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Pewaukee Board of Review upholds assessor's valuation in one appeal, approves a negotiated cut after wetlands dispute
Summary
At a Board of Review session in Pewaukee, the board rejected a Crawford family challenge to a $913,700 assessment after the city presented adjusted comparable sales, and later accepted a negotiated $37,500 land-value reduction for a separate parcel after the assessor and owner agreed to classify two acres as undeveloped wetlands.
At a City of Pewaukee Board of Review hearing, members heard multiple property-assessment appeals and issued determinations on three contested matters.
The board upheld the assessor's valuation for the property at N17 W27310 Lakefield Drive, owned by David and Julie Crawford. The city's appraiser and assessor presented four adjusted comparable sales that, after neighborhood and age adjustments, produced comparable values ranging from about $940,700 to $1,000,200 and supported the city's assessed value of $913,700. Owner David Crawford said he believed the house was overvalued compared with local comps and offered an owner opinion of $735,232; he questioned specific adjustments in the assessor's comp grid. After hearing testimony and questions, a board member moved to accept the assessor's valuation; the motion was seconded and the board recorded affirmative votes, and the clerk was directed to mail the determination notice to the owners. "We just wanna be fairly assessed," David Crawford said during his testimony.
A separate case, involving a parcel owned by Genevieve Grama on North 21 West 25195, centered on conflicting maps about wetlands and developability. The owner supplied developer-produced maps and an engineering schematic that showed extensive wet areas and concluded much of the parcel would be impractical to develop; the owner said developers previously offered low prices citing wetlands. City staff examined Waukesha County GIS and the Wisconsin DNR surface-water viewer and reported those official layers did not show wetland on the parcel. With the planner not present, the assessor asked for a short recess to review mapping with the owner. After a break the assessor reported a stipulation: the city and owner agreed to classify two acres as undeveloped (a wetlands/undeveloped category used for Department of Revenue reporting), reducing the land value by $37,500 and lowering the total assessed value from $436,400 to $398,900. The board voted unanimously to accept the stipulation. Assessor/Rhett Tuft summarized the agreement: "I have adjusted the land and given him 2 acres that we both would agree to," and noted the total assessed value would be $398,900.
Earlier in the session the board also handled a case where an owner failed to appear; the board determined the matter on the record and instructed the clerk to send a determination notice. In all decided matters, the board followed statutory procedure by confirming members had enough information to reach a decision and directing the clerk to issue official notices.
The clerk will mail formal determination notices and any adjustments will be reflected in the city's assessment records. The Board of Review adjourned after completing the day's scheduled matters and confirming follow-up steps.
