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PETITIONERS APPEARING PRO SE: LAWRENCE PACHNIAK Culver, IN

ATTORNEY FOR RESPONDENT: MARILYN S. MEIGHEN MEIGHEN & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Carmel, IN _____________________________________________________________________

IN THE INDIANA TAX COURT
LAWRENCE and GLENDA PACHNIAK,

FILED
Jun 08 2010, 3:36 pm
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

_____________________________________________________________________ CLERK ) ) Petitioners, ) ) v. ) Cause No. 49T10-0904-TA-18 ) MARSHALL COUNTY ASSESSOR, ) ) Respondent. ) ______________________________________________________________________ ON APPEAL FROM A FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE INDIANA BOARD OF TAX REVIEW NOT FOR PUBLICATION June 8, 2010 FISHER, J. Lawrence and Glenda Pachniak (the Pachniaks) challenge the final

determination of the Indiana Board of Tax Review (Indiana Board) regarding their 2006 real property assessment. The issue on appeal is whether the Indiana Board erred in upholding the Marshall County Assessor's (Assessor) valuation of the Pachniaks' property. RELEVANT FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In 2006, the Pachniaks purchased residential property on Lake Maxinkuckee, in Culver, Indiana. The Pachniaks paid $1,175,000 for the property, which consists of four

parcels: two parcels sit directly on the lake while the other two parcels sit directly across a street (Shore Drive) from the two lakefront parcels.1 (See Cert. Admin. R. at 134-35; Oral Argument Tr. at 19-20 (footnote added).) For the 2006 assessment, the Assessor assigned the Pachniaks' property a market value-in-use of $1,182,700 ($1,075,800 for land and $106,900 for

improvements).2 (See Cert. Admin. R. at 123-28 (footnote added).) In arriving at that value, the Assessor classified the land as "lakefront" and applied a base rate of $12,862 per front foot.3 (See Cert. Admin. R. at 123-28 (footnote added).) Both across-thestreet parcels, however, received negative 50% influence factors to account for "traffic flow" and "size and shape." (See Cert. Admin. R. at 123, 128.) The Pachniaks subsequently filed an appeal with the Marshall County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA), arguing that the Assessor clearly erred in classifying the land of the two "across-the-street" parcels as "lakefront" because The property's house sits on one of the lakefront parcels; the garage sits on one of the "across-the-street" parcels. This is typical of many properties on Lake Maxinkuckee. In Indiana, real property is assessed on the basis of its market value-in-use. IND. CODE ANN.

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