Conservation fund plays critical role in Piper peak purchase

Conservation fund plays critical role in Piper peak purchase

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL

LACONIA DAILY SUN

GILFORD — Of all the sources of capital that went into bringing the peak of Piper Mountain under protective status, one of the most critical in getting the effort underway was the Gilford Conservation Fund.

“It was the foresight of the town of Gilford in getting 100 percent of the land use change tax into the conservation fund that allows us to have something like this to show for that,” said Everett McLaughlin during Saturday’s dedication ceremony.

The town contributed $115,000 toward the purchase of the 2,044-foot-high peak and 273 acres of surrounding land, without relying on direct taxation. The money came from the conversion of land that had been held in “current use” into market-value property.

Current use recognizes the influence of taxation on a landowner’s decision to preserve open space and allows owners to avoid paying on the full market value of the land by setting aside 10 or more acres to be taxed based on their value as open space. The goal is to encourage the preservation of farmland and other undeveloped tracts of land.

The land use change tax is a fee charged when land that has been in current use no longer qualifies or is sold. The 10 percent penalty assessed on the “full and true value” of the land serves as a disincentive to develop it.

By law, the money goes into a town’s general fund, but RSA 79-A:25, II allows a town to place a portion — up to 100 percent — of that amount into a nonlapsing conservation fund that can be used for the purchase of land, easements, and other conservation purposes.

Gilford has done just that and, on Saturday, McLaughlin encouraged other towns to follow suit. “Get that 100 percent of the land use change tax,” he advised.

The decision requires a town meeting vote, and may involve a lesser portion of the tax going into the fund. Unlike most municipal appropriations, money placed in a conservation fund is non-lapsing, allowing the amount to accumulate until it is needed.