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CPA News
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Important CPA deadline approaching
As we reported in our special CPA Bulletin in
August, the Department of Revenue now requires
that all Community Preservation Committees enter
their approved CPA projects online by September
15 in order to receive the CPA Trust Fund
distribution on time in October.
As of earlier this week, almost 50
communities had not yet entered their FY2008
projects into the online CP-3 database. In addition,
many communities also had not yet filed their CP-1
form with DOR. This form, which is jointly prepared by
the Board of Assessors and Accounting Officer, is
also due September 15th in order for a
community to receive their matching funds.
For more information, call DOR's Municipal
Databank Unit at 617-626-2384 or
databank@dor.state.ma.us. Communities which
did not complete any CPA projects during FY2008
should call or email DOR with that information.
CPA Trust Fund Update (as of
September 8, 2008)
We now have the figures for collections for
the CPA Trust Fund during FY2008, and we can also
provide an update on the total amount of funds that
will be available for the CPA Trust Fund distribution
next month.
Click here for an update
on the CPA Trust Fund.
Update on CPA Recreation Lawsuit
In January, the City of Newton filed an appeal
of the judge's decision in the CPA recreation lawsuit,
Seideman and others v. City of Newton. Oral
arguments in the case were held last week at the
state's Supreme Judicial Court (SJC).
Click here for an
update on this lawsuit and to watch video of the
hearing.
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Fame and fortune for outstanding CPA projects!
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The Robert Kuehn Community Preservation Award
The Community Preservation Coalition is pleased to
announce the initiation of a new award program - The
Robert Kuehn Community Preservation Award -
developed to honor the memory and work of Bob
Kuehn. Bob Kuehn, President of Keen Development
Company, was actively involved in the process of
drafting and passing the Community Preservation Act
(CPA). Bob was also one of the founders and main
supporters of the Community Preservation Coalition,
and served as Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee
until his death in June 2006.
The Robert Kuehn Community Preservation Award
program will honor two completed CPA projects that
best exemplify the spirit of Bob Kuehn's legacy. One
winner will be chosen in each of two categories. The
large community category includes CPA cities and
towns with FY2008 local surcharge revenue over
$400,000 and the small category includes those
whose surcharge revenue is under $400,000. The
winning community in each category will receive an
award of $3,500. The Keen Charitable Foundation is
donating the award money in Bob's memory.
Applications must be submitted by December 31,
2008.
Read on for selection
criteria and more information on how to apply
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Want to work for The Coalition?
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The Community Preservation Coalition recently
received a grant from a private foundation to hire a
Communications Coordinator. The Communications
Coordinator will handle all communications-related
activities for The Coalition, focusing on better serving
the needs of member CPA communities. This is a
part-time position for approximately 20 hours per
week. Knowledge of how the CPA works at the local
level is a big plus, so we would encourage those
serving on a Community Preservation Committee to
consider applying for this position.
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Planning Grants for Housing Authorities
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Pairing CPA funds with other public funding programs
can be a powerful way to make CPA dollars go
further. The Department of Housing and Community
Development (DHCD) and the Massachusetts
Housing Partnership (MHP) are making available
planning grants of up to $50,000 for local housing
authorities (LHA). These planning grants will be used
to support early stage feasibility activities for housing
authorities contemplating the creation of new units on
housing authority owned land or the redevelopment of
an existing state funded public housing development.
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Can a little money for housing go a long way?
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Many CPC members wonder how to best use CPA
funds for housing projects. One cost-effective way to
start is to use CPA funds for the creation of a Housing
Production Plan (HPP). With a HPP that is approved
by DHCD and the certified achievement of annual
housing production goals, a HPP can provide more
local control over the nature and location of
comprehensive permit projects. Currently, 14
communities are DHCD-certified to be compliant with
the goals established through their Housing
Production Plan.
According to Phillip DeMartino, Technical
Assistance Coordinator at DHCD, "This is the most
we've ever had certified at one time, even given the
current status of the housing market. But, beyond the
benefits of certification, there are lots of benefits to
creating a HPP, which 83 municipalities have done.
For example, officially stating your community housing
goals and strategies can improve a community's
negotiations with developers to create development
that is appropriate for the community."
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This Issue's Featured CPA Project
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This month's featured CPA project is the Bradstreet
Farm project in Rowley, which is one of the few CPA
projects to combine all four CPA purposes. You may
recall that we wrote about this project in the February
2007 issue of CPA Update, "A truly brilliant CPA idea."
The Bradstreet Farm on Route 1A had been
in the Bradstreet family since 1635 when the land was
granted from King Charles I of England to Humphrey
Bradstreet. The property includes an early 19th
century farm house and 18th century barn in addition
to upland meadow, woodland, and marsh. Sixty
percent of the property is part of the Great Marsh.
The Town of Rowley purchased the 120+
acre farm using $2.75M CPA funds. At the time this
opportunity arose, the project proponents did not know
exactly what CPA purposes the property would be best
suited for, but they agreed that it must be preserved.
So, they crafted a warrant article to allow the town to
buy the property for any of the four CPA uses and
further required that Town Meeting approve a land use
plan for the property in the future. This allowed the
town to purchase the farm and then do the proper
planning to decide how to use the property.
Since the authorization of the acquisition in
November 2006, the town purchased the land and
then created the land use plan for the property which
includes all four of the CPA purposes. The land use
plan, which was approved at Spring 2008 Town
Meeting, includes 103 acres for conservation and
passive recreation, nine acres for active recreational
use, two acres to construct affordable housing, and
seven acres containing the historic farm house and
barn which will be protected with a preservation
restriction and resold.
The town is currently going through the
subdivision process and drafting the various deed
restrictions. The next step will be to market the seven-
acre historic property for resale to recoup some
money and to issue a request for proposals to search
for an affordable housing developer for the two-acre
parcel.
Susan Jones Moses, Chair of the Rowley
Open Space Committee, can be contacted for more
information at 978-340-0407 or
susanjmoses@comcast.net.
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