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BOE upholds assessor’s value for Sunny Hill Drive home despite radon concerns
Summary
The Board of Equalization upheld the assessor’s $399,760 valuation for Pamela D. Troop’s Sunny Hill Drive property (PAN 0665873) after the assessor reported reduced radon levels and the board found the assessor’s adjustments adequate. The board amended findings to remove a paragraph referencing lack of access and approved amended findings.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Equalization on April 18 unanimously (5‑0) upheld the assessor’s 2025 valuation of $399,760 for a Sunny Hill Drive property owned by Pamela D. Troop (PAN 0665873), after hearing testimony about long‑term elevated radon readings and recent mitigation efforts.
Pamela D. Troop testified that the house, built about 1960 and sited on bedrock, has had persistent radon problems and multiple mitigation steps over years. She said she spent more than $200,000 since 2014 on mitigation after an initial radon reading reported as high as 345; subsequent remediation and mitigation work brought long‑term readings down. Appraiser Pam Cook (assessor’s office) told the board that March 14, 2025 readings showed a long‑term average of 9.9 and a seven‑day short‑term of 0.7; Troop also presented a more recent device readout showing a short‑term higher value (the appellant and assessor disputed short‑term variability during testimony).
Cook said the assessor had already applied substantial downward adjustments in 2022 to reflect the radon issue (the packet shows adjustments totaling roughly $118,675 for radon, an incomplete bathroom and a rental roof replacement). On reinspection in 2025 the assessor found many repairs completed and, given the updated readings and the improvements, concluded no further downward adjustment was warranted and that the property was fairly assessed. Cook presented comparable sales and assessed‑value comparisons showing the subject at roughly $72 per square foot, within the local range the assessor used.
During the hearing the board considered procedural language in proposed written findings that referred to an appellant’s failure to provide access to inspectors; the board voted to amend the findings by removing paragraph 2 under “Conclusions of Law” (which referenced refusal or failure to provide access) before approving the findings as amended. The main motion to uphold the 2025 assessment (land $61,182; improvements $338,578; total $399,760) passed 5‑0. Board members emphasized they needed concrete cost‑to‑cure estimates to justify additional downward adjustments beyond what the assessor had already applied.
The clerk will mail the amended written findings to the appellant and to the assessor. The board noted that both parties retain statutory rights to further appeal decisions.
