The Okanogan County Board of Equalization reduced the land valuation for a 9‑Mile Ranch parcel owned by the Baudrillard Trust after the petitioner presented parcel‑level evidence of wildfire damage and recent area sales that, the petitioner argued, showed lower current land prices.

Don Charnum and other trust representatives told the board the parcel, which had lost forest cover in the 2015 9‑Mile fire, had significant standing dead timber and required years of cleanup. Charnum said the trust’s land valuation had doubled under the assessor’s most recent adjustments and provided several recent sales of 20‑ to 24‑acre parcels in the area that sold for between about $45,000 and $97,000.

Assessor staff, represented by Kurt Jacobson, explained the county’s land‑schedule approach for the 9‑Mile area, where the assessor uses divided “sections” or divisions and applies per‑acre land rates based on local sales. Jacobson said improved home sites in the area have a market premium — the assessor’s model replaces one unimproved acre with a $20,000 homesite acre when a parcel has been cleared and made buildable — and that many sales used in the county’s analysis covered improved parcels.

After discussion, the board concluded that the subject parcel’s characteristics and the appellant’s sales evidence warranted a lower per‑acre land schedule for that parcel. The board set a land value equalized at roughly $3,000 per acre (the board applied a 20‑acre × $3,000 calculation), producing a land value of $64,000 and leaving improvements at $245,100 for a new total assessment of $309,100 for BOE25‑029.

The board said the change reflects the parcel’s location within the county’s division pattern and the limited evidence supporting the assessor’s higher per‑acre figure for that specific parcel type. Written findings will be mailed to the parties; the appraisal and the board’s finding note that land values may be revisited at regular revaluation cycles or if on‑site conditions change substantially.