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Resident urges Seymour to consider land-value tax to spur development of vacant commercial parcel
Summary
At public comment a resident urged the town to adopt a land-value tax for the commercial district to encourage development of a long-vacant hole in the ground and prevent speculation by taxing land rather than improvements.
During public comment, resident James Amadon (109 Maple Street) urged the board to consider a land-value tax in the town’s commercial district to address a long-vacant parcel. Amadon said the proposed tax would levy value on land only, not on buildings, thereby removing a penalty on property improvements and creating an incentive for owners of vacant lots to develop them.
"A land value tax is essentially the opposite of the way that we levy property taxes here," Amadon said. He argued that taxing land rather than improvements would push owners of undeveloped parcels to either develop them in coordination with the town or bear the tax burden of leaving them idle. Amadon referenced a 2023 effort to seek a state grant to buy the parcel that did not go forward when the landowner declined the grant.
The board acknowledged the comment but did not take action on the proposal during the meeting; the item was recorded as part of the public comment period.
