In re Appealofthe Sewickley Valley YMCA

The Borough of Sewickley (Borough) appeals from the April 19, 2000 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County (trial court) that affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Allegheny County Board of Property Assessment, Appeals and Review (Board). In a decision dated November 18, 1997, the Board lifted the Young Mens Christian Associations (YMCA) tax-exempt status for 1993 and all subsequent years. The trial court reversed that portion of the Boards order denying the YMCA tax-exempt status for 74,031 square feet of YMCA property and affirmed that portion of the Boards order denying the YMCA tax-exempt status for 6,519 square feet of YMCA property. The issue in this case is whether the YMCA qualifies as a "purely public charity" in order to be eligible for tax-exempt status for its real estate. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.