Kootenai County commissioners deny tax cancellation request from White Pine Apartments owner; advise hardship filing

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — On Aug. 13, 2025, the Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners denied a request to cancel 2024 property taxes for White Pine Apartments, a 60-unit complex owned by Greystoke Capital Alpine LLC, after concluding the reported damage did not meet the statutory definition of a casualty event.

The denial was made by motion and approved unanimously at the county's tax-cancellation meeting. The board's action followed testimony from the property's majority owner, Gray Parnell, and legal guidance from county staff about Idaho Code § 63-711 and the appropriate administrative routes for value adjustments.

Parnell told the board the buildings, which the applicant bought in 2022, suffered extensive dry rot and related structural problems discovered during unit turn work in 2023. He said the city inspector ordered units vacated and that the owner completed approximately $2,100,000 in structural rehabilitation; the complex resumed move-ins in August 2024 and reached stabilization in 2025. "We completed about a $2,100,000 structural rehab," Parnell said.

Liana Kiser of the county staff told the board that the assessor's office adjusted the property's 2025 assessment after the 2024 appeal period had closed. "The assessment for 2025 has been adjusted," Kiser said, indicating the assessor's office had already accounted for loss of rental income going forward.

County staff advised the board that Idaho Code § 63-711's casualty-loss provision typically requires a discrete event occurring after the June assessment date so the loss could not have been reflected in that year's assessment. A county staff member who was identified in the record as Dave summarized that "faulty construction is not the same as a casualty event," and said the plain meaning of "casualty" typically refers to incidents such as fire or wind damage.

Commissioners and staff discussed two statutory pathways: a cancellation based on a casualty event tied to a specific post-June occurrence, or an assessment reduction and Board of Equalization (BOE) appeal when a reduction in value exists but is reflected in or should have been appealed through the assessor's process. Commissioners noted the applicant had paid 2024 taxes and that the assessor had already changed the 2025 valuation.

Because the board found the record did not show a casualty event as the statute contemplates, the board voted to deny the cancellation request for tax year 2024 for IN142720 (Greystoke Capital Alpine LLC, White Pine Apartments). The chair made the motion to deny, a second was recorded, and the vote was 3-0 in favor of denial (Commissioners Eberlein, Duncan and Chair Metari all voting "aye").

The board advised the applicant to pursue an undue-hardship application with the county (a discretionary process) or to pursue relief with the Board of Equalization if the owner believes the 2024 assessment did not reflect the loss of use. Commissioners suggested the hardship route would require submission of financial records documenting the loss, including tax returns and other financial statements that Parnell said are available.

The meeting record shows the board also resolved at the start of the session, by unanimous consent, to reschedule several agenda items (items 1, 2 and 4 through 38) to a future BOE meeting because those items concerned valuation amendments rather than tax cancellations.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to deny the request for cancellation of taxes for IN142720 (Greystoke Capital Alpine LLC / White Pine Apartments) — Outcome: Motion approved (denial). Vote: Eberlein, aye; Duncan, aye; Metari, aye.

Next steps

County staff and commissioners told the applicant the two viable administrative paths are (1) reapply under the county's undue-hardship process with supporting financial documentation, or (2) pursue a valuation appeal before the Board of Equalization for any relief tied to 2024 valuation that the assessor's 2025 adjustment did not capture.