Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. Board of County Commissioners

Citations

• 107 Wash. 264

Syllabus

<p>Drains (16-1)—Assessment—Benefits to Property—Apportionment—Railroad Right of Way. An assessment for an irrigation ditch against a railroad right of way is not upon a fundamentally wrong basis and arbitrarily excessive although it averages $235 per acre, while bordering farm lands were assessed at $15 per acre and county highways at about $90 per acre, where the assessments were arrived at by concluding that the total benefits were three times the total cost of the improvement, and farm lands were charged one-third of the increased market value, while railroad right of way and county highways were held to be benefited in a certain sum each, one-third of which was assessed against them, in lieu of attempting to determine the increased market value, upon the theory that it was impracticable to so measure benefits to such property; in view of the fact that the evidence tended to show that the ditch very materially contributed to the improved condition of the roadbed making it suitable for heavier traffic (Chadwick, C. J., Main, Mackintosh, and Mitchell, JJ., dissent).</p> <p>Same (18)—Assessments—Benefits to Property—Revíew. There being, under Rem. Code, § 4226-30, no appeal from the decision of the county commissioners apportioning assessments upon the property in a drainage district benefited by the construction of an irrigation ditch, the decision being final, there is a stronger presumption supporting tbe apportionment of benefits than in the cases of city local improvement assessments from which appeal may be taken to the courts.</p>