Samis Land Co. v. City of Soap Lake

The issue here is whether a “standby charge” imposed by the City of Soap Lake upon vacant, unimproved, uninhabited lots that abut but are unconnected to its water and sewer lines is a regulatory fee or a property tax. We find that the charge is a property tax and that, because it is not assessed uniformly according to the respective values of the properties within the class, it violates article VII, section 1 of the Washington Constitution. We therefore affirm.

*802FACTS

Over the past three decades, respondents Samis Land Company, The Samuel Israel Living Trust, and the Estate of Samuel Israel…