What is the Martha's Vineyard Landbank and the Transfer Fee?
Martha’s Vineyard Island has witnessed unprecedented change in the most recent decades. Farming declined; centuries-old pastures and fields were left to knot into vines and shrubs. The "freedom to roam" was curtailed as fences were erected across trails, beaches were gated off and hunting was restricted.
Few of these problems could be solved by planning boards and conservation commissions only; the Vineyard needed a new type of land agency. In the midst of an up-spiraling building boom, island voters created the land bank in 1986 and charged it with reversing their losses.
Nearly thirty years have elapsed and some 3100 acres have now been conserved. Although this sounds impressive, it is actually mighty small: just 5% of the land area on the island. The commission’s revenue – generated by a 2% public surcharge on most real estate transfers occurring in the six towns – is modest compared to need, ensuring that islanders can expect the land bank to protect only a fraction of their community.
And this money must go far. Farmers, hikers, beachcombers, birders, hunters and many, many others are all constituents of the land bank and all deserve to have some land set aside for their special needs.
The land bank’s private-sector counterparts, fortunately, help out. These trusts' extraordinary work in creating wildlife sanctuaries across the Vineyard frees the land bank to pursue a more diverse mission, where some land bank properties are reserved for wildlife while others are used for agriculture, hunting and/or many other types of conservation use.
Balance is key in land bank property management. Environmental protection leads the list of land bank goals with public use encouraged where and when possible. Trails avoid sensitive areas, signs advise of special precautions visitors need take, and attendants are hired when necessary to oversee use.
The land bank is a rare breed. Neither a sanctuary program nor a park system, it is a middle ground where the highest virtues of conservation can be realized: public enjoyment of nature, where limits and restraint secure the natural world’s future and prosperity.
How Much Is the Transfer Fee and Who Pays it?
To help us preserve our island resources for future generations, the Landbank Transfer fee was created by the State. The fee is 2% of the final sale price of the home you are buying and is paid by the buyers at the closing. To help first time homebuyers, there is an exemption for the first $480,000 of the sale price with the buyers then responsible for paying 2% on any amount above this.
While this fee is substantial and does impact a homebuyer’s bottom line, as new homeowners on the island we are confident as you visit the many incredibly beautiful properties the Landbank owns you will feel it is money well spent.
Source: MV Landbank Commission
