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Montrose County Board of Equalization approves most tax-appeal outcomes; orders partial reduction for Walgreens property
Summary
At its July 30, 2024 special session acting as the Board of Equalization, the Montrose County commissioners approved multiple property tax appeal outcomes — including a partial valuation reduction for a Walgreens property — and accepted a batch of administrative denials allowing properties to escalate appeals to the state level.
Montrose County’s Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization on July 30, 2024, approved a series of property tax appeal rulings and administrative denials, including a partial reduction in the assessed value of a Walgreens store on Townsend Avenue.
The most contested matter involved account RO650995 (MDC Coast 4 LLC, Walgreens, 2351 Townsend Ave.). Hearing officer Ken Brownlee said the dispute centered on the capitalization rate used in the income approach: both sides relied on the Lowry Real Estate survey, but the assessor used a mid-range 6.73% cap rate while the petitioner argued for a higher 7.5% rate. Brownlee said he gave weight to market developments — including national store closings and restructuring announcements affecting chains such as Walgreens and Rite Aid — and reconciled the assessor’s value of $3,464,440 downward to $3,003,007.72, a reduction of about $460,668. “I recommend reconciliation to $3,003,007.72,” Brownlee said. The board approved the recommendation on a 2–1 vote.
Other appeals were resolved primarily by stipulation or by hearing-officer recommendation. Hearing officer Donna Harville Justin reported a stipulated settlement on R0017558 that established an adjusted 2024 value of $801,120; the board approved it. Harville Justin also reported a stipulation in R0016918 (petitioners Mark and Sarah Moore) that yielded an adjusted 2025 value of $963,770; the board approved that outcome. For account R0012919 (petitioners Lorena Martin and Kevin Dawson), Harville Justin recommended lowering the value from $746,000 to $730,000 based on assessor adjustments; the board approved that recommendation.
Ken Brownlee reviewed two commercial appeals for the Sawtooth Land Company (R0652078 and R0651865). He said sale comparables were limited and that the only lower sale cited by the petitioner appeared to be distressed; he recommended no change to the assessor’s values of $1,248,130 and $2,400,000, and the board voted to maintain those valuations.
The board also approved a grouped motion granting administrative denials for several accounts (including R0024265, R0018861, R00652146, R0022073, R0021645 and R0024746). Montrose County Assessor Brad Hughes explained that agents sometimes request administrative denial after receiving notice of a valuation change so they can escalate the appeal to the state level or to the Board of Assessment Appeals. “A lot of times they will ask for the administrative denial at that point,” Hughes said.
The board opened the special session at 9:03 a.m., concluded the Board of Equalization matters, and adjourned the meeting at 9:24 a.m.
The decisions change assessed values on the county tax roll for the involved accounts. Appearing at the hearings were two hearing officers (Donna Harville Justin and Ken Brownlee), the county assessor (Brad Hughes), petitioners or their agents, and the commissioners. Several items originally listed on the worksheet were clarified or withdrawn during the agenda review.
What’s next: For cases granted administrative denial, property agents may pursue appeals at the state level; for cases where the board denied relief, petitioners retain the option to appeal further according to state appeal procedures.
