Desert Local News - Index

Desert Local News - Desert Local News March 18th 2008 Print and Virtual Edition - Index

11 PALM SPRINGS STORY
Greedy Contractor:
Has Assessor
Run-Amuck
By Kevin Harmon
Who can image a sevenfold increase
in their property taxes after
living in the same property, unchanged
and unsold, since 1954?
“Outrageous!” you say? “unbelievable”
you say? It’s ‘outrageously
unbelievable’ as only the confluence
of a greedy builder and an uncaring
government can create.
This is the case for three property
owners in one of Palm Springs oldest
historical neighborhoods.
The Crossley Tract, next to the
Tahquitz Creek golf Resort, was
Indian land purchased by Lawrence
Crossley (an African-American)
in the 1940’s to provide affordable
housing for his family and other
working-class families which was
rare, then, as it is now.34th Ave. and
golf Club Drive was at the far reaches
of the city and made it undesirable
for prestige development at the time.
We know how that’s changed.
In 2003 Kenneth Stemmer, one
of the valley’s most active developers,
had plans to buy up about thirty
‘tear-down’ lots and upgrade the area
with new homes. Before the project
could begin city planning told Mr.
Stemmer that lot number corrections
were needed. These lots had been
mis-marked originally and were off
by one digit in their parcel description.
This had to be corrected to get
clear title before the project could go
forward. In his expediency, Stemmer
failed in his fiduciary responsibility
to tell three senior citizen property
owners of the tax ramifications to
convey ownership (uncompensated)
to fix his problem and caused a reassessment
of these old properties,
which resulted in this outrageously
unfair increase for law-abiding elderly
on fixed incomes.
After two years of fighting with
the Assessor’s Office, the County
Title Office, County Treasury and
seeking the assistance of County Supervisor
Marion Ashley’s office all
seem powerless or unwilling to undo
this injustice against these most
vulnerable city residences. Is it any
wonder law-abiding citizen have lost
confidence in their government at all
levels.
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