Board trims assessment after owner argues hoop houses are removable

The Village of Harrison Board of Review voted to lower the assessed value on a contested parcel to $120,800 after a property owner argued that hoop-house greenhouses on the site are demountable and should be treated as personal property.

The owner told the board that the hoop structures "are definitely demountable" and described how the hoops slide over pipes driven only about a foot into the ground. "All you have to do is pull up that pipe, and the structure is gone," the resident said while showing photographs. He cited a nearby operation where dozens of greenhouse structures were classified as personal property and the land was coded as agricultural-support (G4), not commercial.

Assessor Lori Sacco said her office inspected the parcel, reviewed permit activity and consulted Department of Revenue guidance. She told the board that whether structures are classified as buildings can turn on use and specific indicators, including whether the structural elements are set into the ground and whether the operation sells direct to consumers. "If it's direct to consumer, it's commercial," Sacco explained; if sales are to wholesalers it can be treated as supporting agricultural use.

Board members said they needed objective, appraisal-style counterevidence to overturn the assessor's calculations but acknowledged the owner's documentation and comparables. In debate, members agreed to reduce the assessed improvement value rather than fully accept the owner's lower figure, and the motion to change the parcel total from $128,800 to $120,800 carried on a voice vote. The clerk told the owner he will receive a written determination with instructions about appeal rights.