Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 302 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION › Title 302 CMR 15.00 - Chapter 61, Forest Classification › Section 15.05 - Procedure For Certification and Classification

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) An owner shall submit to the Department a
			 complete application as defined in 302 CMR 15.04(1) to the appropriate Regional
			 Office no later than 5:00 P.M. on or before June
			 30th of the year preceding the year for which
			 classification is sought. Applications that are postmarked on or before June
			 30th will be considered timely filed. The Department
			 may reject any incomplete applications.
(2) The Department shall determine whether
			 the subject parcel described in the application qualifies as forest land and
			 otherwise meets the criteria and requirements set forth under M.G.L. c.61 and
			 302 CMR 15.00. The certification of forest management plans beyond the first
			 ten-year certification period requires compliance with the prescribed
			 management practices described in the current certified forest management plan.
			 Circumstances beyond the control of the landowner including, but not limited
			 to, natural disturbance related to weather, fire, insect and disease
			 infestation, or economic conditions related to extreme fluctuation in the
			 forest product markets may preclude the landowner from complying with some or
			 all of the prescribed management practices. Such circumstances would be
			 required to be documented in the new forest management plan and the impact, if
			 any, would be reflected in the prescribed management prescriptions. In the case
			 of recertification, the owner's failure to abide by or perform the treatments
			 set forth in a forest management plan during a prior recertification period may
			 result in denial of recertification.
(3) If the determination is made that the
			 subject parcel qualifies as forest land, the Department shall certify the
			 subject parcel by affixing an authorized signature to the application, and
			 shall return, with a cover letter, the approved, certified application and
			 forest management plan to the owner.
(4) The cover letter of the Department
			 accompanying the certified documents returned to the owner shall contain
			 instructions to complete the application process, including the owner's
			 obligation to pay recording fees, if any, collected by the Registry of Deeds.
			 These recording fees will be determined by contacting the assessors. The
			 Department shall send a copy of this cover letter to the assessors.
(5) The owner shall deliver three copies of
			 the approved application certificate and one copy of the approved forest
			 management plan to the assessors no later than 5:00 P.M., on or before October
			 1st of the year preceding the year for which
			 classification is sought.
(6) Upon
			 receipt of the documents set forth above, the assessors shall forthwith record
			 in the appropriate Registry of Deeds, on a form approved by the Commissioner of
			 Revenue, a statement of the classification, which shall constitute a lien upon
			 the land for taxes levied under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 61. The statement
			 shall include the name of the owner and a description of the parcel adequate
			 for identification. The assessors shall return one copy of the recorded
			 statement, including the date and book and page, to the appropriate Regional
			 Office of the Department and the owner. The assessors shall sign and date the
			 application certificate and return one copy to the appropriate Regional Office
			 and a second copy to the owner.
(7)
			 The assessors may appeal the Department's certification in accordance with 302
			 CMR 15.08(1)(a), but do not have the unilateral authority to deny, revoke,
			 suspend, delay, amend, or limit classification of the subject parcel.
(8) The certification period shall begin on
			 January 1st of the calendar year in which
			 classification will take effect, and run for a ten year period ending December
			 31st of the tenth year, unless the land is earlier
			 withdrawn or removed from classification. The classification period shall begin
			 July 1st, at the beginning of the fiscal year in
			 which classification is to take effect, and run for a ten year period ending
			 June 30th of the tenth year, unless the land is
			 earlier withdrawn or removed from classification.
(9) The assessors shall, upon the request of
			 the owner, provide the owner in a timely fashion a clear statement of the taxes
			 which would in each tax period be due under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 59 and
			 those actually being levied under M.G.L. c. 61.