Rollsworth Tri-City Trust v. City of Somersworth

We are asked to determine whether the master properly selected and applied the capitalization of income method in his valuation of the plaintiffs property in a tax abatement appeal. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

The property consists of 36.72 acres zoned for business use in Somersworth. An apartment complex occupies 14.7 acres; the remaining land is undeveloped. The plaintiff, Rollsworth Tri-City Trust, purchased the property for $3,964,000 in 1978.

The defendant, the City of Somersworth, assessed the property’s value at $2,544,750 for each of the tax years 1980 and 1981, resulting in…