CPA Adoption Update: Danvers Voting on CPA Adoption in May

Even during a year with no state or federal election, the enthusiasm for Community Preservation Act adoption is still going strong - now voters in the town of Danvers will be deciding whether or not to adopt the CPA program. The town has only ever attempted to adopt CPA once before, after their Town Meeting voted to place the question on the November 2016 ballot. For this year's attempt, local CPA advocates collected enough signatures from registered voters in order to place it on their spring election ballot on May 2nd.

Voters in Danvers will now decide whether or not to adopt a 1% CPA surcharge for their community. The town would not elect to take any of the available CPA exemptions. Should the town adopt CPA, they are expected to raise approximately $850,000 in local CPA revenues annually for outdoor recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing, and open space projects. Adopting CPA would also make the town eligible to receive annual distributions of funds from the statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, monies that are available only to communities that have adopted the Act.

Danvers now joins the town of Shirley which will voting on CPA adoption on the very same day this spring. As we approach town meeting season in the coming months, we may still see a few more communities progress CPA adoption efforts to the ballot. Keep an eye on our CPA elections page for further updates.