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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04/14/99 Board of Appeals CCM65 MEDINA BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 14, 1999 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met as the board of review on April 14, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, and Smith. Members absent: Johnson. Also present: City Clerk -Treasurer, Paul Robinson, City Assessors Rolf Erickson, and Tom Heller and Hennepin County Assessor Larry Miller. 1. Wayne Popham, Hamel Road Mr. Popham said he wanted to express his concern about the increasing property values in Medina. He said property values continue to go up. He realizes that the city council is frugal, but he is worried about other taxing districts that are not as frugal as the city. He said they live on Hamel Road and they would like to live there for the next 20 to 30 years, however, they are worried that they may eventually be taxed out of their home. He said he would like to get some basic information about the changes in values and what is used to determine market values. He asked if there was a cap in the amount of increase a home could see per year. Rolf Erickson, the City Assessor, said that essentially the property in Medina has gotten extremely valuable. He said that the lowest sales in Medina are in the low $100,000's and they go up from there. He said the property values just for building sites alone averaged between $200,000 and $300,000, especially on sites that have acreages. Erickson said there are not a lot of parcels available yet there is a significant demand for larger parcels. Erickson gave a number of examples of homes on acreages of 10 acres to 20 acres that were valued over $1,000,000. John Ferris asked what the percentage increase was on Mr. Popham's property. Erickson said that Mr. Popham's property went up 8% in value. He said that the average for properties off lakes was 7.1 %, and the average for properties on lakes was 14.7%. He said that Mr. Popham's property is on a lake. Paul Robinson asked what Rolf Erickson meant by homes on acreages. Rolf Erickson said that homes on 2, 3, 4 plus acres of land. John Ferris asked if the structures on the property were attributing in the increase in property values or if it were the land value itself. Rolf Erickson said that right now the current demand is people looking for isolation looking for land 10 acres or greater. Sites on 10 acres are increasing in value significantly versus smaller lots. Rolf Erickson said that on Mr. Popham's property, the land was valued at $372,500 and the building was valued at $471,500. Wayne Popham said that he was concerned that his values were being driven up by those who could afford any price. Medina Board of Review - Meeting Minutes April 14, 1999 66 Rolf Erickson said that the market value was not just based on the sale of one home but on a number of homes that are within a range of properties within Medina. John Ferris said Mr. Popham was concerned about the increasing market value. He asked Rolf Erickson if in his judgment this market value increase was warranted. Rolf Erickson said it was definitely warranted. He said there are even areas in Minneapolis where good neighborhoods are increasing 15 to 20% in value. He said that the townhomes in Medina along Lake Independence increased in value around 39%. That was the largest valuation increase that he had ever done. Erickson said that as long as properties are desirable, values are going to go up. He said, however, it is dependent upon the neighborhood within the city. There are areas of the city where property values are not increasing as much, and other areas where they are increasing to a greater degree. Mr. Popham said that he appreciated the time the council spent discussing his concern. He just would like to repeat that they would like to live in the city, that they are confident in the city council's policies. He is just expressing his concern about future years and does not want to continue to see property values float upward. There was some additional discussion about how the city council and city assessor were restricted by state statute on how values should be determined, the ultimate authority for property valuation, and assessing is the state not the city or the county. John Ferris said that they were going to listen to all the concerns of the people present and then take action at the end of the meeting. 2. Victoria Aberq, 3175 County Road 24. Mrs. Aberg read a letter from her husband, Roland Aberg. She said they were in disagreement with the valuation and felt the assessed value should be decreased by $100,000 from the previous value rather than increased by $17,000. She listed off their arguments for reducing the value. She said they lost a number of trees in the storms last year. She said the cleanup cost of the storm damage alone would be between $30,000 and $40,000. She said that the water level of the wetlands on their property have increased resulting in the loss of additional trees. Also they were told if they make any improvements to their home that the city, the zoning administrator would require a mound system to be placed on the property which will cost around $15,000 to install. Mrs. Aberg then described a number of problems that they have had with water damage and other problems due to faulty construction of the home which they were not totally aware of when they purchased the home, but now the house is devalued to a point where they are considering tearing the home down and starting over. She said they would like to have the property value placed at $160,000 based on all of the problems that she has mentioned. John Ferris asked what the current property value was. Rolf Erickson said $277,000 up from $255,000 from the previous year. Medina Board of Review - Meeting Minutes April 14, 1999 67 There was discussion about the problems with the home and how it would affect the property value and if it would be taken into consideration. Tom Heller of Southwest Assessors, said that they received a call from Mrs. Aberg the day before the hearing. He said had they received a call earlier they would have definitely taken a look at this property. It does sound like there could be some mitigating circumstances for not increasing the property value. However, they were not able to go take a look at this time. There was some additional discussion. It was discussed that the house may be reducing the value of the property but that the property alone may be worth what the land and house are currently valued. The consensus was to keep the valuation of the property the same as in 1999 and placing the property on partial evaluation notice so that if any improvements would be done a valuation increase may be considered. 3. Seth and Nancy Hoyt, 1382 Tamarack Drive Mr. Hoyt said that a majority of his questions had been answered in the discussion earlier and they were not requesting that any action be taken on their property. 4. Mike Homberger 2982 Ardmore Avenue Mr. Homberger said this property currently has a number of physical problems. He said his previous renter completely destroyed the building. He said the window sills are rotting, the roof leaks, and the home probably needs to be torn down. Rolf Erickson said the council held the value of this property previously at $81,000. This year he raised it to $84,000. Mr. Homberger said recently he spoke to a realtor who said that he could get $70,000 or less for his home. Rolf Erickson said that this property is not too far from where it should be valued. There was some discussion about the lot being smaller than allowed in urban residential. However, it is a currently platted lot and would be allowed to be developed. Mr. Homberger said there is no central heat to this building nor are there footings or foundation for the property. He requested that it be lowered to $75,000. There was some additional discussion. Due to the mitigating circumstances of the condition of the property the city council said it would consider lowering the property value at the end of the meeting. 5. Mike Homberger 3585 Chippewa Road Mr. Homberger said that this was basically a 2.35-acre property with a pole barn on it. He said that was the nicest part of the property. There was some discussion about the property. The current value on the property was $107,000, $33,500 for the land and $71,500 for the building. Medina Board of Review - Meeting Minutes April 14, 1999 68 There was some discussion about the market value on properties on this road. Erickson said they were kept down because of the proximity to the landfill. However, based on the recent water quality testing and recent sales the values do not seem to be affected by the Landfill. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to close the public hearing for the board of review. Motion passed unanimously. 6. 3175 County Road 24 Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to keep the assessed value at $257,000. Motion passed unanimously. No action was taken on Mr. Popham's property, nor was action taken on Seth and Nancy Hoyt's property. 7. 2982 Ardmore Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Carolyn Smith to reduce the value to $75, 000 on that property. Motion did not carry. Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by John Hamilton, to place the value at $80,000. Motion passed unanimously. This parcel would also be listed as partial and be watched for any improvements on the property. 8. Adjournment Moved by John Hamilton, seconded Phil Zietlow, to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. JohFerris, Mayor Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer Medina Board of Review - Meeting Minutes April 14, 1999