(a) The town council of the town of Portsmouth may, by ordinance, exempt from taxation any real property situated in the town classified and utilized as farmland, forest land, open space land, or historic preservation site pursuant to the provisions of chapter 27 of this title, chapter 36 of title 45, a classification established by ordinance. The amount of the exemption, and the rules and regulations regarding eligibility for the exemption and classification as farmland, forest land, open space land, or historic preservation site, shall be provided for by ordinance, and the town council of the town of Portsmouth may, from time to time, by amendment to the ordinance, make those changes in the amount of exemption granted, and the rules and regulations regarding eligibility for the exemption and classification as farmland, forest land, open space land, or historic preservation site, as it deems necessary to promote the purpose of this section.
(b) The town council of the town of Portsmouth is authorized in the ordinance to provide that any person who obtains an exemption pursuant to the ordinance to which the person is not entitled, by the filing or making of any false statement, or the proffering of any document or other writing known by the person to have been altered, forged, or to contain any false or untrue information, is liable to the town of Portsmouth for an amount equal to double the amount of reductions in taxes resulting from the exemption, which amount is recoverable by the town in a civil action.
History of Section.
P.L. 1990, ch. 141, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 267, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 64, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 65, § 1.