CPA Adoption Update: Reading Voting on CPA Adoption in November

After almost a year without any CPA adoption activity, the town of Reading is now the first community to place CPA adoption on the ballot in 2026. During their annual town meeting this week, nearly 2/3 of town meeting members supported the measure that would advance CPA adoption to the state election ballot this November. If the ballot question succeeds, Reading will become the 202nd CPA community.

Voters in Reading will decide whether or not to adopt a 1% CPA surcharge for their community with exemptions for the first $100,000 of residential property, a full exemption for commercial property, and for low income and low & moderate income senior homeowners. Should the town adopt CPA, they are expected to raise approximately $800,000 in local CPA revenues annually for outdoor recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing, and open space projects. Adopting CPA would also make Reading 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.

The town first appointed a CPA Study Committee back in 2024 to review the costs and benefits of the CPA program and how it could affect with the municipality's priorities across the four CPA categories. After the final report was released in early 2026, several members of the study committee continued this work by presenting their findings to residents and town officials across a series of public informational sessions.

While there are a handful of other communities considering adoption at town meeting this spring and summer, Reading's successful town meeting vote demonstrates that enthusiasm for the CPA program remains strong despite a difficult economic climate.