City Told to Refund Illegal ‘View Tax’

After slapping Port Hueneme property owners with what amounts to an illegal tax, the city must now pay more than $1 million in reimbursement costs and attorneys’ fees, a panel of three appellate judges decided Tuesday.

The state Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision to invalidate Port Hueneme’s so-called view tax on the grounds that it unfairly targeted 1,252 oceanfront landowners. The city’s lawyer said an appeal is likely.

But the lawyer representing property owners who sued in 1991 said further appeals would be futile and expensive.

“Not only did they pass an illegal tax but compounded it by litigating it,” said Ventura attorney Glen M. Reiser.

“The city has to bear this loss,” he said. “It’s problematic for the taxpayers for Port Hueneme, and they should look long and hard at their elected officials.”

The assessment was levied on residents near Hueneme Beach Park in part because city officials reasoned that proximity to the park boosted property values.

As a result, officials said landowners near the park should pay one-third of its $450,000 maintenance costs. Because the assessment varied depending on residents’ view of the park, it was dubbed a “view tax.”

Landowners sued the city, and a judge ruled that the assessment amounted to an illegal tax--a decision appealed by the city but upheld by the three-judge panel.

Because the assessment does not provide special benefits to the selected homeowners, the judges found, the tax forces certain landowners to pay for services that benefit the entire city.

“Little, if any, nexus exists between views of the beach and maintaining the beach park,” Presiding Justice Steven Store wrote. “These benefits accrue to the whole community using the beach.”

Reiser estimated that reimbursement of the original tax will cost $600,000, plus about $250,000 in interest. Attorneys’ fees are expected to push the total to more than $1 million, he said.