CPA Adoption Update: Framingham City Council Approves CPA for November Ballot

CPA advocates in Framingham are taking a moment to celebrate: during a virtual meeting (pictured here), the Framingham city council voted unanimously to place CPA adoption on the November ballot. The City Council approval was spurred on by the advice of an appointed 12-member study committee who submitted an impressive 95-page report ultimately recommending that "Framingham should adopt the CPA as soon as possible." While the city attempted and failed to adopt CPA back in 2001, advocates are hoping that a more modest proposal set forth by the study committee, as well as the proven 20-year track record of the statewide CPA program, will help the adoption campaign succeed this time.

Voters in Framingham will be voting on a 1% CPA surcharge with exemptions for low-income and low/moderate-income senior homeowners, as well as exemptions for the first $100,000 of both residential and commercial property value. According to the study group's report, adopting CPA would raise approximately $1.5 million in local CPA revenue annually for open space, recreation, historic preservation, and affordable housing projects. This would also make the city 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.

June was a busy month for CPA adoption news: just a few short days ago, West Stockbridge became the 177th CPA community after their town election. And with the addition of Framingham, there are now a total of four communities that will be voting on CPA adoption in November. With a slate of town meetings still scheduled for July, we may even see this list continue to grow before the end of the summer.