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Select Board opens RSA 79-D hearing on Four Winds Farm preservation easement, schedules site visit
Summary
The Peterborough Select Board opened a public hearing Feb. 17 under RSA 79-D to consider discretionary preservation easements for two Four Winds Farm parcels; the board and assessor agreed to a follow-up site visit to determine tax impacts and conservation value.
The Peterborough Select Board opened a public hearing on Feb. 17 under RSA 79-D to consider discretionary preservation easements for two barn complexes at Four Winds Farm.
Ian Spencer, the applicant, participated by phone and described the properties’ history, saying the family has owned the farm since 1905 and that the easement would help preserve historic character while offsetting maintenance costs. He told the board the property remains open to the public and that a trail network connects to other Peterborough trails. Spencer also clarified the dairy building is rented, the 145 Four Winds Farm barn holds an event-space permit, and seasonal field rentals to Sam Rowse for wagyu cattle do not interfere with the historic structures or community use.
Heritage Commission Chair Doug Ward asked whether a preservation checklist had been completed; Town Administrator Nicole MacStay said the checklist was included in the meeting packet. Gretchen Rae of the Assessing Department explained that the formal percentage-criteria checklist is typically completed during an on-site visit after a public hearing opens and outlined tax distinctions between the two parcels: 140 Four Winds Farm Road has out-buildings currently valued as vacant land, while 145 Four Winds Farm Road includes a residence and therefore carries a larger tax impact. Chair Tyler Ward noted that if both parcels were qualified at 100 percent, the town’s tax reduction would be about $12,000, but he emphasized the value of the conservation land the easement would secure.
The board reached consensus to schedule a site visit with the assessor and the Heritage Commission, with a Spencer family representative present, before making a final decision. The public hearing was closed at 5:22 p.m.; the Select Board will consider the assessor’s site-visit findings and the completed checklist before taking a final vote.
