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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOR April 10, 2002 ct¡'Y\J) 1QJ.Ld CITY of ANDOVER 5·"6)... Board of Review VVednesday,Þ.priII0,2002 7:00 pm 1. Call to Order 2. Board of Review 3. Adjourn .. ~ 5·1·0;7-- CITY of ANDOVER ANDOVER BOARD OF REVIEW -APRIL 10, 1001 MINUTES The Andover Board of Review was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, April 1 0, 2002, 7 :02 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Ken Orttel, Julie Trude Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, John Erar Anoka County Assessor, Ken Jagusch . Anoka County Assessor, Jeanine Hebert Others ~ ANDOVER BOARD OF REVIEW Mr. Jagusch explained that he was the Anoka County Assessor and has appraised the City of Andover for two years. He stated the purpose of this meeting was to evaluate the valuation and classification of property. Bill Sikora. 17800 Universitv Avenue NW. Mr. Sikora explained he was not there to appeal anything; he just wanted to point out to the Board the big increase in his property valuation. He stated the property his father bought years ago had gone up in value according to the Anoka County Assessor. He stated he built a house on the property in 1974 and this year his estimated market value went up 45 percent. In 1996 it went up three percent. In 1997 it went up four percent. In 1998 it went up five percent. In 1999 it went up another five percent. In 2000 it went up six percent and in 2001 it went up 11 percent. He did not understand why for so many years the value went up proportionately and then this year it jumped so high. He stated he understood that based on history, the taxes would catch up with the estimated value. Mr. Jagusch stated the Assessors go on the data they have in their records. He stated they are historians in that fact, and this is what they were doing. He stated Mr. Sikora did not disagree with . the valuation amount. Mr. Sikora stated he did not see any consistency in the rise of the valuation from previous years. He asked ifhe had actually made 52 percent in value of the property. Mr. J agusch stated there was concern with looking at all acreage in Andover. They made sure they had all the values on every property. Councilmember Jacobson asked if there was a 10 percent increase limit per year. Mr. J agusch stated that the only time this is limited to 10 percent is when the tax base reaches the valuation. Andover Board of Review Meeting Minutes - April] 0, 2002 Page 2 Councilmember Jacobson asked what the value of Mr. Sikora's house was. Mr. Sikora stated it was $205,000 for the house and 20 acres in 2001. In 2002 it increased to $297,000. Councilmember Jacobson asked what value is put on an acre ofland. Mr. Jagusch stated it would be approximately $8,000 to $9,000 per acre. Mr. Jagusch stated that what was once 'Junk" land is now becoming very desirable to put houses around. Councilmember Jacobson stated that even ifthey took the value of$205,000 and applied 22 percent that would only be $245,000. Mr. Jagusch stated that the 22 percent was a base number; it is in reaction to what the market is telling them. Mr. Sikora stated his concern was everyone else's taxes went down but his taxes went up. He stated he is not complaining that the land had appreciated, just the huge jump in percentage. Councilfuember Jacobson asked if the other parcels ofland he owned went up in value. Mr. Sikora stated the 48-acre parcel, half underwater, nine acres tillable, estimated taxable in 2002 of$1 06,000 went up to $188,000 in 2003 for a 77 percent increase. Councilmember Knight stated these are extraordinary increases. He wanted to know where that was coming from. Mr. J agusch stated this came from the data they received over the year. He stated if they saw trends coming in, they need to react to that and they did. Councilmember Orttel stated the only thing that changes taxes is if the City decides to spend the money. Basically the spending happens in the County, School District and Met Council. The real issue is how much money is actually spent by the government. Ifthe value is accurate, then the law needs to be changed. He stated that if this is the value, then it is the Assessor's responsibility to decide what it should be. The City decides what the taxes would be. Councilmember Jacobson stated that if Mr. Sikora thought the value was wrong, he could ask to have it reevaluated. Mr. Sikora stated that he was not looking at objecting to it. Councilmember Jacobson stated if he did not want to take any action on this, then the Board cannot look into this. Councilmember Orttel stated that Mr. Sikora was trying to tell the Board that with the increase to the land, it would be hard to hang onto the land and not develop it. Mr. Jagusch stated they are constantly trying to find a grip on the market. Mayor Gamache stated Mr. Sikora could ask to see any data they had regarding the property. Mr. Sikora stated that he did speak to Mary at the Assessor's office who showed him the information on his property and stated that this was what real estate developers were paying for raw land in Andover. Mr. J agusch stated that the rate in the increase did not put a burden on him; it is the end result that put a burden on him. Councilmember Orttel asked if the increase was very unusual in his case. Mr. Jagusch stated that it was unusual and they might not have had the data on his area for the year. Mr. Sikora stated that land had been sold in the area for the last three or four years so they did have that data. - - .- Andover Board of Review Meeting Minutes - April 10, 2002 Page 3 Mr. Sikora stated all he was asking for was some consistency. He stated there was something not consistent with the increase. Councilmember Trude asked if the developers' speculations affect the values. Mr. Jagusch stated that it does affect the overall market. Councilmember Trude stated the increase was very sudden compared to the previous year's mcreases. Larvsa Matzek. 2381 l5Sth Lane NW Ms. Matzek stated she was not appealing anything at this time. She wanted to know if the Assessor currently ch~ks what surrounding cities are assessing their properties at. Mr. Jagusch stated there is a consideration. He stated they would check on the surrounding property values to see if the value was comparable to what was around them. Councilmember Orttel stated net growth was 19.2 percent for Andover, and asked if he knew the growth of the surrounding cities. Mr. Jagusch stated he did not know offhand, but he did think they were comparable. There would not be any drastic amount from one city to the next unless there were drastic differences in neighborhoods. Councilmember Orttel stated they could look at the comparison of surrounding areas. Ms. Matzek stated she lives on tw~nfcres of1~that she purchased for $355,000 along with a house and the biggest increase was the land increa ed to $393,900. She stated the County reduced it by $8,400. She asked if there was an entity tha ould follow along to make sure the City was not increasing too quickly \0"',(.,, \..ÙQ5 _(d~e.d ~-+hC" 45se$5.D". \ «5+-'--1<?-(<>' Q:1 (,5"5',000 of,el -t-Ý).-;, . ,\~tl"" --tlìe. \J(L\Ll~ G Iê- n.ne; onl:) w-c...... '-----r-> To 11 <1"3.<ìo",,.. lQ\'n.LI1i1.ui 3-1-ð;;') Councilmember Trude stated if it increases too quickly, the City would be taking on the burden of paying the taxes of the other cities in the County. Mr. Jagusch stated the overall value of the property is the concern. He stated if they wanted to look at individual properties, the overall assessment of the properties needed to be acceptable for the State. He stated the assessment levels would be equal. Councilmember Knight asked how the value could go up on a two and a half acre lot that could not be dividable. Mr. Jagusch stated a residential buyer does not look at a typical lot by square foot size, they look at it as a place to put a home and the view. Residential buyers do not look at land like a farmer or a cornmercial developer would. Ms. Matzek stated.it loo~ life what occurred in her development is that they took everyone across the board ;áh1l7ai~~a{í;'ê(vãi&e on all ~~"'òt.w;teéi~~ ¢ìhe stated the ~unt~ did reduce the value "ïili'~ 'tt }t" U\ 'h I ~J'("'''ex -<'-< ,~Q-AJ'ih'-<'<W<l ihv vw"e" of her property d s e was here to -te!l: e COunCl wha was going on let em ow at Andover's valuations may be rising quicker than other cities. L (U~ ~dltJ. ,~\ llt;¡.\ - ..- - .- Andover Board of Review Meeting Minutes - April 10, 2002 Page 4 Councilmember Knight asked if the Assessor looks at comparable property when evaluating the land. Mr. Jagusch stated each Assessor has an area they assess and they do look at other properties to compare the land. He stated there is not a concern with what other cities value their property at; they are only concerned with the value of the property in the city. Ms. Matzek stated property owners really need to get an appraisal done in order to fmd out what the property is actually worth. She stated her estimated market value is $376,300 and the actual is $355,500. . Mayor Gamache asked with her being a realtor, if she found houses in Andover comparable to houses for sale in other cities. She stated that she found them to be higher than surrounding cities. Ms. Matzek stated her concern is that the Board keep an eye on what th~aluation was in other cities compared to Andover. She asked if all the homes were looked atiw'h~n v~fu'ing them. Mr. Jagusch stated they did look at all the homestõ value them. l Clme1Ì,M -5 ·1·6),) Councilmember Knight asked ifit was three years before the absolute value kicked in. Mr. Jagusch stated that in the Minnesota Plat Law, the value on the piece ofland is split up in separate sections and within three years, the land hits the estimated market value. Mr. Jim Nielson. 4949 Marvstone Blvd NW Mr. Nielson stated he is a real estate attorney, involved in litigation continuously. He stated the real problem was the property owners only looked at the current tax statement not at the blue statement behind, which was what would tell them what was going to happen next year. Property owners do not understand what the papers mean or that they can appeal the increase in their valuations. He stated he was there to discuss three items, one was his property, the other was his son's property and the third was a friend's property. He stated that when he looked at his tax statement, he saw the problem was the increase in the land value. Councilmember Jacobson asked ifhe would be speaking regarding all three properties. Mr. Nielsen stated he would be speaking on behalf of all three. Councilmember Jacobson asked if when someone represents someone else, could the Board make a decision on them. Mr. J agusch stated that Mr. Neilson did state he was representing these people, so he can represent them and the Board could make decisions. Mr. Nielson stated the Council was sitting as a Board of Equalization. He stated they are trying to equalize valuations throughout the City by being on the board. Mr. Nielson stated the first property he wanted to discuss was his own at 4949 Marystone Boulevard NW, 3.35 acres in area. This property is on the Rum River and from his house or anywhere on his - -- - Andover Board of Review Meeting Minutes - AprillO, 2002 Page 5 property he cannot see the river. He stated he has to drive through a half mile of mud to get to and from his house in the morning and night. It was his property that got him looking at other properties. Last year he had an assessed value of $402,700, of that $87,600 was land. This year the value was $491,600 and $159,000 of that was land. The building portion he could not argue about. The land was an 81.51 percent raise. He paid $85,000 in 1997 for the land and wanted to know how the value could go from $85,000 to $159,000 in five years. The neighbor's value did go up 78.44 percent but they have a view of the river and a very nice lot. He stated the land value went up to $98,500 and was less than his value and there was something wrong with that. Last year he checked with a neighbor to the north on 159th Avenue NW with the same size property. The value last year was raised to $87,600 and the value this year was raised to $159,900, like his. Mr. Nielson stated the next property he wanted to discuss was his son's. He is located in Timber River Estates. His son bought the property for $331,500. The problem is that all the lots are over five acres and on a paved street. This year the value was $274,500 for land only. Mr. Nielson stated the Assessor was very helpful, but sometimes human beings and computers create errors. He stated that you couldn't sell a lot on the Rum River for these figures. It was simply a glitch in the system. He talked to the City Assessor and the Assessor said all kinds ofthings. He stated that appraising and assessing are not an exact science. Councilmember Jacobson asked why these assessments were so high. Mr. J agusch stated these were new properties. Mr. Nielsen stated the Assessor corrected the Timber River assessments. Lot 1 was $274,500 and it was reduced to $137,000. Lot 2 was $269,500 and it was reduced to $132,000. Lot 3 was $274,500 and it was reduced to $237,000. Lot 4 was $269,500 and it was reduced to $132,000. Lot 5 was $115,500 and it was reduced to $109,500. Lot 6 was $253,000 and it was reduced to $121,000. Lot 7 was $253,000 and it was reduced to $121,000. He stated he told the City Assessor this was done right. Mr. Nielson stated that last year Mr. J agusch went through his entire house and appraised the house for the current value. He stated they have come down from $159,000 to $128,200 on his house but that was not good enough, he wanted the value to be $115,000. Councilmember Jacobson asked what the difficulty was on the properties. Mr. Jagusch stated Timber River Estates was due to a clerical error. He stated they value the land as its own separate entity. Councilmember Trude asked if that lot had different amenities than the other river lots. Mr. Nielsen stated he was saying something was wrong. His assumption is they would find the same percentages. The Lot 2, Block 3 land value last year was $49,800, and this year it was $83,700. He stated his son's lot does not have any trees and it was the lowest valued lot on the block. Mr. Nielson stated he was representing Ms. Funk who owns property on the east side of Crooked Lake to the west of Kemps Addition. Her land value went up to $111,000 which is an 85 percent increase from last year's valuation of$61,000. Andover Board of Review Meeting Minutes - April] 0, 2002 Page 6 Councilmember Jacobson asked if the County had looked at all the lots on Crooked Lake. Mr. Jagusch stated the relevancy was the water on the land; it did not matter on the size of the lot. Mr. Jagusch stated he did not have a chance to look at the value of the lots because he just found out about it today. This would be carried out beyond the Board. At this point, very few of the lots on the Rum River are like any other lot, they are all unique. He stated on Crooked Lake the shape of the lakeshore is not relative; the reason it is valued higher is because it is on lakeshore. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the Assessor was going to look at all the properties on Crooked Lake and all the other properties talked about. Mr. Jagusch stated they would be looking at the properties because Mr. Nielson had brought them up to him. Councilmember Knight asked at what point the flags go up and they start looking into this. Mr. J agusch stated they do check their numbers before they lock their numbers down and the entire staff is involved. Sometimes the increase is deliberate. - Councilmember Trude stated they are seeing a pattern with the high percentage markups. Mr. Nielsen stated he told the Assessor he would not accept the decrease on his property because he felt it was still too high. He stated he did not want to fight. He wanted $115,000 for his property value and he would not accept $128,200. He asked the Board not to close the meeting tonight. He stated they could continue this and request the Assessor to look further into the increases. Councilmember Jacobson asked ifhe was still appealing Timber River Estates. Mr. Nielsen stated that property was taken care of so he was not appealing it. MOTIONby Orttel, Seconded by Jacobson, to request the Assessor to reevaluate Parcels 13-32-25- 44-0028, 12-32-25-24-0004,33-32-24-34-0003 and bring them back to the April 16, 2002 Council Meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Jacobson asked if Mr. Jagusch would look at the other river properties. Mr. J agusch stated they would be looked at for clerical errors. Mayor Gamache stated he also wanted to see the east and west sides of Andover when this was brought back to the next Council meeting. Mayor Gamache stated the prices in certain areas are different in different cities. He asked to see the taxes of a lake home in Coon Rapids or homes in Ramsey. The Council wants to see if the values in Andover are higher than surrounding cities. Ms. J eanine Hebert, Anoka County Assessor, stated the issue of river lots is a continuing issue. They will be meeting with other cities to discuss the increase in the value of the properties. She stated they could get some numbers on lots in other cities that would be comparable to Andover. The overall increase in other cities was 19 percent. She stated Andover had a significant increase in new homes in the three-year plat law that went up 33 percent. - Andover Board of Review Meeting Minutes - April] 0, 2002 Page 7 Councilmember Knight asked why they looked at agricultural land. Ms. Hebert stated they looked at it because they saw an increase in agricultural land use. Secondly the State said they needed to be more consistent with the different counties. Homestead and golf courses will predicate use. They are looking at all of the issues. She stated they wanted to work with the taxpayers so they could get the best tax classification for the property. Mayor Gamache stated this would be continued on April 16, 2002. Mayor Gamache asked if this would be a separate meeting or be included in the Council meeting. Mr. Erar stated he would like to check with the City Attorney on this. He thought they might be able to reopen this during the Council Meeting. MOTION by Trude Seconded by Orttel, to continue the meeting to April 16, 2002. Motion passed unanimously. The Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck Recording Secretary