In this appeal, the Thomas County Board of Tax Assessors the Board appeals from the order of the Thomas County Superior Court granting summary judgment to the Thomasville Garden Center, Inc. the Garden Center. In granting the Garden Center’s motion, the superior court upheld the decision of the Thomas County Board of Equalization that the Garden Center’s real property is exempt from ad valorem taxes for the year 2001. Because we find that neither of the Board’s two enumerations of error has merit, we affirm the judgment of the superior court. In 1992, the Thomas County Superior Court entered an order finding that the Garden Center’s property qualified for tax-exempt status for the year 1991. The 1992 superior court order was based upon facts stipulated by the parties, and the superior court concluded that based upon the stipulated facts, the property met the three criteria set forth in York Rite Bodies of Freemasonry v. Board of Equalization , 261 Ga. 558 2 408 SE2d 699 1991 York Rite I , for a “purely public charity” entitled to tax-exempt status. Those criteria are as follows: 1 “the owner must be an institution devoted entirely to charitable pursuits;” 2 “the charitable pursuits of the owner must be for the benefit of the public; and” 3 “the use of the property must be exclusively devoted to those charitable pursuits.” Id. In York Rite I , the Georgia Supreme Court cautioned that “it must be remembered that the mere facts that the owner is a non-profit institution, that its charter declares it to be a charitable institution, and that the institution serves a benevolent purpose do not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the institution is exempted from ad valorem taxation by OCGA § 48-5-41 a 4.” Id. at 558-559 2 a.
In 2001, the Board notified the Garden Center that it was denying the property’s tax-exempt status because it did not meet the York Rite I criteria in eleven respects. The Garden Center’s appeal to the Thomas County Board of Equalization resulted in a reversal of that decision, which was affirmed on appeal to the superior court. The Garden Center’s motion for summary judgment was made on the ground of collateral estoppel resulting from the 1992 order.
