Niles Donegan

Please pass this reform and begin the process. Perfect should not stand in the way of meaningful progress. The original intent of conservation easements and current use taxation has been distorted in practice. Large landowners are able to aggregate extensive tracts of land while paying little to no property tax, shifting a disproportionate share of the tax burden onto residents who cannot access or benefit from these provisions. I say this as a resident of Lyme, New Hampshire, where more than 90 percent of taxable land is enrolled in conservation easement or current use. At the same time, a single multigenerational landowning family holds roughly 15 percent of the town’s taxable land yet contributes only about 8 percent of the property taxes. This arrangement reduces their annual town property tax obligation by approximately $440,000. Meanwhile, housing prices have tripled in the past 12 years. New housing construction is extremely limited due to zoning requirements for large minimum lot sizes, and few such lots remain available. As supply has stalled and demand has risen, prices have escalated. Homeowners on small parcels cannot qualify for conservation easements or current use in the same way as large landowners. As a result, many residents with modest house lots pay more in property taxes on their land than owners of extensive acreage.