Juneau board set Thursday to rehear owners' appeal of 185% Glacier Highway assessment jump

Juneau's Board of Equalization was scheduled to rehear Brent and Erin Howell's appeal of their Glacier Highway property assessment at 5:30 pm Thursday. The assessment rose about 185 percent in one year, and the Assessor's Office now recommends trimming it to $3,351,700, as Alaska News reported Oct. 29. The city had posted no recording or result as of Thursday night.

The board can lower the 2026 value, send it back to the assessor again or let it stand. State law bars it from raising the current-year assessment unless the appellant asks.

The Squires Building at 11806 Glacier Highway was assessed at $1,252,839 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and at $3,569,200 in 2026. "While we know we were likely undervalued previously, an increase like this is absurd," Erin Howell wrote in a July 8 letter to the board. The Howells value the property at $2,436,685.

For 2026 the Assessor's Office began valuing office and retail buildings with the income approach, which estimates worth from rent and expenses. The average change was a 14 percent increase, according to its July packet, which says this property was significantly undervalued compared with typical properties.

The board first heard the case July 16 and sent it back to the assessor. The owners then gave the office a list of what their tenants pay. The office increased the building's rentable area from 14,035 to 16,196 square feet and raised the share of income counted as expenses from 40 to 45 percent to reflect average condition. That brought its recommendation down to $3,351,700, according to the hearing packet.

The 2.43-acre site holds a retail and apartment building and two mini-warehouses. In her letter, Howell asked why actual expenses are ignored if the city uses income-based assessments. She wrote that Greg Morris, who handled the appeal for the Assessor's Office, told her excess land, beyond what the building needs, was folded into building value because "there's not a better way to do it and that CBJ is working on it." The office values those 40,462 square feet at $9.73 each, which it calls below market but says matches neighboring properties.

The packet says the owners' 63 percent expense figure likely includes warehouse and land upkeep, and that retail rents of $1.99 a square foot a month are at the market's very low end. It puts the land alone at $2 million to $2.5 million and says the owners' estimate "supports only the land value."

A motion needs two of three panel votes to pass. Otherwise, the appeal is deemed denied. Board decisions can be appealed to superior court within 30 days, according to a city training packet.