CPA Projects – Detailed Report

Belmont Housing Trust is applying to CPA for $250,000 to establish readiness for opportunities that arise in town for creating affordable housing for persons and families whose annual income is less than 80% of the areawide median income (AMI) and seniors whose annual income is less than 100% AMI. This project includes use of an already executed grant agreement between the Community Preservation Committee, the Town, and the Housing Trust. Spending guidelines for CPA funds indicate that for each fiscal year, towns must spend or reserve at least 10% of the annual revenues in the CPA fund for community housing. This project proposes a carefully constructed mechanism to use the funds to create affordable housing that sustains the unique character of each neighborhood and serves the needs of new generations. As evidenced in other towns, transferring funds to the town Housing Trust increases the likelihood towns are in compliance with the CPA law. The Housing Trust developed a request for proposal (RFP) that will be sent to developers to notify them of the opportunity to receive town funds for projects that advance affordable housing. A scoring matrix to assess proposal responses considers factors such as sustainability, affordability, site reuse, financing commitment, and demonstrated capacity. Funds will likely be used for: • Pre-development due diligence: site surveys, phase I environmental work, title search, etc. • Leveraging state and private funds to increase number of affordable units • Helping to purchase land with developers to build deed-restricted housing • Buying down additional affordable units in developments Background: This would replenish funds previously appropriated by Town Meeting for FY2018. In June 2020, Town Meeting granted permission to the Housing Trust to create a Temporary Emergency Rental Assistance Program for Belmont households who suffered significant loss of income due to Covid. This program used the FY2018 CPC $250,000 grant pre