General Assembly Raised Bill No. 129
February Session, 2022 LCO No. 1220
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TAX ABATEMENT FOR CERTAIN
CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022, and applicable to assessment
2 years commencing on or after October 1, 2022) (a) For the purposes of this
3 section, (1) "nonprofit land conservation organization" means a
4 nonprofit land conservation organization that is tax-exempt under
5 Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any subsequent
6 corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended
7 from time to time, (2) "greenway" has the same meaning as provided in
8 section 23-100 of the general statutes, and (3) "conservation restriction"
9 has the same meaning as provided in section 47-42a of the general
10 statutes.
11 (b) Any municipality may establish, by ordinance, a program to
12 provide for the abatement of real property taxes due on any portion of
13 land that (1) meets the criteria for designation as a greenway established
14 under subsection (b) of section 23-102 of the general statutes, (2) is a
15 terrestrial recreational trail with a clearly defined trail corridor that does
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16 not exceed one hundred feet in width at its widest point, or (3) is subject
17 to a recorded permanent conservation easement conveyed by the owner
18 of the land, or such owner's predecessor in title, to the municipality, the
19 state or a nonprofit land conservation organization, provided such
20 conservation easement or any other encumbrance on the land shall not
21 prohibit the public use of the greenway for compatible recreation.
22 (c) Whenever any municipality has approved the abatement of taxes
23 as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an owner of land may apply
24 for its abatement as a greenway by filing a written application for such
25 abatement with the assessor of such municipality. Any application filed
26 under this subsection shall be made upon a form prescribed by the
27 assessor and shall include (1) a description of the land, (2) a copy of the
28 recorded permanent conservation easement concerning such greenway,
29 (3) a certified land survey that depicts the boundaries of such greenway
30 on the land of such owner, and (4) such other information as the assessor
31 may require to aid in determining whether such land qualifies for such
32 tax abatement as a greenway. Any certification of a survey required by
33 this subsection shall be made by a licensed surveyor and such
34 certification shall be made in accordance with chapter 390 of the general
35 statutes.
36 (d) Not later than thirty days after receipt of a written application
37 under subsection (c) of this section, the assessor shall submit such
38 written application with the assessor's recommendation to either
39 approve or deny the tax abatement based on the criteria set out in
40 subsection (b) of this section to the legislative body of the municipality
41 or, in a municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, to the
42 board of selectmen.
43 (e) The abatement of any real property taxes under subsection (b) of
44 this section shall be approved by vote of the legislative body of the
45 municipality or, in a municipality where the legislative body is a town
46 meeting, by vote of the board of selectmen.
47 (f) Any abatement under this section shall cease upon the sale or
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48 transfer of the land unless the municipality consents to its continuation
49 by vote of the legislative body of the municipality or, in a municipality
50 where the legislative body is a town meeting, by vote of the board of
51 selectmen.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2022, and New section
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2022
Statement of Purpose:
To authorize municipalities to exempt from real property taxes any
portion of land that (1) qualifies as a greenway, (2) is a terrestrial
recreational trail that does not exceed one hundred feet in width, (3) is
the subject of a conservation easement conveyed by the owner of the
land to a municipality, the state or a nonprofit land conservation
organization.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
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