CPA Adoption Update: Lowell Voting on CPA Adoption Next Month
As the summer came to a close, Lowell City Council unanimously approved of placing the question of CPA adoption on the Fall 2019 ballot - and so now, in just over a month, residents will be voting on whether or not to be the first new community to adopt since 2018.
In Lowell, voters will decide whether or not to adopt a 1% CPA surcharge for their community, with exemptions for the first $100,000 of residential property value, full commercial property value, and low income and low and moderate income senior homeowners. With a 1% CPA surcharge and the aforementioned exemptions, the city is estimating that it will raise approximately $700,000 in local CPA revenues annually for recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space projects. Adopting CPA 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.
Local city councilor Edward Kennedy cited how the dedicated funds from adopting CPA could open up new possibilities for park funding in Lowell, describing how "instead of doing one [project] per year, we could do three per year or two per year."
Lowell will be the only community to vote on CPA adoption in 2019, but the Coalition expects much more adoption activity next year now that the CPA funding increase was passed in the FY20 state budget. The town of West Stockbridge has already voted to place the question of CPA adoption on their spring 2020 election scheduled for next May - and judging from the buzz happening across the state, we're expecting plenty of other communities to consider adoption during the Fall 2020 presidential election.
Further Resources:
- "Council asks about advantages of Community Preservation Act" - The Lowell Sun
"Lowell voters will weigh in on CPA this fall" - The Lowell Sun