Valuing Marijuana Cultivation Facilities

While Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana several years ago, cultivation facilities only began being built and growing marijuana within the past three years. The Town of Holliston has the largest number of marijuana cultivation facilities of any municipality in Massachusetts. Without any clear guidance from the state's Department of Revenue, the Assessing Department faced the challenge of properly determining which categories of property should be classified as Real Property and which as Personal Property, and how to satisfy the state's mandate to assess them at 100% of value. The presenters will provide a case study of how this municipality developed a fair and equitable system of valuation and how those assessed reacted to the first year of being assessed at full value.