Board upholds assessor value for Palomino Valley vacant parcel after hearing on subdivision potential and comparables

At the Feb. 13 hearing the Washoe County Board of Equalization considered an appeal for assessor parcel 07725001, a roughly 330-acre home site in Palomino Valley. Appraiser Jeff Cronin told the board the parcel is zoned general rural agricultural, which typically allows one home site per 40 acres, and described access as a rough three-quarter-mile cut road off Mid Road.

Cronin said the property was listed in March 2023 for $675,000 and that the assessor's taxable value for the 2026–27 year is $102,000. He presented three recent land sales and one older but highly comparable large sale (a 321-acre parcel) that, after adjustments, supported a per-home-site range of about $107,000 to $200,000 and the assessor's taxable value.

The petitioner's concerns included the absence of on-site utilities and a neighborhood waste-management collection stop near the parcel. Cronin noted that while utilities are not on the parcel itself, nearby developed parcels indicate likely access to power and that some neighboring parcels operate on solar systems. On the collection-stop issue, Cronin said Waste Management told him neighborhood pickup points are common for rural areas where roads are unmaintained and that the petitioner supplied no paired-sales evidence demonstrating a measurable reduction in market value.

Board members asked whether the parcel is subdividable and whether an application process would be required; Cronin said subdivision would generally be subject to an approval process and mapping requirements and that specific permits were not found in his records. After entering assessor and petitioner exhibits into the record, a board member moved to uphold the assessor's appraisal; the motion carried by voice vote.

The board's action upholds the assessor's taxable value for APN 07725001. Petitioners were reminded of appeal rights and provided forms for filing with the State Board of Equalization.