Boulder County Assessor's Office to provide some tax rate relief for destroyed, damaged Marshall Fire homes
May 24—The Boulder County Assessor's office is taking steps to assist home and property owners that were impacted by the Marshall Fire.
According to an email from Boulder County Assessor Cynthia Braddock, the assessor's office is working to help county residents reach a temporary fair market value for any home or rental property that was either damaged or destroyed in the fire.
The Marshall fire destroyed 1,084 residential structures and damaged 149 residential structures. Because the residences on these properties are technically no longer there, or vacant, Colorado law would classify these properties as non-residential.
The tax rate on non-residential properties is 29%. However, the Boulder County Assessor's Office has sent out notices of valuation to these affected properties, which will keep the properties classified as residential.
Residential property tax is much lower, at 6.95% of the fair market value.
After the Marshall Fire, the assessor's office surveyed the hundreds of homes throughout Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County that had received significant damage or total destruction from the fire.
Notices of valuation were sent out for these properties; however, Braddock says that homes with significant smoke and ash damage may have been overlooked.
"The ones that we might have missed are the homes that look fine from the street, but are still significantly damaged from soot or smoke because in that case the destruction is more internal to the building," Braddock said. She encouraged owners of such properties or any property owner with concerns to appeal the notices of valuation or to call the assessor's office.
"This was such a sad event. If anyone ever has a concern, they're always welcome to call us. There's enough trauma to go around, and we want to make it easier for people," Braddock added.
The deadline to appeal a property valuation is June 1.
The email also states that property values have been adjusted downward, reflecting any damage or destruction to a physical residence. In addition, building values have been removed from the destroyed properties to further reflect the impact of the fire.
Homes that were damaged by smoke and ash have temporarily reduced values for the building to reflect remediation costs.
In 2023, destroyed properties will be reevaluated and adjusted based on the scope of land and improvement impact, whether a destroyed building has been rebuilt or is in the process of being rebuilt, and whether the property has sustained considerable market impact. Until these properties have fully recovered, they will be reevaluated at the beginning of each year.
Residents who need additional time to build will be able to keep their residential classification for up to three years.
"Until they start building again, we'll keep the land at the residential rate. That will allow them some financial flexibility to invest in their rebuild," Braddock said.
After that initial three year grace period has expired, the assessor's office will check on properties to see whether there is any indication that a home is going to be rebuilt such as a permit or an architectural design. If an intention to rebuild is proven, then Braddock said the residential classification can be extended two more years — a total of five years after the date of destruction.
"This is all to help protect people while they're rebuilding," she said.
To review the value of a property, visit maps.boco.solutions/propertysearch/ or request a copy of notice of valuation by emailing Assessor@bouldercounty.org or calling 303-441-3530.
