Routt County commissioners on Oct. 21 heard the Board of Equalization hearing‑officer recommendation in the property valuation appeal by petitioner Jay Fetcher and subsequently tabled the matter for additional review and deliberation to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The hearing officer recommended a total value of $2,150,000 for the subject parcel; the assessor’s office had proposed a value of $2,499,220. Commissioners heard statements from the petitioner, county appraisers and staff and reviewed the hearing officer’s written report, comparable sales and maps. Discussion focused on the site’s unusual attributes — steep topography, constrained building envelope, limited legal access and the presence of a city trail easement — and on how those factors should affect total value versus potential development value.

Several commissioners noted the hearing officer has reduced the assessor’s value in prior reappraisals of the same property and that the current recommendation represents a material downward adjustment compared with assessor figures. One commissioner said the comparable market shows a modest overall increase in land values between 2023 and 2025 and questioned why the subject parcel would decline substantially when neighboring parcels showed steady percentage increases. Another commissioner said the hearing officer’s reasoning — that the parcel’s constraints limit immediate development potential — tracked with the evidence presented.

After extended deliberation and without unanimous agreement among commissioners on how to reconcile the assessor’s valuation, the hearing officer’s recommendation and market trends, the board voted to table the Fetcher appeal to Oct. 28 to allow commissioners more time to review materials and potentially prepare an independent valuation recommendation. The board instructed parties that additional information may be provided but emphasized not to introduce evidence outside the existing record without board direction. The transcript records that a motion to table carried by voice vote.