NC govwatch

← All meetings

Board of Equalization and Review

Orange County · Board of Equalization & Review
Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Regular meeting Tax rate and revaluationStormwater and floodingBroadband and technologyFaith and cultural communitiesWater and sewer

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved Religious Exemption Request: Unity Center of Peace, 8800 Seawell School Road Board granted a partial religious exemption for 2025, unanimous.
  2. Approved Elderly/Disabled Exclusion Request: Kenneth B. Benfield, 9132 NC Hwy 57 N Board granted the exclusion for 2025, unanimous.

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 scheduled 12 appeals from the 2025 revaluation: a religious property tax exemption request, an elderly or disabled exclusion request, and ten property value appeals. The board heard and decided all 12 that day; none were continued. Only one appellant, appearing for Unity Center of Peace, attended in person, and the rest were decided on the written record each side submitted. With Chair Leon Meyers and Regular Member Saru Salvi absent, alternates Barbara Levine and Tony Blake sat in alongside Regular Member Richal Vanhook.

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

Unity Center of Peace sought a partial religious-purposes exemption for its property on Seawell School Road; county staff recommended denial after a field review found evidence the venue was being rented out, but the board granted a partial exemption for 2025. The board also granted an elderly or disabled tax exclusion for a property on NC Highway 57 North, after the owner submitted 2024 income documentation the county had initially found missing. Among the ten value appeals, the board reduced nine and left one, on Oak Avenue, unchanged after finding the evidence insufficient to support a reduction. The ten properties' combined assessed value fell from $4,589,500 to $4,326,100, a reduction of $263,400, or 5.7 percent. In every case the board adopted the county's revised figure rather than the value the appellant had requested.

How the votes went

All 12 decisions passed unanimously among the three members present. The board granted a partial religious exemption to Unity Center of Peace over staff's recommendation to deny it, granted an elderly or disabled tax exclusion, reduced value in nine of the ten property appeals, and left one unchanged.

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 (12)

Public hearing · 12
  1. Religious Exemption Request: Unity Center of Peace, 8800 Seawell School Road
    Public hearing Faith and cultural communitiesTax rate and revaluation
    Unity Center of Peace sought a partial exemption for religious use of its property; staff recommended denial after finding evidence the venue was being rented out.
    Board granted a partial religious exemption for 2025, unanimous.
    • 8800 Seawell School Rd · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9779890221 · Unity Center of Peace INC · assessed $989,300
  2. Elderly/Disabled Exclusion Request: Kenneth B. Benfield, 9132 NC Hwy 57 N
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    The appellant sought an elderly or disabled property tax exclusion for 2025 after submitting 2024 income showing eligibility under G.S. 105-277.1; the county had initially denied the exclusion for lack of income documentation.
    Board granted the exclusion for 2025, unanimous.
    • 9132 NC Hwy · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 0809677417 · Benfield Kenneth B · assessed $236,300
  3. Appeal of James E. Cates Et al, vacant land
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Cates argued the 15.73-acre parcel was landlocked and cited a $25,000 sale of a comparable parcel; the county agreed the land was landlocked, raising its access discount to 50%, but rejected the comparable as unqualified because most of it sits in another county.
    Board reduced the value from $155,000 to $129,200, unanimous.
  4. Appeal of Young Whang, 1824 Spring Overlook
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Whang argued the home's per-square-foot value of $194.55 ran above six nearby comparable sales; the county said price per square foot understates equity given differences in age and build quality, and instead adjusted for fewer upgrades and a porch and deck discrepancy found on a site visit.
    Board reduced the value from $781,000 to $755,800, unanimous.
  5. Appeal of Pamela H. Butler, Trustee, 7312 Old NC 86
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Butler said the house has sat vacant and uninhabitable since 2016 and would need extensive repairs; the county agreed, calling it a near-total loss and cutting the effective year built while raising depreciation to 99%.
    Board reduced the value from $257,900 to $161,400, unanimous.
  6. Appeal of Katye H. Hargraves, 511 Oak Avenue
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Hargraves argued the 1957 home's value should fall for its age and lack of updates; the county found the grade and effective year built already reflected its condition and recommended no change.
    Board left the value unchanged at $542,400, unanimous.
    • 511 Oak Ave · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9778788521 · Hargraves Katye H · assessed $542,400
  7. Appeal of Jason Maxwell Barth, 1028 Sabre Court
    Public hearing Stormwater and floodingTax rate and revaluation
    Barth cited drainage problems, a needed roof, and an easement crossing the lot; the county had already discounted the land 25% for the easement and flooding, then cut the building value further after correcting a sketch error and revising the effective year built to 1997.
    Board reduced the value from $764,500 to $752,000, unanimous.
    • 1028 Sabre Ct · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9768075042 · Barth Jason Maxwell · assessed $752,000
  8. Appeal of Yunjun Mu, 2208 E. Old Oxford Road
    Public hearing Stormwater and floodingTax rate and revaluation
    Mu argued the lot sits on a stormwater runoff path and that the record card overstated the home's story count; the county found no flood-zone designation but applied a 10% low-land discount, while also correcting the sketch to add finished area, for a smaller net reduction than requested.
    Board reduced the value from $732,800 to $712,300, unanimous.
    • 2208 E Old Oxford Rd · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9799395188 · Mu Yunjun · assessed $712,300
  9. Appeal of Tanzanika Marche, 1226 McCauley Lane
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Tanzanika Marche Farrington said the home has had no additions or improvements since it was built in 1996; the county's equity analysis placed it above the neighborhood's median value per square foot and lowered its construction grade to reflect outdated finishes.
    Board reduced the value from $384,600 to $364,100, unanimous.
    • 1226 Mccauley Ln · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9758892620 · Farrington Tanzanika Marche · assessed $340,300
  10. Appeal of Gayle Y. Murrell, 118 Hanna Street
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Murrell cited deteriorating windows, water damage, and a similar renovated home listed for less on the same street; the county's site visit found extensive depreciation, including rot and a sagging roofline, and revised the effective year built to 1957.
    Board reduced the value from $428,500 to $404,200, unanimous.
    • 118 Hanna St · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9779609501 · Murrell Gayle Y · assessed $404,200
  11. Appeal of Janice Putnam, 1822A Billabong Lane
    Public hearing Broadband and technologyStormwater and floodingTax rate and revaluationWater and sewer
    Putnam said the relocated house lacks public sewer or fiber service and sits on a shared driveway easement affected by a neighbor's drainage; the county's inspection found the vacant house molded and rotting throughout and revised its effective year built to 1945.
    Board reduced the value from $217,200 to $204,000, unanimous.
  12. Appeal of Janice Putnam, 1822 Billabong Lane
    Public hearing Tax rate and revaluation
    Putnam cited the same lack of utilities plus storm damage from a fallen tree, calling the reappraisal's 75% increase extreme; the county's inspection likewise found extensive rot and mildew, revised the effective year built to 1945, and added a small yard-item value for a shed.
    Board reduced the value from $325,600 to $300,700, unanimous.
    • 1822 Billabong Ln · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9870723610 · Putnam Janice · assessed $300,700

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.

Other recent meetings of this board