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Clallam County board hears property-tax appeals; most assessor values sustained, one taxpayer relief ordered
Summary
The Clallam County Board of Equalization heard multiple appeals from Port Angeles-area property owners and representatives. The board sustained the assessor’s valuations on most contested parcels but agreed with an appellant on one large industrial appraisal; decisions were issued as board orders to follow.
The Clallam County Board of Equalization heard a series of property-tax appeals in Port Angeles and issued rulings on multiple petitions, sustaining most of the assessor’s valuations but setting a lower value in one contested industrial appraisal.
The board said it would issue formal board orders with the written decisions within about two weeks. The appeals covered commercial parcels, a former auto dealership, undeveloped lots tied to a family trust, a hardwood mill complex and personal property, and storage and industrial properties in the Port Angeles industrial corridor.
Why this matters: property-assessment changes affect annual tax bills and can shift tax burdens across the county; both taxpayers and the assessor’s office argued that market data and appraisal methods supported their competing figures.
Petitioners and the assessor debated which sales and listings were comparable, how to treat specialized or idiosyncratic properties and whether the assessor’s office had supplied required evidence for every file. Appraiser Lee Hancock and assessor’s-office staff described the county’s use of Department of Revenue advisory appraisals and a six-year physical-inspection cycle; several taxpayers and counsel urged the board to reject assessor evidence they said was submitted late or not shared with the taxpayer.
Craig Smith, representing the petitioner for petition 2024-24 (property ID 82013), argued the assessment was “a 34%” increase year-over-year and asked the board for a smaller adjustment to reflect local market patterns. Appraiser Lee Hancock told the board he had “not found any evidence of overvaluation” after reviewing available sales and listings. Michelle Delap, counsel for the petitioner in the Port Angeles Hardwood matter, asked the board to exclude assessor documentary evidence she said had not been provided to the taxpayer in advance, citing RCW 84.48.150.
The board paused briefly to handle a requested closed session for confidential material in one case (the Port Angeles Hardwood matter) and then continued public testimony. Several petitioners described property-specific constraints: lack of sewer and limited legal access for undeveloped lots on West Highway 101, and the specialized nature of auto-dealership and industrial buildings that can be difficult to repurpose.
Votes at a glance (as stated by the board at the end of the hearing): - Petition 2024-18 (Port Angeles Hardwood, Property ID 68592): board said it "agree[d] with the appellant" and set the value at $3,245,940 (board order to follow). - Petition 2024-19 (Port Angeles Hardwood personal property, Property ID 78375): decision referenced in the hearing record; the board listed the file as addressed (see board order for detail). - Petition 2024-24 (Toll House / later referenced as petition for Property ID 82013): listed as sustained by the board in the hearing wrap-up. - Petition 2024-23 (Hilton; Property ID 63890) and 2024-64 (Property ID 63891): both listed by the board as sustained. - Petition 2024-84 (Craver and Warmley, storage facility, Property ID 47940): sustained. - Petition 2024-93 and 2024-94 (Lakeside industries, Property IDs 63796 and 63674): sustained.
The board repeatedly told petitioners that written orders explaining the legal basis for each decision and any adjustments will be mailed in the coming weeks, and explained appeal rights to the State Board of Tax Appeals in Olympia.
Closing note: several petitioners asked the board to consider the timing and scale of increases when a parcel has not been physically inspected for the county’s multi-year rotation; assessor staff and appraisers described constraints on time and budget for commercial, income-producing appraisals and noted the county’s reliance on statistical market updates between physical inspections.
The board concluded the session saying it would issue formal orders; those orders will state the board’s adopted values and any instructions for appeal.
