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Tolland assessors ask clerk to research conservation restriction on Chapter 61B property
Summary
The Town of Tolland Board of Assessors discussed a proposed conservation restriction on a property enrolled in Chapter 61B and assigned Clerk Jessica Kelmelis to research comparable Massachusetts properties and to contact DOR and Mass Audubon.
The Town of Tolland Board of Assessors on April 28 discussed a proposed conservation restriction on a property currently enrolled in Chapter 61B and assigned Clerk Jessica Kelmelis to research comparable properties in Massachusetts and reach out to DOR and Mass Audubon.
The matter arose during a brief agenda item when the board noted the property’s enrollment in Chapter 61B, the Massachusetts statute affecting classification of recreational, agricultural and open-space land for property-tax purposes. The board did not take formal action to create a restriction at the meeting; instead it directed research to clarify how a conservation restriction would interact with the parcel’s existing Chapter 61B status.
Clerk Jessica Kelmelis was asked to identify similar cases and contact the Department of Revenue (DOR) and Mass Audubon for examples and guidance. The transcript records the assignment as: "Jessica will research other like properties in Massachusetts by reaching out to DOR and Mass Audubon." The board did not record a vote on the restriction or set a follow-up date at the meeting.
The research could inform whether a conservation restriction is feasible for the parcel and how that instrument would affect the property’s tax classification under Chapter 61B. The Board of Assessors is expected to review Kelmelis’s findings at a future meeting; no timeline for that follow-up was specified in the minutes.
