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Greetings!
Reading CPA Update is a great way to learn more about the Community Preservation Act. Another popular way is to attend one of the Coalition's free regional CPA conferences. We're pleased to announce that we're headed out to Western Massachusetts for our next conference, to be held in Northampton on May 8th. Read on for more information on the conference, plus all the latest news on CPA. |
| CPA News |
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CPA Trust Fund Update
CPA communities have begun budgeting forFY11, and many are curious about the next projected trust fund distribution. In a memo released in October 2009, the Department of Revenue (DOR) estimated that the first round matching percentage in October 2010 will decline again, to approximately 28%. DOR based their estimate on the assumption that the CPA trust fund will collect the same total revenue this fiscal year as it did last year. However, year-to-date trust fund receipts are up approximately 17%, so it is possible that DOR may raise this estimate slightly as the revenue picture continues to unfold. In the past, DOR has provided an update on the trust fund distribution as part their annual budget memo, usually released in March, and we'll forward that memo to CPA communities as soon as it is out.
CPA Legislation Making Progress on Beacon Hill
As we reported in December, our bill SB 90, An Act to Sustain Community Preservation, is currently before the Committee on House Ways and Means, and the Coalition is continuing to push aggressively for its passage. You can help! We need to make the value of CPA crystal clear to every member of the House. Very soon, we'll be asking you to once again contact your state representatives about SB 90. In the meantime, if you have a CPA event or project opening coming up, please be sure to invite your local legislators to attend.
The Coalition's Pending Legislation page has more information on SB90.
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Preserving Historic Burying Grounds...
Without Breaking the Bank |
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CPA communities have appropriated over $4.5 million of CPA funds to preserve historic burying grounds and cemeteries. CPA funded projects include a variety of preservation activities: gravestone and monument conservation; rehabilitation of historic chapels, tombs and fencing; stabilization of retaining walls; plus surveys, inventories, and management plans.
These projects can be costly, ranging anywhere from a few thousand dollars to over $350,000 depending on the scope of work, but in Newburyport they've figured out a way to bring costs down substantially. Read more about this innovative project. |
Save the Date!
CPA Conference: Northampton, Saturday May 8 |
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 The Coalition regularly holds regional conferences on the Community Preservation Act at various locations across the state.
We are pleased to announce that our next conference will be held in Western Massachusetts, at the Northampton Senior Center, on Saturday May 8, 2010 from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
We will email you shortly when registration opens. |
| CPA Can Help Keep Affordable Housing Affordable
Under New Law Signed by Governor |
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Known as "expiring use" properties, tens of thousands of privately owned apartments in Massachusetts are made affordable through time-limited state and federal subsidies. In the next three years the subsidies could end for over 17,000 of these affordable homes.
To address this issue, the Governor signed a new Expiring Use Law just before the close of 2009 designed to help keep publicly-assisted rental properties affordable. The legislation establishes notification provisions for tenants within expiring use properties, and a right of first refusal for the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) or its designee to purchase publicly assisted housing. CPA communities can use CPA Community Housing funds to help keep expiring use units affordable.
For more on the Expiring Use Law, including a summary from the Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), visit CHAPA's website.
Image Credit: MassSeniorAction.org |
| Featured CPA Project: Angino Farm, Newton |
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Using CPA funds, the city of Newton was able to acquire its last working farm within city bounds when the farm's former owner, Jerry Angino, passed away. The 2.25 acre property, though small in size, included a historic barn and farmhouse and embodied 350 years of local agricultural history. Had the town not acquired the property, it was slated to become a $3.75 million condominium development.
The farm is now the site of a thriving all-organic community supported agriculture (CSA) project run for the city by the nonprofit Newton Community Farm. The farmhouse has been renovated and permanently deed restricted as an affordable unit, which houses the resident farmer hired to oversee farm operations.
For more information on this successful CPA mixed-use project, including before and after photos of the farm, click here. | |
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