Fairfax Case Draws Line on Easements

The IRS argued that development near Washington Grist Mill Park and other Mount Vernon area historic sites created a "massive visual intrusion." (By Joe Stephens -- The Washington Post)

"The easement did not preserve open space," IRS lawyer John Altman testified. "The entire property [was] scraped of all the trees. It was filled with houses, pools, out-buildings, decks and et cetera."

In any case, Altman added, "there is no scenic enjoyment for the public to be had, whether it was 30 homes or 60 homes. It didn't protect the view."

To support his argument that more homes could have been built on the property, Turner introduced a letter signed by Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald W. Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) saying that Turner had the "right" to build 62 houses. But Hyland testified that Turner wrote the letter and that Hyland signed it without checking whether it was accurate.

Turner's attorney said in court filings that Turner had been caught in an "IRS dragnet" because he claimed the easement reduced the tract's value by $3.1 million -- more than the $2.5 million he had paid for the land roughly a year earlier.

"The IRS incorrectly reacted in a knee-jerk fashion to the level of the deductions claimed," Howard wrote. He argued that the write-offs were valid, however, because land values were rising quickly.

Still pending for Turner is a similar tax court case involving a nearby subdivision and an easement he valued at $2.4 million.

In the Grist Mill area, tourists visiting Woodlawn Plantation once could stand on the mansion's portico, turn toward Washington's estate and see only trees and the Potomac River. Now they see the subdivision, said plantation director Ross Randall.

"The fabric and the character of what originally was Mount Vernon certainly was changed," Randall said. "We have spent the last 20 years allowing visitors to step back and away from the modern world, and now it's harder to do."

Staff researcher Alice Crites contributed to this report.