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Long-running water and access disputes surface as Okanogan BOE sustains assessor on remote 20-acre parcels

5872580 · September 25, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Property owner William/"Burkholder" argued assessor ignored wetlands, an abandoned logging road and other agency determinations when valuations rose sharply; the BOE sustained the assessor's figures across contested 20-acre parcels after review.

A lengthy, technical appeal over multiple 20-acre parcels near Elbow Coulee Road concluded on Sept. 25 with the Okanogan County Board of Equalization sustaining the assessor's valuations after hearing detailed arguments about wetlands, an abandoned logging road and unresolved litigation over water rights.

Petitioner (record name: Burkholder) urged the BOE to reduce the valuations on four contiguous 20-acre parcels, saying the assessor failed to perform required physical inspections and ignored legal determinations from state agencies that limit development. "The appraiser simply ignored the laws and administrative codes that limit wetland road building when he revalued Burkholder's parcels in 02/2022," the petitioner told the board.

Burkholder submitted a…

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