Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Farmland Topography Assessment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board orders 35% discount on unusable wooded acreage pending county acreage verification
Summary
A family farm owner said roughly 44 acres of his 164-acre tract are too steep or rocky for farming; the board voted to reduce the market value of the affected acreage by 35% subject to county confirmation of the acreage to which the adjustment applies.
Horton Hollis Jr. appealed the market value of his 164-acre farm to the Union County Board of Equalization and Review, saying approximately 44 acres of the parcel are steep, rocky and effectively unusable for crops and should be valued lower than the flat, tillable acreage.
"Our family farm is made up of 164 acres, of which 109.73 acres is open crop land. 54.27 acres of woodland," Horton told the board and asked the panel to account for steep topography on both sides of State Line Road. He said a county representative previously noted the parcel’s steepness and that buyers typically perform feasibility studies that reduce the market value of such acreage.
County staff told the board that available vacant-land comparables were generally flat tracts and that the assessor’s office had not applied a topography adjustment because it lacked comparable sales with heavy topographic constraints in the immediate area. Staff also noted Horton participates in the present-use-value (PEV) program and explained that the PEV calculation affects assessed tax value but is separate from the market-value appeal.
After deliberation the board voted to apply a 35% discount to the market value of the parcel acreage identified as heavily affected by topography, estimating the area at approximately 40–44 acres. The board directed county staff to confirm the exact acreage of affected land with Mr. Horton and to apply the adjustment once the acreage is verified. The county also noted it typically does not apply a fixed percent for topography without comparable sales, and that extreme cases may see larger discounts, but the board considered fairness to neighboring parcels in setting the 35% figure.
The board instructed staff to document the acreage calculation and to include any follow-up forestry or feasibility plans Horton wishes to submit for further review of assessed lines under the PEV program.
