The City of Pitt Meadows will lose out on taxes after the control tower at the airport was reassessed at a value of $10.

Nav Canada, which operates the air control tower at the Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, appealed its assessment to the Property Assessment Appeal Board, and the appeal board ruled it was only worth $10.

Nav Canada also appealed the assessments of other control towers, for example, in Richmond.

The City of Pitt Meadows is set to lose about $5,000 in taxes for the years 2011 and 2012.

Pitt Meadows Mayor Deb Walters said it's "disappointing" that the assessment board would rule that government property is "worthless."

Although the footprint of the air control tower is small, Walters said, it still needs municipal services like police, fire, and water.

The other question for Walters is what could be next - what other properties could be assessed for nominal amounts.

"We are keeping an eye on [other properties]," Walters said.

While compared to other municipalities whose air control towers are worth much more, like Richmond, the news is not "earth-shattering," Walters said, but the municipality doesn't "take it lightly," she added.

The ruling by the assessment appeal board states that "the market for the restricted use is inexorably tied with the larger airport" and that the properties aren't "bought and sold in the market, and therefore, they cannot have a market value as stand-alone properties."

mrantanen@mrtimes.com