Last day for tax relief

Today is the last day for neighbors of the Augusta National Golf Club, now living amid its massive, grassy parking lot, to seek relief from ever-increasing taxes.

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Kendrick Brinson/Staff

Bill Garner stands near the edge of his property on Heath Drive overlooking a new field that will be used for Masters Tournament parking next week. Many of his neighbors sold their property to make room for the lot, but Mr. Garner refused because he has lived there for his entire life.

So far, only four homeowners have applied for a county covenant that could lower their bills so long as they promise not to sell or move for at least 10 years.

Bill Garner and his elderly mother, Nelle, who live side-by-side on Heath Drive, submitted forms Friday. Before talking with a reporter, Mr. Garner said he didn't know he had to apply for the Board of Assessors to consider the tax exemption.

"Actually, it's a no-brainer to go ahead and do it, even if you think there's a chance you might move," he said. "Of course, in my case, there's no chance. We're staying."

The Garners are among a handful of residents off Berckmans Road who, despite lucrative offers, declined to sell during a land grab that started almost a decade ago. When word got out that the Augusta National was behind some of the companies acquiring parcels, sale prices shot up and speculators elbowed in on the market, causing fair market value -- and thus, property taxes -- to skyrocket.

At $4,180, Mr. Garner's 2007 taxes were nearly triple what they were in 2004. His mother's taxes more than quadrupled from $2,525 to $11,613 between 2004 and 2006, then came back down to $4,180 after she got an exemption from school taxes.

The Board of Assessors could consider their applications as early as its May 12 meeting, Chief Tax Appraiser Calvin Hicks said. Homeowners were denied the exemption three years ago, but Mr. Hicks and board chairman Charles Smith have since said that physical evidence, such as the parking lot itself and hospitality homes, show the neighborhood is obviously in transition.

If granted, the "transitional use covenant" would lower remaining homeowners' taxes to those of similar-sized houses in neighborhoods not in flux. On the south side of Heath Drive, where property values haven't been affected, 2007 taxes ranged from $475 to $1,318.

The escalating bills have been especially hard on elderly residents on fixed incomes. For Herman and Elizabeth Thacker, who've also applied for the covenant, what the Augusta National has done to their neighborhood would be fine if it weren't for the taxes.

During the past year, the club bulldozed many of their former neighbors' houses to assemble a 70-acre parking area, which will be used for the first time during next week's Masters Tournament. Beyond their front yard lie acres of lush, rolling grassland. For 51 weeks of the year, living on Stanley Drive will be much as it was when they moved there in 1959, when Washington Road was two lanes and the area was considered the country, Mr. Thacker said.

"Other than (the taxes), we're really tickled with it," Mr. Thacker, 75, said. "We're perfectly happy right here."

If the covenant is granted, but someone sells anyway, by law they could have to pay double the back taxes that they would have paid without the exemption.

That prospect doesn't bother Mr. Garner. In November, the National bought a 0.83-acre lot fronting Berckmans Road for $2.25 million. In January, it bought 1.4 acres along Hemlock Hill Road for $1.2 million.

"If you're gonna sell it, you're talking about millions," he said. "But we're not selling."

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.