Escambia County’s attempt to collect property taxes on 12-acre tract of Pensacola Beach has suffered a setback in Tallahassee.
The ruling overturns an earlier decision by Escambia County Circuit Judge Edward Nickinson.
At issue is a pair of towers to be built at Portofino resort by developer Island Resorts. On Wednesday, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal declined to revisit the case. A three-judge panel ruled in March that the firm should not be required to pay property taxes because it does not own the land.
“We’re disappointed in the ruling, and we still continue to believe that Judge Nickinson’s ruling was correct,” said Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones.
Jones and County Tax Collector Janet Holley had hoped the appellate court would hear the case en banc -- by all 14 judges. The next stop now appears to be the Florida Supreme Court, where if nothing else, they can get some clarity.
“That is not automatic, but we think it is such a question of public importance that we hope that they do take it up and review it,” Jones said.
Pensacola attorney Ed Fleming, who represents Island Resorts, did not return calls seeking an interview. He told the Pensacola News Journal that the ruling is a victory for all who lease property there, and it has "set a precedent for the entire beach.”
This is the latest chapter in litigation going back more than a decade involving the complex lease system on Santa Rosa Island, under which Escambia County has seen both residential and commercial development since Congress ceded the barrier island to the county 70 years ago. The one catch – the county cannot sell the land.
One obstacle the plaintiffs are having to overcome in the case, are beach lease agreements with differing language over the past seven decades. Jones says that’s created two different classes of lessees.
“One class that may have a slightly different renewal clause, and they would be taxable,” said Jones. “And then, the slight change in that renewal language – under this current ruling – would cause it not to be taxable on land only. I want to stress that – on land only.”
If either the state or U-S Supreme Courts declines to overturn the appellate court’s ruling, Escambia County could be on the hook to refund more than $450,000 in ad valorem revenues collected since 2011.
But whichever way the case is decided, Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones believes that it could lead to legal precedent in future, similar cases – including individual leaseholders on Pensacola Beach.