Appeal of Town of Charlestown, 166 N.H. 498

TransCanada Hydro Northeast, Inc. owned three Charlestown parcels and applied in April 2007 to have them classified and assessed as current use (open space); the Town approved and assessed them as such for tax years 2007–2012.
In November 2012 the Town petitioned the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) to reclassify the parcels, claiming they were part of a hydroelectric development and therefore improperly classified as open space.
TransCanada opposed the petition, contending the parcels were properly classified as current use.
The BTLA dismissed the Town’s petition, concluding RSA chapter 79-A places responsibility on the municipality—not the BTLA—to remove land from current use when the municipality itself previously granted that status, and the BTLA would not allow the Town to undo its own approval under RSA 79-A:12, II.
The Town appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, arguing the statute prohibits unilateral municipal reclassification except when an actual change in land use occurs.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether BTLA erred by holding the Town may unilaterally reclassify land that was previously placed in current use	Town: RSA 79-A:7,I-a bars the Town from reclassifying absent a change in land use, so Town must have BTLA review to correct improper classifications	TransCanada/BTLA: Statute does not prohibit a municipality from reclassifying land it improperly placed in current use; BTLA need not relieve the Town of that duty	Court: Affirmed BTLA; statute permits municipality to reclassify improperly classified land and BTLA correctly dismissed Town's petition

Maplevale Builders v. Town of Danville, 165 N.H. 99 (N.H. 2013) (explains current use taxation purpose and framework)
Appeal of Wilson, 161 N.H. 659 (N.H. 2011) (standard for reviewing BTLA decisions and statutory interpretation)