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Board upholds Kennebunk assessment for 4 Chase Hill despite owner's claim of inequity
Summary
The BAR denied an abatement for 4 Chase Hill Road, concluding the owner did not prove the town’s total valuation was "manifestly wrong." The board voted 2–1 after hearing zoning and comparable-site arguments from the owner and a defense of valuation approach from the assessor.
Michelle Joyner, speaking for Wihbey Realty Trust, asked the Board of Assessment Review to substantially reduce the assessment for 4 Chase Hill Road, which the town lists at $1,117,700 ($877,700 land; $240,000 building). Joyner argued the property — in the Lower Village Business (LVB) zone — was being compared to parcels in Coastal Residential (CR) and that a closer comparable, 10 Chase Hill, showed a far lower land-per-square-foot valuation ($43.90/sq. ft. vs. $155/sq. ft.). The owner presented an opinion of value of $605,119 and sought an abatement of $512,581, stressing the home’s age (circa 1810) and lack of recent improvements.
Assessing Director Dan Robinson told the board that mixed-use and transitional-market conditions complicate valuation and that the office values properties according to their current permitted use. Robinson noted the assessor had already applied a $55,000 correction after an error on the tax card and defended the total assessment in the context of other sales on the street. He described the Chase Hill market as in a "period of transition," which affects comparability.
The BAR focused on the legal standard that the appellant must show a substantial overvaluation of the total property. The board concluded the owner had not met that burden; Tom Wellman moved to deny the abatement, Richard Smith seconded, and the motion passed 2–1 with Wayne Berry dissenting. The decision leaves the town's assessment for 4 Chase Hill in place.
