Brunswick County reduces tax obligation for developer

Brunswick County has released a 2010 tax obligation on 550 parcels of property owned by Mark Saunders and his Coastal Companies development company.

The action is part of a consent agenda approved by county commissioners at their March 4 meeting.

The tax reduction on Saunders’ properties is a result of a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling in January that the county had unlawfully reappraised the tax value of more than 100 lots in Ocean Palms, one of Saunders’ developments near Ocean Isle Beach, county tax administrator Ken Perry confirmed Tuesday.

Perry said the action reduced Saunders’ obligation, releasing a certain amount but not all of what is owed.

“Nobody’s taxes are going to zero,” Perry said.

He estimated taxes are still owed on roughly 225 Coastal Companies properties still owned by Saunders.

Those are properties that remained with Coastal Companies that weren’t transferred to a trust, Perry said.

“Those properties still have taxes outstanding, and the taxes need to be done on those also,” Perry said.

Saunders’ spokeswoman, Nita Hill, director of communications for The Coastal Companies, said Tuesday they had not received advance notice from the county about the tax reduction on Saunders’ properties.

“We’re in the process of reviewing that information right now,” she said.

She said they could not comment on Saunders’ properties on which taxes were paid last December, as it under strict confidentiality.

“The parties have reached a mutually acceptable resolution,” she said. “That’s all I’m at liberty to say on that for legal purposes.”

Laura Lewis is a staff writer at the Beacon. Reach her at 754-6890 or email llewis@brunswickbeacon.com.