Park Purchase Could Have Increased Taxes : Burbank Land Deal Called Too Costly

Taxes of Burbank residents would have risen or they would have been charged fees if their City Council had bought hillside property owned by developer Sherman Whitmore, city officials said Thursday.

The tax issue figured prominently in an explanation by the city attorney of why the council voted Tuesday to end negotiations to buy Whitmore’s land in the northwestern hills, even though Burbank had received $3 million in state aid for the purchase.

City Atty. Douglas C. Holland said Whitmore, in several proposals to the city, asked for inflated sums for the properties, which the city wanted to preserve as parkland.

“Whitmore’s appraisals were seriously flawed in that they unrealistically assumed development of the land instead of determining the current fair market value of undeveloped land, which is consistent with the facts,” Holland said.

Appraised Values

A city-authorized appraisal in early 1985 placed the value of a 60-acre parcel at $575,000, and another 117-acre parcel at almost $5 million. Whitmore had told the city that his own appraiser said his land would be worth $37.5 million if developed.

In his most recent offer, Whitmore said he would exchange both properties for $6 million and one of two 5-acre sites in the city’s redevelopment area north of the future Towncenter shopping center. The city’s parcels are valued at $6 million to $10 million, Holland said.

The deal therefore would have cost the city from $9 million to $13 million, in addition to the $3 million in state aid, the city attorney said.

In an interview Friday, Whitmore called the city’s position “conspicuously self-serving” and said he is awaiting city action on his proposals to develop the property before deciding on his next move.

One proposal, which calls for construction of 33 luxury homes on a 60-acre site, has already been rejected by the city’s Planning Board, and will come before the City Council on Tuesday.