Dozens of Lewis County property owners criticize short‑term rental assessments at public meeting

Dozens of residents and short‑term rental owners urged Lewis County elected officials on Tuesday to change how the county's assessor treats properties that are rented briefly, saying new assessments have doubled or sharply increased tax bills for cabins and vacation homes.

Speakers described sharp year‑over‑year increases and questioned the assessor's choice of comparable sales. "I purchased my home in November of '24 and have a professional appraisal valuing it at $740,000. Yet my 2025 county assessment values the property at $877,000," said Laura Parker, who identified herself as a homeowner and short‑term rental operator in Chehalis. "Why are short‑term rental owners being singled out?"

Residents from Packwood, Ashford and other tourist‑oriented communities said the assessor's office has categorized homes that were rented at least once as short‑term rentals and then applied a separate comparable set that yields substantially higher land and improvement values. "The land is valued 17% higher and the improvements are valued 50% higher," Parker said. Several other speakers gave similar percentages and described independent mortgage appraisals that differed sharply from county valuations.

Nick Neville, an owner with a property in Ashford, cited a Washington State Supreme Court rule that short‑term vacation rentals are a residential use and urged the county to apply residential comparables. "Lewis County is the only county in the entire state of Washington that has cherry‑picked data to set a completely distinct comp set of short‑term rentals," Neville said.

Other speakers said the assessment changes are forcing owners to run loss‑making operations just to cover taxes or consider selling properties they bought as retirement or second homes. "This is going to drive owners out of the market," said Mary Jaisal, who said her Ashford property was appraised independently at $630,000 but assessed by the county at about $960,300.

Commissioner Swope responded during the public comment period that the assessor is an independent, elected official and not controlled by the Board of County Commissioners, but said she supports re‑examining the treatment of short‑term rentals. "I believe that these short‑term rentals should not be evaluated differently than a home that is used as a primary residence or a long‑term rental," Swope said.

The board did not take formal action on the assessments during the meeting. Several people said they were appealing assessments to the Board of Equalization; others said they had requested reassessments from the county assessor's office. The commissioners invited affected residents to engage with the assessor and with the commissioner's office for additional information.

Copies of assessment appeals and the assessor's methodology were not presented at the meeting; residents and commissioners said the assessor's office should provide clearer documentation of the comparable sets and formulas used. The county manager and assessor were not recorded taking immediate action during the meeting.

The public comment period lasted roughly from the first speaker on the issue through the commissioners' acknowledgement that the assessor's office controls assessments. The Board of Commissioners moved on to scheduled notice and consent items following the public comment session.

Votes at the meeting covered unrelated administrative resolutions; no county resolution to change assessment policy was introduced or voted on during this session.