Letter: Vote no on Little Compton Article #6; Support Ag. Trust amendment

Posted 5/11/16

To the editor:

Article six at the May 17 Little Compton Town Meeting introduced by Larry Anderson seeks to reduce the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust’s 4% land transfer fee on real …

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Letter: Vote no on Little Compton Article #6; Support Ag. Trust amendment

Posted

To the editor:

Article six at the May 17 Little Compton Town Meeting introduced by Larry Anderson seeks to reduce the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust’s 4% land transfer fee on real estate transfers over $225,000 from the current 4% to 3% while raising the current $150,000 exemption to $225,000 so as to make housing more affordable in Little Compton.

We support an increase in the exemption amount to truly help first time buyers, however we do not support reducing the trust’s revenue over 30% on incomplete data.

Anderson cites the fact that three neighboring land conservation organizations charge transfer fees of 2% to 3% and Little Compton is an outlier at 4%. However, what he does not state is that those three locations have much higher average real estate values. In 2015 their average real estate sales values far exceeded Little Compton’s $529,000 average as follows: Nantucket, ($1,800,000); Martha’s Vineyard($1,200,000) and Block Island ($1,200,000). According to the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror, The Nantucket Land Trust collected $4,944,715 year-to-date April 2016 versus the Trust’s collection of $762,000 of which $232,500 came from one $6,000,000 sale.

While in past years the Trust has been successful in leveraging its transfer revenues with various outside grants receiving over $14.5 million in outside funds to augment the $12 million collected in transfer fees since inception, these funding sources are no longer available to support our ongoing efforts. The USDA’s agricultural land protection program was funded in 2016 with $300,000 versus prior years funding of $3-$4 million. Statewide, six land preservation groups are competing for these funds. RI DEM does not have open space funds in 2016 where in years past they have had funding. Lastly, the Champlin Foundation has changed direction and is no longer funding land conservation efforts to the extent they have done in years past. The last acquisition in town Champlin funded was in 2007.

In addition to preserving land for agriculture and open space, generous grant funding coupled with higher fee income has allowed the Trust to: assist The Nature Conservancy in preserving the Last Stand providing additional hiking trails and West Main Road access to the Bumble Bee Farm Trail project; purchase the PT Marvel Preserve on South Shore Road; secure 100% state funds to match private funds raised for the rehabilitation of the Wilbur School Basketball courts; reconstruct three quarters of a mile of stone walls along West Main Road, and seek recreational grants for additional fields in town. In the future these projects will not be possible should our funding be cut.

The LCACT since it’s founding has sought to provide a baseline exemption that would reflect the average cost of a lot in town. It currently stands at $150,000 having been raised in 2004. Today, 12 years later, proponents of article six are correct in seeking to raise the exemption amount from $150,000. However their proposal does not go far enough.

We believe that doubling the current exemption to $300,000 would better assist those individuals purchasing their first home in town by yielding savings of $4,500 on the transaction versus the $1,500 in the Anderson proposal. The desire to make housing more affordable in Little Compton is something the Trust supports. We have in past years sought to partner with the Town’s Affordable Housing Trust to purchase land that can be simultaneously preserved and used for affordable housing. Unfortunately, we have yet to be successful.

Increasing the exemption is a separate issue from cutting the 4% tax on homes selling over $225,000. The latter would severely hinder future land protection efforts at a time when older landowners and their heirs seek to sell their land in a rising real estate market. Economic factors way beyond our town have propelled high net worth individuals to buy second homes here rather than on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, continuing to raise land values.

Reducing the rate in 2015 would have meant that $391,000 would not be available to preserve land as prices rise and outside funding diminishes. That is why the Trust proposes to amend the article to charge 4% on all sales over a $300,000 exemption. This would to ensure that individuals who buy higher value homes pay their fair share to preserve the rural character, open space and agricultural vitality that define Little Compton.

We respectfully request that the voters in the 2016 Financial Town Meeting not support budget article #6 as it is written. This article is not a budget item and will have no impact on your taxes.

George Mason, Bill Richmond, Wayne Montgomery, Ed Maito, Ellie Field, David Wechsler, Michael Steers

Members Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust

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