Atkinson

The Land Use Change Tax is the ONLY source of tax revenue
for future open space land conservation in Atkinson



A brief explanation of
Warrant Articles 2025-23 and 2025-24

See: Conservation Funding

  • Article 2025-23 establishes a new fund
  • Article 2025-24 places part of the Land Use Change Tax in that new fund
  • These articles are intended to use some of the Land Use Change Tax to fund programs that have been under-funded via the traditional budget process.


What is Current Use and
the Land Use Change Tax (LUCT)?:

For a full description of Current Use, see:
What Exactly is Current Use?

  • CURRENT USE is a property tax assessment program for larger parcels of VACANT LAND.
  • It was established in 1973 as a way to help control the loss of open land.
  • It is a form of Open Space Conservation because it enables landowners to keep their land open rather than being forced to sell it because of high property taxes.
  • The Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) is assessed when a landowner changes his or her mind and sells that land for development.
  • It is a one-time tax that is paid by THE DEVELOPER

From the 2024 (last year's) Deliberative Session

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Why does Atkinson currently place most of the LUCT revenue in the Conservation Fund?

  • When a parcel of Current Use land is sold for development, the town is losing a piece of open land.
  • The State legislature realized this, and therefore provided towns with the option to deposit some or all of the Land Use Change Tax in the town's Conservation Fund.
  • The Conservation Fund is used to conserve other open land, thus offsetting, in part, the loss of the land that was developed.
  • The Land Use Change Tax is Atkinson's ONLY SOURCE OF MUNICIPAL FUNDING for future land conservation.
  • Using the LUCT to fund land conservation has no direct impact on property taxes.

More from the 2024 (last year's) Deliberative Session

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Is land in Current Use a burden to other taxpayers?

See: Myth #1

  • Land that is in Current Use is NOT A BURDEN on other taxpayers!
  • Although the owner of Current Use land is getting a substantial property tax break on that land, it costs the Town NOTHING to provide services to open land.
  • Therefore, the property tax revenues received from Current Use land goes right to our bottom line, and is REVENUE POSITIVE for the Town.


Does developing land lower everyone's property tax?

See: Myth #2

  • As Atkinson has become more developed over the past 2 or 3 decades, have your taxes gone up or down?


Is Conservation the reason that housing is scarce?

See: Myth #3




How much money are we talking about?

See: 22 years: LUCT and the Conservation Fund

See also: 2024 LUCT financials

  • The Land Use Change Tax is a highly variable source of income.
  • We work very hard to use the Town's money as leverage to attract grant funding
  • But our past success with grants is no guarantee of future success
  • Over the past 22 years, the Conservation Fund has generated $168,487.93 in interest!

A part of last year's Public Hearing:

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How much land in Atkinson is conserved?

See: Conservation - the numbers




What are examples of recent land conservation projects that were funded, in part, by the Conservation Fund?


How much Conservation is "enough?"

See: Have We Reached Our Goal?

  • Proactive land conservation is still important, because
    when it's gone, it's gone forever.


Additional reading and research: