Potential CPA Projects in Brookline

Many Eligible and Needed Projects Identified

There are many CPA-eligible projects that need to be funded in Brookline. A number of these projects involve improvements to Town-owned properties that qualify as “historic resources” under the CPA. The Town also has a number of parks and recreational facilities, and the Town’s Housing Authority has a number of public housing facilities, in need of capital improvements that could be funded with CPA revenues. Lastly, the Town could use CPA funds to acquire interests in property for the purpose of achieving some of its top priorities, such as protecting valuable open space at risk of development; creating new playing fields and pocket parks; and creating new affordable housing for seniors, teachers, town employees and low-income families in a way that is sensitive to neighborhood concerns.

Opportunity for Addressing Two Town Objectives

Because CPA funds may be used to pay costs of many projects already identified by the Town, it presents an opportunity for the Town to address two key objectives. First, the CPA presents an opportunity for the Town to make a significant investment in important Town needs that would not otherwise be addressed due to a lack of funds. Second, the CPA presents an opportunity for the Town to provide relief to the town and school operating and capital budgets by using CPA funds to pay for projects and other costs that would have otherwise been funded with other Town revenues, thereby freeing up those revenues for other town and school purposes desperately in need of funding.

The CPA Study Committee’s report contains a general description of project eligibility under the CPA; subcommittee reports detailing the tremendous need for additional funds for open space, recreation, affordable housing and historic preservation purposes in the Town; a list of the Town-owned properties that qualify as “historic resources” eligible for funding under the CPA; and a hypothetical budget or scenario for the expenditure of the CPA revenues the Town would receive over the first 6 years that shows how the two objectives identified above could be achieved. To see the CPA Study Committee’s report, go here.