Report in Support of

RECLASSIFICATION

Residential to Vacant Land

Parcel Number: 3929.204370080

Schedule Number: R0018610

Address: 107 Gentian Road Woodland Park, CO

PREPARED FOR

State of Colorado

Board of Assessment Appeals 1313 Sherman St. Denver, Colorado

Docket Number: 62035

Date: October 28, 2013

Time: 8:30 a.m. MST

DOUGLAS E BRUCE PETITIONER

V

TELLER COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION RESPONDENT

PREPARED BY:

Betty M. Clark-Wine, BSBA MPA Teller County Assessor

101 West Bennett Avenue

Cripple Creek, Colorado

BETTY CLARK-WINE TELLER COUNTY ASSESSOR

STATE OF COLORADO

Board of Assessment Appeals

1313 Sherman St. Denver, Colorado

DATE OF HEARING October 28, 2013

TIME OF HEARING

8:30 a.m.

Trailing Docket

ATTORNEY FOR RESPONDENT

Matthew Niznik

WITNESS FOR RESPONDENT

Betty M. Clark-Wine, Assessor

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Basis for Classification Change

This report sets forth the basis and the facts for the Assessor's decision to change the classification of the real property described as Lot 808 Tranquil Acres, located at 107 Gentian Road, Woodland Park, Colorado for ad valorem purposes from Residential to Vacant Land. This report has been prepared for presentation to the State of Colorado Board of Assessment Appeals on behalf of the Respondent, the Teller County Board of Equalization.

Approaches to Valuing Property & Property Classification

According to § 39-1-103(5)(a), Colorado Revised Statutes, all real property shall be appraised and the actual value determined for property tax purposes. The Assessor must consider all three approaches to valuing real property, i.e., the cost, market, and income approaches. § 39-1-103(5)(a) CRS, also provides:

(c) Except as provided in section 39-1-102 (14.4) (b), once any property is classified for property tax purposes, it shall remain so classified until such time as its actual use changes or the assessor discovers that the classification is erroneous. The property owner shall endeavor to comply with the reasonable requests of the assessor to supply information which cannot be ascertained independently but which is necessary to determine actual use and properly classify the property when the assessor has evidence that there has been a change in the use of the property.

The property’s “actual use” is used to determine its classification, which dictates the statutory methodology used in determining its value.

http://web.lexisnexis.com/research/buttonTFLink?_m=7ce6551f3005ed7af1f2ae408f10d06c&_xfercite=%3ccite%20cc%3d%22USA%22%3e%3c%21%5bCDATA%5bC.R.S.%2039-1-103%5d%5d%3e%3c%2fcite%3e&_butType=4&_butStat=0&_butNum=3&_butInline=1&_butinfo=COCODE%2039-1-102&_fmtstr=FULL&docnum=1&_startdoc=1&wchp=dGLzVzk-zSkAz&_md5=650d72e678f9bd83c3255397385e5e5f

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Physical Inspection of Subject Property At Petitioner's suggestion, the Assessor personally inspected the Subject Property to confirm the presence and condition of improvements thereon for the purpose of classifying and valuing the Subject Property according to its actual use. The Petitioner advised the Assessor to “look in the windows” to confirm that it had a living room, kitchen, etc. The Assessor performed a physical inspection on July 16, 2013.

Based on the physical inspection performed by the Assessor, the Assessor

determined that the property is not used as a residential property. Further investigation revealed that the improvement has not been used as a residence since the Petitioner purchased the property in June 1991. At

the County Board of Equalization hearing held July 22, 2013, the Petitioner was asked if the property had been legally occupied since his

purchase in 1991 and, he confirmed that it had not. The Teller County Building Department provided the following supporting

information by email:

"In order to reestablish electrical service to a property where the service has been terminated for over a 12 month period, it is necessary for an electrical permit to be issued by the Teller County Building Department so the County’s electrical inspector can inspect the existing service to verify that it is compliant to the current electrical code. If the service is found to be compliant the power provided is notified that the inspection passed and they can reenergize the service." "If a habitable structure has been abandoned for a period of time and then becomes occupied again, if everything is in working order that is fine however if any work that requires building permit(s) is necessary to bring the structure into a habitable condition the work performed will need to be done to the current building codes."

The Assessor contacted IREA, the electric company servicing Tranquil Acres Subdivision. The representative confirmed that a meter was in place; however, permanent service to the building would not be permitted without approval from the Teller County Building Department.

On July 22, 2013, a representative with Tranquil Acres Water District confirmed that the existing water system has not been used for ‘at least 10 years’. The property has a water tap, but the “plumbing would have to be totally redone” to conform to current standards and that “it is unlivable”. At the County Board of Equalization hearing, the Assessor asked the Petitioner if he would be agreeable to having a compliance inspection performed on the property. The Petitioner stated that he would not agree to such an inspection.

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According to the Assessor’s Reference Library Volume 2, “Minor structures are improvements that do not add value to the land on which

they are located and that are not suitable to be used for and are not used for any commercial, residential, or agricultural purposes, § 39-1-

103(14)c(II)(A), CRS. (See Attachment 11). Based on the foregoing, the Assessor has confirmed that this property is

not being used and cannot be used as a residence without substantial reconstruction, modification or improvement. The current actual use was determined to be a shed/utility outbuilding and, therefore, the Subject

Property was reclassified as VACANT LAND.

_________________________________________

Betty M Clark-Wine Teller County Assessor

Date: October 9, 2013

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SALIENT FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Purpose of Report To determine the classification of the Subject Property in order to value the property for ad valorem purposes

Location 107 Gentian Road, Woodland Park, Colorado

Land Area .34 acres

Zoning R-1M

Property Type Shed / Utility Building

Year Built 1966

Adjusted Year Built 1966

Classification Vacant Land

Quality Average

Condition Fair

Number of Stories 1

Improvement Sq. Ft. 1517 SF Finished Above Ground

Sales History

Sales Date July 1991

Sales Price $7,000

APPROACH SUMMARY

THE SUBJECT PROPERTY HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS VACANT LAND FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES. THE ASSESSOR HAS CONSIDERED THREE APPROACHES TO VALUE: COST,

MARKET, AND INCOME. VACANT LAND PROPERTY VALUE WAS DETERMINED BY THE MARKET APPROACH TO VALUE {39-1-103(5)(A), CRS} AND THE IMPROVEMENTS WERE

VALUED BY THE COST APPROACH. THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE PROPERTY WAS AT ISSUE AND NOT THE VALUE OF THE OUTBUILDINGS.

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Historical Information

1992 - Property inspection report - Poor exterior & interior condition; no heat. 1996 - Property inspection report - Poor quality & poor condition 1997 - (January) Property inspection report - Poor condition 1997 - Notice of Value Property protest in file indicates Mr. Bruce protested the classification change of his property from Vacant Land to Residential Property ($6,873 vacant land value, to $94,537 residential value). His comments indicated that it was purchased in 6/91 as an arms-length transaction and "property not habitable" 1997 - (June 20) Property inspection report "Res Property found to be uninhabitable upon field inspection.” 1997 - Notice of Determination reducing property value from $94,537 to $10,506. 9/18/1997 - Copy of letter to Mr. Bruce. Assessor inspected property on 4/26/96. No value was attributed to the residence because it was posted as dangerous and unsafe for human occupancy by Teller County Code Enforcement. It further states, "The $1,584 actual value for improvements represents the value of the three outbuildings." The Assessor (Charles D. Pierce III) agreed with Mr. Bruce that the property 'qualifies for the residential assessment ratio." 4/8/2003 - copy of Teller County Building Department Application for Electrical Permit. While Mr. Bruce applied for permanent installation, additional information indicates that Mr. Bruce was only granted a temporary permit for "clean up" because it was "currently - unsafe".

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SUBJECT SITE AND IMPROVEMENTS

Current

Street View - Front

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Front Porch

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METER SET FOR TEMPORARY CLEANUP

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OLDER PICTURES FROM FILE

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LOCATION MAP

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ATTACHMENTS

1 2003 Application for Electrical Permit (for Permanent Service) 2 2003 Building Department Inspection Report (Failed inspection for permanent

service; temporary service for clean up permitted) 3 1997 Notice of Value (reclassifying Vacant Land to Residential Property

$94,537); page 2 indicates Mr. Bruce’s comments “Property not habitable.” 4 1997 Notice of Determination (front page only) for residential property (value

$94,537) 5 1997 Protest Valuation Review (“Res Property found to be uninhabitable upon

field inspection.”) 6 1997 Field Inspection Report 7 Sketch (note conditional issues) 8 1997 (September 18, 1997 Letter from Assessor to Mr. Bruce regarding

valuation error) 9 1996 Building Values Report 10 1992 Cost Valuation Report

11 § 39-1-103(14)c(II)(A), CRS

12 Assessor’s Property Profile with account notes