Assessing Stamford's Parks: Public, Private and Very Private

I stumbled across some interesting data in the  October 1, 2007 assessment.  Here are the assessments for some of Stamford's public parks (just the land, excluding any improvements):

1. Cove Island (1241 Cove Rd)   40.41 acres  $34,926,160 (at 100%, $49,894,514)
2. Cove Island Marina (1125 Cove Rd)  21.09 acres $25,497,960 (at 100%: $36,425,657)
3.  Cummings Park (0 Shippan Ave) 79.29 acres $101,960,500 (at 100% $145,580,714)

4. West Beach (0 Shippan Ave)  3.62 acres $15,707,060 (at 100% $22,438,657)
5. Czescik Park (0 Shippan Ave) 8.20 acres $11,746,550 (at 100%  $16,780,786)
6. Sterling Farms (1347 Newfield Ave) 132.50 acres $12,985,000 (at 100%, 18,550,000)

7. Lione Park (0 Stillwater Rd) 9.2 acres $12,820,060 (at 100%, $18,314,371)
8. Scalzi Park (0 Bridge St) 48.1 acres $20,855,980 (at 100% 29,794,257)
9. Hubbard Heights Golf Club (0 Stillwater Rd) 82.2 acres $8,055,600 (at 100%, $11,508,000)

Those work out, on a per-acre basis (at 100%), to

1. Cove Island:                     $1,234,707 per acre
2. Cove Island Marina    $1,727,153 per acre
3. Cummings Park             $1,836,054 per acre

4. West Beach                         $6,198,524 per acre  [highest]
5. Czescik Park                      $2,046,437 per acre
6. Sterling Farms                     $140,000 per acre [lowest]

7. Lione Park                          $1,990,693 per acre
8. Scalzi Park                              $619,423 per acre
9. Hubbard Heights                $966,284 per acre

Notice that the highest is about 3 times the next highest, and nearly 40 times the lowest!   If Sterling Farms is worth so little, perhaps we should put the land to better use.  Westover Elementary, with 15 acres, is valued at nearly $10 million, or $625,0000 per acre.  Stillmeadow Elementary is valued at nearly $2 million per acre.  Davenport Ridge Elementary, with almost 17 acres,  is valued at $7.8 million, or $464,000 per acre.

Now let's look at some private membership club "parks."

1. Woodway Beach Club (95 Hobson St.)             3.16 acres $363,040 (at 100%, $518,629)
2. Woodway Country Club (0 Hope Street)       41.94 acres $4,101,150 (at 100%, $5,858,785)
3. Innis Arden Country Club (0 Shore Road) 32.77 acres   $3,178,140 (at 100%, 4,540,200)

4. Innis Arden CC (0 Shore Road)                            11.30 acres $1,107,400 (at 100%, $1,582,000)
5. Long Ridge Club (2517 Long Ridge Rd)         14.93 acres $1,707,970 (at 100%, $2,439,957)
6. Newfield Swim Club (80 Red Bird)                     7.42 acres $1,310,600 (at 100%, $1872,266)

7. Rockrimmon Country Club (2949 Long Ridge Rd) 32.30 acres $3,165,400  (at 100%, 4,522,000)
8. Stamford Yacht Club  (97 Ocean Drive West)  4.56 acres $5,026,940 (at 100%, 7,181,343)
9. Ponus Yacht Club (0 Pacific Street)                       1.33 acres $2,807,490 (at 100% $4.010,700)

10. Roxbury Swim Club (240 Roxbury Rd)           23.31 acres $1,571,590 (at 100%  $2,245,129

Per acre, these are very low!

1. Woodway Beach Club          $164,123 per acre
2. Woodway Country Club     $139,694 per acre
3. Innis Arden                             $138,547 per acre

4. Innis Arden  smaller plot   $140,000 per acre
5. Long Ridge Club                     $163,426 per acre
6. Newfield Swim Club              $252,330 per acre

7. Rockrimmon CC                     $140,000 per acre
8. Stamford Yacht Club         $1,574,856 per acre
9. Ponus Yacht Club                $3,015,564 per acre

10. Roxbury Swim Club                $96,316 per acre

And then there is another group of privately owned parks, whose ownership relates to ownership of other property.  Undoubtedly there are others I'm not aware of.

1. Dolphin Cove Club                            4.50 acres $4,046,440 (at 100% 5,780,629)
2. Ocean View Beach Club                  0.78 acres $942,210 (at 100%,  1,346,014)
3. St. David's Bluff Homeowners' Ass'n 0.70 acres $54,220 (at 100% $77,457)

4. Sea Beach Association                   0.46 acres $57,510 (at 100%, $82,157)
5. Sea Beach Association                   0.62 acres $53,280 (at 100%, $76,114)
6. ALC (Auldwood, Lanark, Chesterfield) 0.54 acres $158,520 (at 100%, $226,457)

7. Foxwood Lake Assn                             1.00 acres $58,420 (at 100%,  $84,457)
8. Laurel Ledge Park                                 1.01 acres $180,820 (at 100%, $258,314)
9. Revonah Woods 0 East Lane            3.29 acres $6,590 (at 100%,  $9,414)

10. Revonah Woods  0 West Lane       1.98 acres $3,960 (at 100%, $5,657)

Here are the valuations per acre for these private association parks; these are in contrast to the values which individual homeowners  have nearby in waterfront property (and the homeowners, have smaller lots).

1. Dolphin Cove Club                                           $1,284,584 per acre
2. Ocean View Beach Club                                 $1,725,659 per acre
3. St. David's Bluff Homeowners' Ass'n             $110,653 per acre

4. Sea Beach Association                                        $178,602 per acre
5. Sea Beach Association                                        $122,765 per acre
6. ALC                                                                             $419,365 per acre

7. Foxwood                                                                     $83,457 per acre
8. Laurel Ledge                                                            $255,757 per acre
9. Revonah- East                                                               $2,861 per acre

10. Revonah - West                                                          $2,857 per acre                     

(Nearby land owned by individuals is valued at many times that, and rightly so: that's what it is worth!)

Observations:

1. Stamford's assessor (or is it our Board of Reps?)  thinks the rest of us should subsidize the private golf courses -- Rockrimmon, Woodway and Innis Arden.
2. Stamford's assessor thinks that the rest of us should subsidize the private beach associations -- St. David's Bluff, Sea Beach (twice!), ALC.
3. Stamford's assessor thinks that the rest of us should subsidize the private tennis and swim clubs -- Roxbury,  Woodway, Newfield, etc.
4. School land seems to be valued higher than golf land.
5. Private golf courses are valued lower than Hubbard Heights Golf Club, and Hubbard Heights is valued well below nearby residential land.

I hope that the next assessments will be done soon, and that these "anomalies" will be corrected, so that Stamford's non-club members and working people are no longer required to subsidize its country clubs and swim clubs and residential club beaches.  We're nice people, but we shouldn't have to be THAT nice!  They can afford to pay their own way, and if they can't, perhaps they don't need all that prime acreage.

The rest of us -- nonmembers -- are not welcome in those private parks, just like other private property in Stamford, and I suspect that the owners of those parks -- the members -- would not be shy about asking our police to enforce their property rights.  The assessor should enforce our right to collect property taxes on the full value of that land.

The property taxes of ordinary working people would be lower if the wealthy members of these private clubs were asked to pay their way.  Many of those members don't even live in Stamford.  They come from other towns, even the next state.  But our working people are asked to subsidize them, by giving them a by on their property tax.  Those valuable lots belong on our tax rolls -- at their full value.

I hope the leadership of these private groups will not use this to bargain our assessor down to the lowest of the private assessments!  I expect that our Board of Reps will ask that these private groups be treated like the rest of Stamford's property owners in the next valuation.