clubs in the county, including the Bel-Air, Brentwood, and Los Angeles country clubs. Under that decision, nonprofit country clubs were assessed on their value as golf clubs rather than at potentially higher values after development for higher economic uses.