Clear Creek County Board of Equalization upholds most assessments, reduces several for condition and comparables

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — The Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization, heard nine property tax protests at a special meeting July 22 and issued rulings that largely either accepted the county assessor’s valuations or approved modest reductions where photos and evidence supported lower condition ratings.

The board heard each protest under the statutory two‑year comparable sales window of July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024. Donna G., Clear Creek County assessor, summarized each parcel’s comparable‑sales analysis before owners described conditions they said the assessor had missed. Commissioners then voted on adjustments or on denial of appeals.

The cases combined routine appraisal technicalities (differences in acreage, garage counts, finished basements and land adjustments) with homeowner testimony about deferred maintenance, steep lots and access difficulties. For some protestors the board agreed that photos and testimony supported downgrading a property’s condition from “average” to “fair” or “poor,” producing lower assessed values. In other cases the board sided with the assessor that the closest, legally qualified comparables supported the county’s value.

Owners repeatedly raised the statutory time window for comparables. Donna G. told the board her office must follow…