Priest Lake property owners win tax appeal

Priest Lake landowners who challenged the assessed value of their waterfront parcels for tax purposes prevailed Monday in a lawsuit against Bonner County.

First District Judge Cynthia Meyer ruled in the property owners’ favor, saying the county overvalued the properties in 2016 and 2017.

The 29 property owners had recently purchased their parcels from the Idaho Department of Lands, which is phasing out long-term state leases at Priest Lake.

Bonner County’s assessed valuations averaged 49 percent more than the fair market value previously established by the state, according to the lawsuit. After their appeals to the Bonner County Board of Equalization failed, the landowners hired their own appraiser.

The appraiser, Ed Morse of Hayden, conducted individual appraisals for the lots. He determined the lakeshore properties had increased in value by an average of 17 percent since the state’s earlier appraisals. The case went to trial in October.

Since the parcels are on the east side of Priest Lake, they’re less valuable than other properties with better access, the lawsuit said.

The judge accepted Morse’s appraisals for the properties. As a result, the assessed valuations for the 29 properties dropped by a collective $4 million, said Ford Elsaesser, a Sandpoint attorney representing the property owners.

Twenty-eight landowners had challenged their 2017 property valuation and one owner challenged his 2016 valuation.