Loading...
041700 Board of Review Min . . . A , BOARD OF REVIEW CITY OF SHOREWOOD MONDAY, APRIL 17,2000 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:30 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING Mayor Love called the meeting to order at 6:34 P.M. A. Roll Call Present: Mayor Love; Councilmembers Garfunkel, Lizee, and Stover; Planning Director Nielsen; Assessors Tom Carroll and Rob Winge Absent: Councilmember Zerby B. Review Agenda Garfunkel moved, Lizee seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 4/0. 2. PRESENTATION BY CITY ASSESSOR Tom Carroll, City Assessor, provided a brief presentation on the process utilized this year in assessing property taxes. He noted this year there had been 110 phone calls from concerned city residents. Of those 110 calls, 33 properties were reviewed, and of those, 27 resulted in reduced taxation. He explained the first step in the review process is to contact the assessor with concerns and set an appointment to review the property. He stated the purpose of this meeting is to allow residents to voice concerns if they believe their assessed valuation is incorrect. He also noted this meeting typically reconvenes at a later date in an effort to address concerns found this evening. 3. TESTIMONY BY RESIDENTS Mayor Love noted there was a sign-in sheet by the door and this sheet would be used to establish the order residents were able to speak before the Board of Review. Richard Tradewell, 5515 Timber Lane, PID 34-117-23-22-0023, expressed concern about the increased valuation of approximately 38% on his property over the past year. He attributes this to an overvaluation of his lot. He stated several reasons why he believes this to be the case. Mr. Carroll responded that in previous years the lot has actually been undervalued and thus, the sizeable increase for this year. Councilmember Stover questioned what happened in the past year to the lot to make such an increase. Mr. Carroll explained that a rating system had been developed to ensure fairness and noted that even if a structure could be considered a "teardown," valuation on that structure continues to increase due to building costs and labor costs utilized in replacement of the structure. He noted Hennepin County sets . . . ~ , BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING - APRIL 17,2000 Page 2 of3 these cost amounts, which were utilized in the rating system this year,. and those costs continue to rise every year due to trends in the marketplace for the building materials and costs of labor. Mr. Carroll also noted there were no sales on this bay to establish comparable valuation for this year. He explained he would review this situation and report back at the reconvened session on this matter. John Bridge, PID 29-117-2344-0007, signed his name into record, but Mr. Carroll noted he was not currently present as this matter had been remedied. Mark Stage berg, 21075 Radisson Road, PID 35-117-23-11-0080, expressed concern over what he believed to be excessive valuation increases for his property. He had met with Mr. Carroll previously, but still remained dissatisfied with the outcome of their meeting. In particular, he was unhappy with the comparable properties used in establishing his valuation. He presented several examples stating his belief that the increased land values in this area were not justified. Mr. Carroll reported to the Council that the homes in this area were, indeed, at the end of a four-year review cycle; thus, in part, explaining the large increase. Mayor Love recommended examining more comparable properties prior to the reconvened meeting as a way to bring closure to this matter. Glenn Kessel, 21095 Radisson Road, PID 35-117-23-11-0078, stated he lives next door to Mr. Stageberg, and noted his concerns related to a significant amount of noise and visual distraction from Highway 7. He stated his assessed valuation has increased approximately 20% over two years and his concern about the accuracy of numbers used in calculating valuation related to the square footage of his home. Mr. Carroll offered to inspect the property to review this matter, and will report his findings at the next meeting. Jean Polston, 28215 Boulder Circle, PID 31-117-23-34-0020, stated she believes she is premature in speaking at this meeting as she has not met with Mr. Carroll to review the property. A meeting with the Assessor was arranged in effort to resolve this issue. Raymond Brockhouse, 25960 Birch Bluff, PID 29-117-23-44-0012, expressed concern over the valuation of his property and lakeshore footage when compared with anticipated valuation of his next door neighbor's property and lakeshore. Rob Winge, also of the City Assessor's office, explained the neighboring home is being sold and the necessary information needed to provide accurate comparison would not be made available until the closing figures for that sale become part of public record. Mr. Carroll and Mr. Winge will gather more specific comparable information and report again at the next meeting. Lowell Wakefield, Wakefield Trust, 24000 Highway 7, stated his concern to be an anticipated increase of approximately 45% over the past year. A meeting with the Assessor was arranged to review the property. Jeff Fox, 5270 Howard Point Road, PID 30-117-23-44-0009, expressed frustration related to the trend in increased market values in his area. He believed there to be several inconsistencies in how calculations were determined related to his property over the past few years. . . . , BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING - APRIL 17,2000 Page 3 of 3 As there were no properties sold in Mr. Fox's immediate area in the past year to be utilized for comparable information, Mr. Carroll stated he would try to obtain those for review and comparison. More information will be reported at the next meeting related to this matter. Tom Simms, 5620 County Road 19, questioned how his undeveloped commercial property increased approximately 240% over the past year. Councilmember Stover questioned Mr. Carroll regarding the difficulties in finding comparable information for undeveloped commercial properties as there are so few remaining within the City. More comparable information will be obtained and reported on at the next meeting in this matter. 4. COUNCIL DIRECTION TO ASSESSOR Mayor Love read into record two letters from concerned residents--Robert Fayfield, 6005 Christmas Lake Road, PID 35-117-23-43-0001, and Bill Gleason, owner of 60 residential parcels through Sylvia Development, L.P., 8525 Edinbrook Crossing, Suite 101, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota _ and also asked for comparables for all citizens appealing before this Board. Mayor Love pointed out the significance of the word "comparable," noting that the real estate industry prefers the term "similar properties" as it is typically quite difficult to find actual sites that are similar enough to be adequately compared. 5. ESTABLISH DATE FOR BOARD TO RECONVENE The Board of Review agreed to reconvene on April 24, 2000, at 6:00 P.M. in an effort to provide timely service on these matters to the residents concerned at this meeting. All parties signed in to this meeting will be receiving notification of this meeting by phone and mail. Mayor Love noted the record will remain open on these and any new forthcoming matters of appeal until the April 24, 2000 Board of Review Meeting. 6. ADJOURNMENT Lizee moved, Garfunkel seconded, closing this session of the Board of Review and adjourning at 7:57 P.M. Motion passed 4/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Sally Keefe, Recording Secretary WOODY LOVE, MAYOR