STONEHAM – County officials heard arguments Wednesday in a tax abatement case brought by residents of the Harding Hill subdivision against the town of Stoneham.

Twelve households in the subdivision have filed for abatements, charging unfair assessment of their property by the Board of Selectmen, which also acts as assessors.

The presentations by both sides were made to five members of the Oxford County Board of Review, which will make a decision after a review of findings by both attorneys.

Homeowners’ attorney Brad Pattershall charged that land values on Harding Hill had been assessed too high in comparison to other properties in town, which he said are “enjoying a favorable rate of assessment.”

He charged that one of the greatest inconsistencies was that of Foster Hill, an undeveloped subdivision of 50 acres, which is near Harding Hill and has a $55,570 assessment, or one-tenth of its market value.

Assessments of the Harding Hill properties range from $35,000 to $155,000, according to Selectman John Collins.

Pattershall argued that lots on Harding Hill were being taxed three times as much as the Foster Hill property while having only one-fifth the acreage.

“We made a mistake, pure and simple,” Collins said. He said Foster Hill was incorrectly assessed due to computer error, and should have been assessed for $115,000. He said the mistake will be rectified.

“This idea that the town made a mistake is a smoke screen,” Pattershall said. He argued that the town could not retroactively increase taxes, and could only grant abatements to the Harding Hill residents.

According to Dennis Meka, who owns the most valuable property on Harding Hill, the residents are seeking between $300 and $1,000 in abatements on their individual properties, depending on the initial assessment.

Meka said about half of the subdivision’s homeowners are applying for abatements, and most of the properties are vacation homes.

Pattershall compared the Harding Hill assessments to several other properties in town, including 121 acres owned by authors Stephen and Tabitha King of Bangor. Pattershall said a 4.5-acre lot in Lovell also owned by the Kings was assessed at more than $700,000, while the Stoneham lot was assessed for $121,000.

“There’s about a million dollars missing in market value,” Pattershall said.

Attorney William H. Dale, who represented the selectmen, frequently talked with Collins during his presentation. He said the difference in assessment was due to various factors, such as the higher value of waterfront property. Harding Hill residents had provided a list of “comparable properties” that were assessed at lower values than the Harding Hill lots, including the King property.

Collins said mitigating factors such as tree growth or steep inclines led to such assessments.

Dale argued that the King property in Lovell is more expensive because it is on Kezar Lake, while their property in Stoneham is mainly woodland along a creek.

“Different lots, different locations are going to have different values on the market,” Dale said.

He said the Harding Hill price was affected by such factors as the difficulty of getting well water at the site. Dale argued that three applicants did not follow proper procedure and were ineligible for abatement.

He also cited a decision by the Maine Supreme Court. According to Dale, a site is assessed for its land and improvement, such as buildings, and an argument for abatement must take in the total assessment, not one or the other.

Pattershall, who had stressed that the abatements were only for the land assessment, rebutted that the decision defined land and improvement assessments were two separate entities, either of which can be challenged.

According to Collins, Stoneham’s assessment process is guided by Michael Rogers of the State Bureau of Taxation. Collins said the town only uses qualified sales, in which knowledgeable buyers and sellers work out a sale without the compulsion to sell or other external factors, in the assessment.

Collins said the Harding Hill values have increased 20 percent over the last two years, while other properties, excluding the more valuable waterfront properties, rose 42 percent.

Collins owns between five and six acres, including 130 feet of waterfront property, which currently has a land assessment of $71,770.

Pattershall and Dale will submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to the board by April 27.

“Our group is anxious to hear back from the board of assessment review,” Meka said. “We look forward to their findings.”