Board upholds $159,600 assessment for Harris farmland after accounting for flood and access

Charles and Lee Harris asked the Union County Board of Equalization and Review on Wednesday to lower the 2025 assessment on their 6.93'acre tract in northern Union County, saying the parcel is productive farmland with deed restrictions and significant flood and access constraints. The board voted to accept the county'appraiser'recommended value of $159,600. "Our assessed value went from $69,300 based on the 2021 assessment, to $159,600," Charles Harris said, describing what he calculated as a roughly 130% increase and asking the board to consider that the land remains in cultivation.
County staff told the board they had already applied a 45% flood discount to 0.3327 acres of the parcel and reviewed nearby land sales; the county said land values rose more than residential values in the recent revaluation but that the subject parcel's per'acre price remained below the median for local vacant'land sales. Staff also pointed to steep banks along a portion of the parcel and to a deed restriction recorded when the property was sold in 1995 that limits further subdivisions.
The Harris family described long'standing agricultural use, saying the 7'acre tract has been farmed by one tenant for more than 31 years and typically produces $300'to'400 a year in farm income. Charles Harris said the back portion of the parcel sits in the floodplain and that a steep bank and a relocated bridge mean the property does not extend to the road centerline, which limits access for development or new driveways. County staff pointed the board to comparable land sales and a street'level photo that showed sloping terrain; in deliberations board members said access and the flood adjustment were accounted for and moved to accept the county value.
The board did not change the county appraisal and the taxpayer will receive the board's written decision by mail, as required by statute.