- 3 - matter of law. As explained in detail below, we shall grant respondent’s motion for partial summary judgment and deny petitioners’ motion for partial summary judgment.1 Background Petitioners owned two parcels of land in Felton, Delaware, which the parties refer to as Procko Farm and Webber Farm, respectively (collectively, the properties). In the late 1990s, petitioners contacted the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation (DALPF) about selling their development rights to the properties. DALPF is a State instrumentality that was established, in part, to prevent the conversion of Delaware’s existing farmland to industrial or residential use. DALPF accomplishes this goal by purchasing development rights to agricultural lands. Landowners who sell their development rights retain title to their property, but they agree to use it solely for agriculture or related purposes. At DALPF’s request, the properties were appraised by Real Property Consultants, Inc. (RPC). RPC inspected both Procko Farm and Webber Farm in November 1999 and prepared an appraisal document for each property. RPC appraised the development rights to Procko Farm at $222,921 and the development rights to Webber 1 In their motion for partial summary judgment, petitioners also seek to shift the burden of proof to respondent pursuant to sec. 7491(a). Because we render a decision as a matter of law, we decide the parties’ motions without regard to the burden of proof.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011