Cumberland County Board of Assessors denies three Zaquilo Island tax abatement requests

The Cumberland County Board of Assessors voted to deny three separate tax abatement appeals from owners of Zaquilo Island properties after a multi-hour hearing in which owners criticized land valuations and the assessor’s vendor defended its mass-appraisal process.

Appellants Lawrence Curtis, James Bynes and representatives of the Jamieson property argued Parker Appraisal Company improperly allocated value from buildings to land — inflating island land values — and that island lots should receive deeper discounts because of limited access, higher construction costs and service constraints.

The board’s hearing included extended testimony from Lawrence Curtis, who said Parker Appraisals “has unfairly assessed the land values on Zaquilo Island” and described the property he and his neighbors contend should be treated differently from mainland Long Lake parcels. Curtis pointed to a 06/26/2021 sale of 7 Zaquilo Island Road for $1,250,000 and said the dispute centers on how that sale’s price was split between building and land.

Jessica Westaver, an assessing agent for Parker Appraisals, told the board the firm used a mass-appraisal approach…