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Board of Equalization and Review

Orange County · Board of Equalization & Review
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Regular meeting Tax rate and revaluationWater and sewerContracts and procurement

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Board of Equalization and Review heard thirteen residential and vacant-land tax appeals, including three landlocked tracts owned by the same company near US 70 West, and lowered the assessed value in all but one case.

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

Orange County's Board of Equalization and Review heard and decided all thirteen appeals scheduled for its July 22 sitting; none was continued. In every case the board adopted the county's own revised value rather than the appellant's requested figure. Eleven of the thirteen values fell, one -- Jiang Zhou's Summit Drive home -- was left unchanged after the county said its comparable sales supported the existing assessment, and one -- Fangfang Liu's Laurens Way home -- actually rose slightly, from $622,500 to $623,200, after a correction added previously unsketched square footage over the garage that her own appeal had prompted the county to find.

The steepest cuts went to three adjoining Cedars Limited Partnership tracts near US 70 West, where the county agreed the land is landlocked with no public water, sewer or road access; the largest, 18.33 acres, dropped from $320,289 to $142,350. Most of the residential appeals turned on square-footage corrections, unrenovated or storm-damaged conditions, or comparable sales -- arguments made by the property owners themselves, including Kirk Hasenmueller, Leon Niegelsky Jr., Terri Murray, Li Xu Yu, Lois Collazo and LaRosa Pinnix-Bailey -- and answered each time by a county appraiser's own inspection or analysis. Combined, the thirteen properties' assessed value fell from $5,358,457 to $4,795,531, a drop of $562,926. All thirteen votes were unanimous among Chair Leon Meyers, Saru Salvi and Richal Vanhook.

How the votes went

Thirteen appeals were scheduled, heard and decided; none was continued. All thirteen votes were unanimous among Leon Meyers, Saru Salvi and Richal Vanhook.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

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

Jump to an item (13 on this agenda)
  1. Appeal of Elizabeth Via, 214 Columbia Place West
  2. Appeal of Jiang Zhou, 2419 Summit Drive
  3. Appeal of Kirk Hasenmueller, 130 S Estes Drive, Unit J10
  4. Appeal of Leon Niegelsky Jr, 140 West Franklin Street, Unit 427
  5. Appeal of Fangfang Liu, 200 Laurens Way
  6. Appeal of Patty Van Capellen, 103 Garden Street
  7. Appeal of Terri Murray, 1517 Davis Road
  8. Appeal of Li Xu Yu, 103 Carriage Circle
  9. Appeal of Cedars Limited, 1.61 acres near US 70W
  10. Appeal of Cedars Limited, 18.33 acres near US 70W
  11. Appeal of Cedars Limited, 22.32 acres near E.
  12. Appeal of Lois Collazo, 2548 Gemena Road
  13. Appeal of LaRosa Pinnix-Bailey, 6907 Harmony Church Road

Agenda items (13)

Other · 13
  1. Appeal of Elizabeth Via, 214 Columbia Place West
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Elizabeth Via argued the county's sketch of her Columbia Place West home wrongly included space that belongs to the neighboring townhouse and overstated the unfinished basement. A county appraiser re-measured the property and corrected both the sketch and the effective year built, and the board adopted the county's revised value of $469,000.
    Value changed to $469,000, unanimous
    • 214 Columbia Pl · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9789205494 · Via Elizabeth E · assessed $469,000
  2. Appeal of Jiang Zhou, 2419 Summit Drive
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Jiang Zhou sought a reduction to $400,000 for his Summit Drive home, citing a 2022 sale of a larger comparable house on the same street. The county said its comparable sales, all from 2024, supported the current $438,100 assessment, and the board left it unchanged.
    No change, value held at $438,100, unanimous
    • 2419 Summit Dr · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9873560342 · Zhou Jiang · assessed $438,100
  3. Appeal of Kirk Hasenmueller, 130 S Estes Drive, Unit J10
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Kirk Hasenmueller sought $75,000 for his Estes Drive condominium unit, citing its unfinished condition and an HOA that never repaired flood damage from January 2024. The county had already lowered the unit's condition rating from Average to Poor and recommended $72,700, which the board adopted.
    Value changed to $72,700, unanimous
  4. Appeal of Leon Niegelsky Jr, 140 West Franklin Street, Unit 427
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Leon Niegelsky Jr. sought $1,300,000 for his West Franklin Street condominium unit, arguing the finished area should be 1,866 square feet rather than 2,101 based on his own floor plan. The county recalculated using his floor plan and the condominium plat to reach 1,970 square feet and recommended $1,416,600, which the board adopted.
    Value changed to $1,416,600, unanimous
  5. Appeal of Fangfang Liu, 200 Laurens Way
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Fangfang Liu sought a cut to $500,000 for her Laurens Way home, citing comparable neighborhood assessments and water damage. The county's only change was correcting the sketch to add 241 square feet of previously unsketched living area over the garage, and the board adopted the county's revised value of $623,200, slightly higher than the $622,500 the appeal started from.
    Value changed to $623,200, unanimous
    • 200 Laurens Way · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9870928945 · Liu Fangfang · assessed $623,200
  6. Appeal of Patty Van Capellen, 103 Garden Street
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Patty Van Capellen sought $180,000 for her Garden Street home, citing its condition and an overpriced purchase. A county appraiser found rot around the house, an unfinished renovation and construction not yet reflected on the property record, and the board adopted the county's revised value of $208,000.
    Value changed to $208,000, unanimous
    • 103 Garden St · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9799678794 · no matching parcel on file
  7. Appeal of Terri Murray, 1517 Davis Road
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Terri Murray sought $202,500 for her Davis Road home, built in 1983, arguing it could not have gained $125,000 in value. The county corrected the bath count and added a shed, gazebo and carport it found during a site visit, and the board adopted its revised value of $294,100.
    Value changed to $294,100, unanimous
    • 1517 Davis Rd · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9862350863 · Murray Terri Lynn Trustee · assessed $294,100
  8. Appeal of Li Xu Yu, 103 Carriage Circle
    Other Contracts and procurementTax rate and revaluation
    Li Xu Yu sought $350,000 for a Carriage Circle rental property bought in foreclosure in 2014, arguing it has had almost no repair since. The county said the property already carries the lowest per-square-foot value among eight similar nearby homes, and after a remeasurement the board adopted its revised value of $408,500.
    Value changed to $408,500, unanimous
    • 103 Carriage Cir · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9890415827 · Yu Li Xu · assessed $408,500
  9. Appeal of Cedars Limited, 1.61 acres near US 70W
    Other Tax rate and revaluationWater and sewer
    Cedars Limited Partnership argued its 1.61-acre tract near US 70 West is landlocked, with no public water, sewer or road access, despite county plans for a sewer extension that was never built. The county recommended deepening the access adjustment to -85%, and the board adopted its revised value of $12,419; the tract's present-use value was unaffected.
    Value changed to $12,419, unanimous
  10. Appeal of Cedars Limited, 18.33 acres near US 70W
    Other Tax rate and revaluationWater and sewer
    Cedars Limited Partnership made the same landlocked argument for an adjoining 18.33-acre tract. The county recommended a -60% market adjustment for its access problems and an easement across the site, and the board adopted its revised value of $142,350.
    Value changed to $142,350, unanimous
  11. Appeal of Cedars Limited, 22.32 acres near E.
    Other Tax rate and revaluationWater and sewer
    Cedars Limited Partnership argued a third adjoining tract, 22.32 acres near East Washington Street Extension, has no legal access because the NC Railroad has repeatedly refused to grant a crossing over the street it owns. The county recommended a -50% market adjustment for the access issue and a visible easement, and the board adopted its revised value of $211,762.
    Value changed to $211,762, unanimous
  12. Appeal of Lois Collazo, 2548 Gemena Road
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    Lois Collazo sought $200,000 for her Gemena Road home, citing two comparable sales. A county appraiser found the home has had minimal upkeep since it was built in 1997 and applied a neighborhood-wide land adjustment the board had ordered in June, and the board adopted the county's revised value of $277,900.
    Value changed to $277,900, unanimous
    • 2548 Gemena Rd · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9759475283 · Collazo Ramon · assessed $277,900
  13. Appeal of LaRosa Pinnix-Bailey, 6907 Harmony Church Road
    Other Tax rate and revaluation
    LaRosa Pinnix-Bailey, appearing virtually, described extensive needed repairs to her Harmony Church Road home, including foundation damage, a needed roof and gutted bathrooms. The county lowered the home's condition rating and adjusted its effective year built, and the board adopted its revised value of $220,900.
    Value changed to $220,900, unanimous
    • 6907 Harmony Church Rd · no matching parcel on file
    • Pin 9837551718 · Bailey Pinnix Larosa · assessed $220,900

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