CPA Adoption Update: Northbridge on the Ballot

May 8, 2017: After a vote at their annual Town Meeting earlier this month, the town of Northbridge advances CPA to the ballot. Residents will now be voting on CPA adoption during their spring election one year from now, on May 15th, 2018.

In Northbridge, 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. With a 1% CPA surcharge and the aforementioned exemption, Northbridge would raise approximately $137,000 in local CPA revenues annually for recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space projects. Adopting CPA will 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.

If Northbridge does adopt CPA, it will join several neighboring Blackstone River Valley communities that have participated in the program for several years, including the towns of Grafton, Upton, and Mendon. The funds generated by CPA could address a number of local needs including open space preservation, the rehabilitation of public parks, soccer fields, and other recreational spaces, the creation of affordable housing, and the restoration of historic resources.