Opinion ID: 1751245
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The University's Appeal.

Text: The property involved in the University's appeal is occupied by Father Shafer, a Roman Catholic priest who serves as Vice President of University Ministry for St. Ambrose. He is provided rent-free housing in connection with that position. The facility also serves as Father Shafer's office, a conference center, and as a location for providing counseling to students. In finding that this property was not exempt from the general property tax, the court stated: The Court believes that the fact that it is the residence of the vice-president is sufficient in and of itself to deny the exemption, unless there be proof that it was essential that he live there in order to carry out the programs of the University. There is no such showing here.... Under these circumstances, the residential use of the property is not for an educational purpose. The point of beginning in our consideration of this issue is the Griswold College decision. The facts of that case involved two homes on a denominational college campus. One home was occupied by a bishop who was the college president and was ordained. The other home was occupied by one of the professors at the college who was not a clergyman. This court held both homes exempt. The basis for the holding on the bishop's housing was the religious exemption now contained in section 421.1(9). The basis of the exemption on the faculty member's housing was the educational exemption now contained in that statute. In reaching this result, this court stated: [T]he actual necessities of the institutions is not the rule prescribed by the statute. If it were, the building owned by the college and used as a boarding house for students, and possibly as the residence of the keeper of it, would not be exempt, because the keeping of a boarding house is a secular use and it is not necessary that the students should board in a building owned by the college corporation.... Griswold College, 46 Iowa at 281. The Griswold College case has never been overturned and was reaffirmed in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Browner, 255 Iowa 197, 121 N.W.2d 131 (1963). In the Congregation B'Nai Jeshurun decision, we held that housing maintained by a church to facilitate the availability of a full-time maintenance worker was not exempt. 301 N.W.2d at 759. In so doing, however, we stated: By so holding we do not now indicate any opinion as to the property tax incidents of housing for nonecclesiastical personnel within a religious edifice or of housing for ecclesiastics. Id. The present case does involve housing for an ecclesiastic and, in addition, the property is used for the educational purposes of a religious college. Although it is not located on the central campus of the University, it is common knowledge that university campuses are not always centralized. In sum, we conclude that the decision that the district court reached contravenes the decisions in the Griswold College and Trinity Lutheran Church cases and the principles that we have discussed in Division I of this opinion. We reverse the judgment of the district court on the University's appeal and remand the case to that court for an order pursuant to Iowa Code section 441.39 decreeing that the property is exempt. REVERSED ON PROPERTY OWNER'S APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON BOARD OF REVIEW'S CROSS-APPEAL.