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Board of Equalization and Review

Orange County · Board of Equalization & Review
Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Regular meeting Tax rate and revaluationEnvironment and sustainabilityStormwater and floodingWater and sewer

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Continued 1Appeal: Judith Bowden Johnson, Trustee, 1015 Clarence Drive Continued to a future date, unanimous
  2. Continued 2Appeal: Worth Johnson, 1013 Clarence Drive Continued to a future date, unanimous
  3. Continued 3Appeal: Judith B. Johnson, 1012 Clarence Drive Continued to a future date, unanimous
  4. Continued 4Appeal: Karla Michelle Bowden Smith, 1017 Clarence Drive Continued to a future date, unanimous
  5. Continued 7Appeal: Christina M. Ferguson, 318 W Queen Street Continued to a future date, 2-1

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Board of Equalization and Review is scheduled to hear ten property tax appeals, including four adjoining parcels on Clarence Drive and two Carrboro homes on Weatherhill Point and Riverbirch Point seeking relief for damage from the July 6 Tropical Storm Chantal flooding. Other appeals raise incorrect square footage, land inequities on a dirt road, and a vacant lot with no well or sewer connections.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The agenda scheduled all ten appeals, and the board heard all ten. It continued five - the four adjoining Clarence Drive properties, unanimously, and one on West Queen Street, 2-1 - for more evidence or a chance for the owner to appear. It decided the other five: two Carrboro homes damaged in the July 6 flooding kept their assessed values unchanged, at $458,600 and $454,200, because state law bars a mid-year adjustment for storm damage. A Hillsborough townhome, a vacant Starterwood Lane lot and a Sugarberry Road house had their values cut after site visits and corrected measurements, all by unanimous vote.

Combined, those three reductions cut assessed value from $3,438,500 to $3,041,400, a decline of $397,100, with individual cuts ranging from $5,700 to $339,500. Six of the ten owners appeared before the board; the other four did not, though one submitted a written appeal.

How the votes went

Four Clarence Drive continuances passed unanimously. The West Queen Street continuance passed 2-1. The two flood-damaged properties kept their current assessed value by unanimous vote. The three value reductions on Historic Drive, Sugarberry Road, and Starterwood Lane were each unanimous.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (10)

Public hearing · 10
  1. 1 Appeal: Judith Bowden Johnson, Trustee, 1015 Clarence Drive
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant argued the assessment should fall from $239,700 to $174,625 for land inequities, the property's dirt-road location, and the age of its improvements; the county's evidence supported $200,400. The board continued the case for more comparables and clarification.
    Continued to a future date, unanimous
    • 1015 Clarence Dr · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9777325887 · Johnson Judith Bowden Trustee · assessed $200,400
  2. 2 Appeal: Worth Johnson, 1013 Clarence Drive
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant cited land inequities and comparisons to road maintenance on nearby properties but did not provide a requested value before the case was continued; the county's evidence supported $201,200 against a $240,500 assessment. The board continued the case for more comparables and clarification.
    Continued to a future date, unanimous
    • 1013 Clarence Dr · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9777421804 · Wjtr LLC · assessed $201,200
  3. 3 Appeal: Judith B. Johnson, 1012 Clarence Drive
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant cited the land's condition and inequities and road-surface and maintenance comparisons but did not provide a requested value before the case was continued; the county found no change warranted from the $294,200 assessment. The board continued the case for more comparables and clarification.
    Continued to a future date, unanimous
    • 1012 Clarence Dr · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9777338241 · Wjtr LLC · assessed $253,100
  4. 4 Appeal: Karla Michelle Bowden Smith, 1017 Clarence Drive
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant sought a reduction from the $549,100 assessment to $425,000 for land inequities and road maintenance comparisons; the county's evidence supported $437,700. The board continued the case for more comparables and clarification.
    Continued to a future date, unanimous
    • 1017 Clarence Dr · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9777321942 · Smith Karla Michelle Bowden · assessed $437,700
  5. 7 Appeal: Christina M. Ferguson, 318 W Queen Street
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant, who filed the appeal on July 31, argued a corrected square footage, grade and masonry defects should lower the value; a county site visit recommended cutting the assessment from $907,200 to $819,900. The board voted 2-1 to continue the case so the appellant could appear.
    Continued to a future date, 2-1
    • 318 W Queen St · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9864872602 · Ferguson Christina M · assessed $819,900
  6. 8 Appeal: Jodie Weiner, 108 Riverbirch Point
    Public hearing Environment and sustainabilityStormwater and floodingTax rate and revaluation
    The appellant said Tropical Storm Chantal flooding on July 6 left the home uninhabitable, one of roughly 50 homes affected in the Weatherhill Point development. Staff said state law bars adjusting assessed value mid-year for such damage, though the county could review it for the 2026 tax year based on the property's January 1, 2026 condition.
    No change in value, $458,600, unanimous
  7. 9 Appeal: James M. Paisner, Trustee, 115 Weatherhill Point
    Public hearing Environment and sustainabilityStormwater and floodingTax rate and revaluation
    The appellant said the same July 6 flooding destroyed the home's interior down to the subfloor and studs; staff again cited the state-law bar on mid-year adjustments.
    No change in value, $454,200, unanimous
  8. 10 Appeal: Charles R. Evans, 2008 Starterwood Lane
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluationWater and sewer
    The appellant said the vacant lot has no well, septic tank or sewer connections. County inspectors recommended a 10% topography adjustment for two streams on the site, cutting the value from $518,600 to $466,700.
    Value reduced from $518,600 to $466,700, unanimous
    • 2008 Starterwood Ln · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9852197629 · Evans Charles R · assessed $466,700
  9. 5 Appeal: Virender Kumar Sadhir, 543 Historic Drive
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant said the property record card overstated the square footage, citing a neighboring unit's floor plan. The county agreed the sketch needed correction, reducing the value from $397,600 to $391,900.
    Value reduced from $397,600 to $391,900, unanimous
    • 543 Historic Dr · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9873432612 · Sadhir Virender Kumar · assessed $391,900
  10. 6 Appeal: Zachary James Reitman, 621 Sugarberry Road
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant cited price, condition and comparable sales in seeking a lower value. The county lowered the property's grade from A+90 to A+50, cutting the assessment from $2,522,300 to $2,182,800.
    Value reduced from $2,522,300 to $2,182,800, unanimous
    • 621 Sugarberry Rd · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9798191929 · Reitman Zachary James · assessed $2,162,800

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

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