- 34 -
million seedlings annually. This seedling production had
historically been used to reforest petitioner’s timberlands.
Mr. Slack, petitioner’s expert, concluded that the
structures at Port Gamble were substantially deteriorated and
that the townsite had been operating at an ongoing loss.
According to Mr. Slack, any alternative use of the Port Gamble
townsite land and improvements that would entail additional
development or additional use of the existing structures was not
financially feasible due primarily to the poor quality and
condition of the sewer treatment and water systems and to
limitations on potential uses as a result of the historical
designation. As a result, Mr. Slack concluded that the highest
and best use of the townsite was to vacate the structures and use
the excess land as a tree farm. Mr. Slack determined that
because of the negative income stream produced by the property in
its current state and the infeasibility of any alternative uses,
the cost and market methods were not appropriate. Mr. Slack
believed that the income approach was the best method, because
the houses were all rented, and the property was never
subdivided. Utilizing the income approach, Mr. Slack determined
the value of the townsite and related properties to be equal to
the salvage value of the improvements plus the value of the land
as a tree farm, or $202,000.
Respondent’s expert, Christopher S. Eldred of Lamb Hanson
Lamb Appraisal Associates, Inc., determined that the highest and
Page: Previous 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011