Challenge to special assessments for lake-level maintenance; Kadzban v City of Grandville; Validity of a special assessment; Michigan’s Adventure, Inc v Dalton Twp; Due process; Dixon Rd Group v City of Novi; In re Forfeiture of 2000 GMC Denali & Contents

The court held that the trial court did not err by denying plaintiffs’ (association and members) appeal seeking relief from the special assessments on their real property. Plaintiffs challenged the levying and distribution of the special assessments, arguing that defendants’ (counties) decisions were not authorized by law and were not supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence overall. The trial court found the special assessments were legally authorized. On appeal, the court rejected plaintiffs’ argument that the special assessments were “per se invalid because the methodology used to determine the improvements did not consider the public benefits of the improvements or ensure that the required proportionality was achieved.” They failed “to cite any evidence from the record that compares the market value of the assessed properties before and after the improvements.” The trial court also correctly held that plaintiffs “failed to demonstrate an unreasonable disproportionality between the amounts of their assessments in comparison to the benefits derived to overcome the rebuttable presumption in favor of validity . . . .” Finally, as to due process, plaintiffs “were not entitled to a process that closely resembles a judicial trial or a comprehensive evidentiary hearing.” Affirmed.