Murray Farm, Bridgewater
In This Issue
Register Now: CPA Housing Workshop
CPA Adoption Update
Legislative Update
Technical Assistance
Featured Project: Murray Farm, Bridgewater
Partner Organizations 

CPA Update

February 12, 2016

 

 

We answer CPA questions every day at the Coalition, a few of which we're highlighting in this edition of CPA Update: 

 

Is there an upcoming training seminar being offered for fresh ideas on creating affordable housing with CPA?

 

What is the name of that really big city in Massachusetts that may try to adopt CPA this year?

 

What's the first question that our CPC should ask when evaluating CPA Historic Preservation projects?

 

The answers to those questions, and more, are found below.  Read on...and good luck finding a quiet place to read this issue of CPA Update if the kids are around during school vacation week!  

 

Register Now:  CPA Housing Workshop on March 4th

The Community Preservation Coalition is one of many organizations participating in an upcoming CPA Affordable Housing Workshop on Friday, March 4th in Framingham. Our thanks to the Massachusetts Housing Partnership for organizing this day-long gathering for CPA communities.

Click here for registration information...

Many Communities Now Considering CPA Adoption
Boston City Council Votes to Explore CPA 
vote button
CPA has become a hot topic across the Commonwealth thus far in 2016. Three communities have already voted to place CPA on the ballot in their Spring Elections: Abington, Oxford, and South Hadley. 
 
But more than a dozen others are in various stages of looking at CPA for the November 2016 Presidential Ballot.  A few are well along in the process, including Danvers, Holyoke, and Billerica.  And as of this week, Boston is in the mix. 
Click here to see a map of CPA adoption activity.

At Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting, two Councilors introduced an order to adopt CPA.  A majority of the other City Councilors immediately added their names to the order, and it was referred to a sub-committee for further investigation.

CPA has a high success rate of adoption on presidential ballots:  Since 2004, 24 communities have been successful in passing CPA on a presidential ballot, while only 2 communities voted against it.  
Legislative Update
We were pleased to see that Governor Baker included $10 million in funding for CPA in his FY17 budget proposal last month.  If this proposed transfer from the state budget surplus is included in the final version of the budget come June, it will be the fourth straight year we have been successful in receiving additional funding for the statewide CPA Trust Fund.  Another $10 million this year would bring the four year total to $56 million in additional funding for CPA municipalities. 

Click here for an update on our 2016 legislative strategy....

Technical Assistance: Determining Eligibility For CPA Historic Preservation Funds
When a Community Preservation Committee (CPC) receives a project application for the acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation, or restoration of a historic resource, there are many steps to determining if the project is eligible.  One of the first steps is to determine whether the asset that will receive CPA funding is on the State Register of Historic Places, a prerequisite to receiving CPA funding.

CPCs can easily check to see if the historic resource in question is listed on the State Register of Historic Places by using the online Massachusetts Cultural Resources Information System (MACRIS). (If it is not listed on the State Register, then the CPC or the project proponent must request a determination hearing from the local Historic Commission on the significance of the resource to the history, culture, archaeology, or architecture of the community.) 
 
FEATURED PROJECT: Murray Farm, Bridgewater
60 Acres of Open Space Preserved
Open space preservation is a key component of the Community Preservation Act, and over 23,000 acres have been preserved with CPA funds since the Act was passed in 2000. Although many CPA open space projects have been completed independently by CPA cities and towns, some communities have found it helpful to partner with third party land protection organizations. One recent example is Bridgewater, which collaborated with The Trust for Public Land on a project to preserve Murray Farm in Bridgewater. 
 

VISIT WWW.COMMUNITYPRESERVATION.ORG 

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