Riley County’s counselor and appraiser both say officials should continue to pay attention a pair of bills floating in the Kansas Statehouse related to “dark store theory.” During a meeting with local officials from various agencies Monday, county counselor Clancy Holeman and appraiser Greg McHenry gave a virtual presentation on dark store theory, legally referred to as hypothetical leased fee valuation. Under this theory, real estate owners — big box retailers in particular — have appealed their property valuations by arguing their stores should be valued in comparison to vacant, or dark, stores in the area, instead of having a traditional fair market valuation. Retailers who have successfully used this theory have been able to reduce their valuations and property taxes by as much as half in some cases.
Source: themercury.com
