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Here’s some information about Current Use Law that has been gathered from the Town of Plaistow’s Master Plan, the Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC) Report on Open Space and from State Law.
New Hampshire’s Current Use law (RSA 79-A) allows qualifying land to be taxed according to its current, rather than its potential use. Without the Current Use program, all open land, regardless of the owner’s intent for future use, would be assessed and taxed at full market value. In many cases this would have the effect of forcing landowners to sell their property to escape high property taxes. Inevitably this would mean losing much of this land to development – most likely in the form of residential subdivisions. Current use assessment typically reduces property taxes assessed on undeveloped land by more than two-thirds and is vital to the preservation of open space in the region.
Started in 1973, the current use program is an extremely important mechanism for keeping open land open. It does not, however, provide any long term protection from the future development of this land. This is because current use land can be taken out of the program. If the land is converted to a non-qualifying use (e.g. subdivided for development) it is subject to a “Land Use Change Tax” equal to 10% of the land’s full value assessment at the time of the change.~ In 1994, the Current Use Law was amended to allow the current use penalty tax (land use change tax) to accrue to a special account that can be used for conservation purposes.
The March 2000 Town Meeting voted to put the “Land Use Change Tax” into the Conservation Fund. The “Conservation Fund 36-A” may be used for land or easement acquisition, or for any other purpose for which the Conservation Commission Fund was established under RSA 36-A allows, such as resource inventories, management of Town lands, etc. The 36-A Fund requires both the Conservation Commission’s and the Board of Selectmen’s approval for withdrawal of any of those funds.
There is approximately $68,697 attributed to land use change tax in this fund as of December 31, 2007.
According to the RPC Report on Open Space, Plaistow is near the bottom of Rockingham County towns as a percentage of land in the Current Use program. Only the seacoast towns, like Seabrook, Rye, Hampton, etc., trail Plaistow.
Of Plaistow’s total of 6,790 total acres, only 12%, or 816.84 acres are in the Current Use program. Many towns report 20 to 30 % in Current Use.
PROPERTY LOCATION |
TAX PAYER NAME |
MAP/LOT |
ACREAGE |
Mount Misery |
Andrews, Eleanor |
21-5 |
12.60 |
310 Main Street |
Baribeau, Roger |
21-2 |
14.00 |
43 Forrest Street |
Bartlett, William |
48-39 |
0.50 |
Forrest Street Rear |
Bartlett, William |
48-40 |
12.34 |
93 Old County Road |
Collins Jr, John |
20-35 |
17.40 |
34 Newton Road |
Corso-Upton Family Trust |
67-1 |
16.10 |
30 Crane Crossing Road |
Cox, Charles & Douglas |
56-3 |
17.61 |
29 Crane Crossing Road |
Cox Tr, Eunice |
55-9 |
8.89 |
Westville Road Rear |
Dickey, Richard |
40-9 |
7.45 |
27 Westville Road |
Dickey, Richard |
40-10 |
4.55 |
6 Woodland Drive |
Dougherty, William |
37-35 |
11.53 |
7 Hill Haven Road |
Embrey-Rooke, Mona |
53-28 |
28.00 |
Atkinson Line |
Emerson III, Robert |
7-3 |
21.00 |
23 Hickory Ridge Road |
Gallant, Michael |
8-27 |
15.47 |
43 Crane Crossing Road |
Gattineri Tr, Daniel |
55-5 |
19.06 |
82 Newton Road |
Goudreault, Richard |
68-8 |
22.62 |
93 Forrest Street |
Haverhill Golf /Country Club |
66-17 |
156.00 |
44 Sweet Hill Road |
Herrick, Stanley |
62-29 |
17.65 |
17 Harriman Road |
Holt, Gerald |
50-78 |
52.10 |
18 Chandler Ave |
Hoyt Tr, David |
38-4 |
16.08 |
63 Forrest Street |
Hoyt, David |
48-32 |
15.35 |
67 Kingston Road |
James Tr, Bruce & Barbara |
44-50 |
47.00 |
Old County Road Rear |
KNP Land Associates, LLC |
33-1 |
62.00 |
School and Back Land |
Leavitt, Anne E |
47-3 |
41.00 |
31 Forrest Street |
LeBlanc Tr, M G |
49-3 |
10.70 |
1 Major Lane |
Major Tr, Norman & Brenda |
42-62 |
4.08 |
12 Kingston Road |
Major Tr, Norman & Brenda |
53-13 |
7.31 |
Frog Pond Woods |
McGirr Tr, Robert Rudolph |
6-15 |
43.80 |
244 Main Street |
One Twenty One A Realty |
18-10 |
14.60 |
Main Street /Mt. Misery |
Paul, Richard E |
22-15 |
4.00 |
Main Steet Rear/Mt. Misery |
Paul, Richard E |
22-1 |
6.00 |
Atkinson Depot Road Rear |
Post, David F |
12-1 |
9.40 |
19 Atkinson Depot Road |
Post, David F |
11-6 |
2.40 |
Atkinson Depot Road Rear |
Post, David F |
99-7 |
0.00 |
2B Newton Road |
Riley, Richard |
65-2 |
11.53 |
1 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
62-41-01 |
2.50 |
2 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
62-41-15 |
3.50 |
3 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
62-41-02 |
2.50 |
4 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-14 |
2.50 |
5 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
62-41-03 |
5.10 |
6 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-13 |
2.50 |
7 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
62-41-04 |
4.00 |
8 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-12 |
2.50 |
9 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
62-41-05 |
3.00 |
10 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-11 |
3.40 |
12 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-10 |
3.40 |
13 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-07 |
2.80 |
15 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-08 |
3.00 |
17 Gunstock Road |
Ronald Brown Investment |
63-62-41-09 |
2.90 |
49 Forrest Street |
Saracusa, Marion |
48-33 |
18.20 |
90 Newton Road |
St. Matthews United M |
68-08-A |
5.48 |
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