Senator William H. Nickerson (R-Greenwich) announced that his land trust open space bill passed the General Assembly last week. The bill, entitled, “SB 1249, AN ACT CONCERNING TAX ABATEMENTS FOR PROPERTY CONVEYED TO A NONPROFIT LAND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION” was unanimously approved by both the House and Senate, and is on the Governor’s desk awaiting her action.
The bill would allow municipalities, if they choose to do so, to abate real estate property taxes on land acquired by a land trust immediately upon taking ownership of the land. This overrules a 2003 Connecticut Supreme Court decision (Interlude v. City of Danbury) which ruled that towns do not have the authority to exempt land trusts from paying property taxes until the start of the first full fiscal year of their ownership. As a result these nonprofit volunteer organizations often have had to pay thousands of dollars of accrued but unbilled property taxes. This measure is supported by The Nature Conservancy, the Connecticut Land Conservation Council and the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers.
Nickerson said, “I am delighted with the passage this bill which I introduced, providing a vital protection for local land trust organizations which have such a strong record in acquiring property and preserving it for open space in perpetuity. Until now land trusts had sometimes hesitated to accept a donation of land, given the concern that they may be obligated to pay property taxes for the period prior to their acquisition. For example, the Greenwich Land Trust has recently paid in excess of $30,000 to the Town of Greenwich for taxes on donated land. This puts a financial strain on land trust budgets. In light of this tax burden, land trusts often had the difficult, if not impossible, task of asking a donor to continue paying property taxes after the land is conveyed, which sometimes leads to reconsidering the donation.”
“Acquisition of open space by local land trusts is a crucial building block in the state’s open space strategy and I am delighted that my bill is making a contribution towards facilitating this. I hope that the governor will sign the bill, and that towns and cities around Connecticut will take the necessary local legislative action to avail themselves of this option.”
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