New York Botanical Garden v. Assessors of Town of Washington
| Decision Date | 01 April 1982 |
| Citation | 55 N.Y.2d 328,449 N.Y.S.2d 467,434 N.E.2d 703 |
| Parties | , 434 N.E.2d 703 In the Matter of NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN, Respondent, v. ASSESSORS OF the TOWN OF WASHINGTON et al., Appellants. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
John K. Gifford and James E. Nelson, Poughkeepsie, for appellants.
John J. Loflin, New York City, J. Joseph McGowan, Poughkeepsie, Henry deF. Baldwin and Gail A. Schneider, New York City, for respondent.
In this proceeding, petitioner seeks to have certain of its real property declared tax exempt. We agree with the Appellate Division, 80 A.D.2d 170, 438 N.Y.S.2d 580, that the taxing authority has failed to prove that petitioner is not organized or conducted primarily for exempt purposes or that the subject property is not used primarily for exempt purposes. We therefore hold that petitioner is entitled to the real property tax exemption sought for this property.
Petitioner, the New York Botanical Garden, was organized by a special act of the Legislature (L.1891, ch. 285). Its charter states that it was organized "for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a botanical garden and museum and arboretum * * * for the collection and culture of plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees, the advancement of botanical science and knowledge and the prosecution of original researches therein and in kindred subjects, for affording instruction in the same, for the prosecution and exhibition of ornamental and decorative horticulture and gardening, and for the entertainment, recreation, and instruction of the people".
Petitioner carries out these purposes at both the Bronx Botanical Garden (located in Bronx Park) and the Cary Arboretum (located primarily in the Town of Washington in Dutchess County). The tax exempt status of so much of the land constituting the Cary Arboretum as is located in the Town of Washington is the basis for the present controversy.
The Bronx Botanical Garden is located on property owned by New York City, although petitioner has constructed some of the buildings and bears a large part of the cost of maintaining them. Activities conducted at Bronx Park by petitioner include the display of a large horticultural collection for public viewing, tours, informal lectures, maintenance of a plant specimen museum and a botanical and horticultural library. In addition, a variety of educational programs are carried out, including continuing education courses for adults, vocational training, a formal two-year horticultural training program, as well as college level courses and seminars, for which credit is available from cooperating universities. Research is also performed at the Bronx Garden, largely pursuant to Federal grants, the results of which are made available to the public.
The Cary Arboretum consists of 1,900 acres of real property, 1,640 of which are located in the Town of Washington. Most of this property was deeded to petitioner by the trustees of the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, under a will provision permitting the trustees to convey the property to any "charitable organization which shall be engaged in the conservation, maintenance and preservation of natural resources". Petitioner is required, by the terms of the deed, to use this property as an arboretum, defined as a facility devoted to, inter alia : the growing of a collection of woody plants; testing and introducing new species to the area; promoting research in ecology and other fields; breeding new strains; conserving native plant life of the area and providing instruction and information concerning plants and their importance.
Approximately 800-900 acres of the real property are used for the planting and monitoring of a collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are not indigenous to the area. This area is open to the public, subject to supervision and regulation deemed necessary to protect and preserve its character. Another 900 acres are being kept in a natural state to facilitate ecological studies. This area contains three nature trails, open to the public during daylight hours, subject only to the requirement of registering for such use. The remainder of the property is used for a display of the arboretum's collection, and is open to the public on a daily basis.
In addition to the general instructional and recreational uses of the property, a library and plant science museum are located on the grounds, both of which are accessible to the public. Numerous educational programs have been established in collaboration with high schools, colleges and universities. Persons enrolled in the petitioner's School of Horticulture receive about half of their instruction at the arboretum. Research activities are also conducted at the arboretum facilities.
From 1973, when the arboretum lands were acquired by petitioner, until 1977, the property was treated as exempt from real property taxation, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 1 of then section 421 of the Real Property Tax Law (renum. § 420 by L.1981, ch. 105). Under this statutory scheme, an exemption afforded the real property of a nonprofit organization might be either absolute or qualified. An absolute exemption is granted for property owned by a corporation or association organized exclusively for religious, charitable, hospital, educational, moral or mental improvement or cemetery purposes or more than one such purpose, where the property is used for one or more of the listed purposes (Real Property Tax Law, § 420, subd. 1, par. A qualified exemption is granted for property owned by a corporation or association organized exclusively for, inter alia, a scientific purpose, where the property is used exclusively for that purpose (Real Property Tax Law, § 420, subd. 1, par. Property that is entitled to a qualified exemption may nevertheless be rendered taxable by local law, ordinance or resolution so providing.
In 1977, the Town of Washington enacted Local Law No. 3, which, to the extent here relevant, exercises its power under the Real Property Tax Law to tax property used for scientific purposes. Acting under this local law, the arboretum property was restored to the tax roll, as the town assessors determined that the primary purpose of petitioner and the primary use of the arboretum were scientific and research-oriented.
Petitioner commenced this article 78 proceeding to have the arboretum property declared tax exempt. Special Term held that petitioner had not demonstrated its entitlement to a tax...
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