Dylan Brogan
Way of the Cross installation at St. Raphael property
The property where St. Raphael Cathedral once stood is taxable, a Dane County Judge ruled Tuesday. St. Raphael’s Congregation, the entity that owns the downtown property, sued Madison for reimbursement of $98,479.89 it paid in property taxes for 2014. The downtown parcel on West Main Street was assessed at over $4 million. Pending an appeal to a higher court, the decision also means the congregation will not be reimbursed for property taxes in 2014 or 2015.
Circuit Judge Rhonda Lanford ruled that the property did not meet the qualifications for a religious exemption and declared judgment in favor of the city.
“Under tax case law, in order for property to be exempt there has to be buildings. So a property that’s devoid of any buildings is not exempt,” says assistant city attorney Jaime Staffaroni. “We are happy with the decision. We feel the court followed the law.”
In 2005, the 150-year-old St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by a fire started by a homeless man who suffered from mental illness. William Connell was convicted of arson in 2007 for setting the blaze and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Bishop Robert Morlino has long pledged to build a new cathedral on the site, but no construction plans have been announced.
Since the fire, what remained of the historic downtown church has been razed and an adjacent property was purchased to make way for the new cathedral. When all buildings were removed from the site in 2012, the city put the property back on the tax rolls.
That same year, the congregation converted the vacant property into an outdoor green space containing a Way of the Cross installation — a devotion containing 14 stations commemorating the locations along the route Jesus Christ took on the day of the crucifixion. The site has also hosted small prayer services during warmer months.
Even so, Madison city attorneys argued that the property is not “exclusively used” for religious purposes. They asserted that members of the public were allowed to walk dogs in the park-like space and religious services were minimal. Lanford rejected that argument, writing in her decision that “a person is just as capable of prayer and reflection while walking with their dog as they are alone.”
But state law regarding religious tax exemption is two-pronged. Not only must the property be “exclusively used” for religious purposes, it must also be “necessary for [the] location and convenience of buildings.” The congregation argued that the property was necessary for other parish buildings, including St. Patrick’s Church and Holy Redeemer Church, both nearly a half mile away. These churches lacked the space for an outdoor Way of the Cross installation. Lanford found this argument unpersuasive.
“A piece of property half a mile away remains hardly convenient to either of those buildings today,” wrote Lanford. “Because the Property is not ‘necessary for the convenience of buildings’ as the statute requires, the exemption must be denied.”
The expressed intent to build a new cathedral on the site was also not enough to keep it off the city tax rolls.
“The exemption does not extend to pre-construction planning of a building,” Lanford wrote, citing prior case law. “All doubt must be resolved in favor of taxability.”
In 2013, St. Raphael’s Congregation also sued the city for reimbursement of property taxes. In that case, Judge Richard Niess ruled that the congregation was not eligible for the exemption because it failed to meet the filing deadline.
The ruling issued this week may end up back in court. Matthew Fleming, attorney for the congregation, says no final decision on whether to appeal the case has been made at this time. How the decision affects plans to build a new St. Raphael Cathedral is also unclear.
“Certainly it’s not going to help the church’s effort,” says Fleming. “All the money that’s going to taxes can’t be used for the new cathedral. It’s one of things the church will have to consider when deciding to appeal.”
Editor’s note: Judge Rhonda Lanford is partners with Isthmus editor Judith Davidoff, who had no involvement with the writing or editing of this article.