Assembly Enables Burrillville Land Trust Expansion
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STATE HOUSE ??? With a final vote in the House today, the General Assembly approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Cale P. Keable and Sen. Paul W. Fogarty enabling the Burrillville Land Trust to preserve more property.
The legislation (2017-H 6287, 2017-S 911), which will now go to the governor, amends the state law that declared the property holdings of the Burrillville Land Trust exempt from property taxes. The original legislation limited its tax exemption to $500,000 worth of property. The bill approved by the General Assembly today would allow the nonprofit to preserve up to $2 million worth of land tax-free.
???The Burrillville Land Trust has been very successful in its efforts to save land from future development as a means of preserving the town???s rural character and maintaining natural places for recreation and native wildlife habitat. Its volunteers have also been strong advocates for the environment locally and at the state level,??? said Representative Keable (D-Dist. 47, Burrillville, Glocester).
Said Senator Fogarty (D-Dist. 23, Glocester, Burrillville, North Smithfield), ???The need for this legislation is a testament to the Burrillville Land Trust???s accomplishments. We???re proud to sponsor this bill, because it will mean a great organization is able to do even more good work protecting the beauty of the northwest corner of our state.???
Since its organization in 1999, the Burrillville Land Trust has acquired and preserved 215 acres in Burrillville, and protected an additional 10 acres through a conservation easement. It also established the Burrillville Farmers??? Market.