Three New Communities Vote to Adopt CPA
Nov. 5th, 2014: Voters in the state's sixth largest city, New Bedford, overwhelmingly approved CPA on election day, as did residents of the second largest community with CPA on the ballot, Arlington. Two other CPA elections were also in the win column; Boxborough voted to adopt CPA, while Amherst voted to raise their CPA surcharge from 1.5% to 3%. The success on election night brings the total number of CPA communities to 158.
CPA did not pass in five other communities on the ballot - Woburn, Newbury, Otis, Egremont, and Berkley. Vote totals were extremely close in Woburn and Otis - our election results chart below shows just how close.
In the final CPA vote on election night, the town of Essex rejected an effort to raise their local surcharge from .5% to 1.5%. Essex will remain one of only two communities in the state to have a CPA surcharge of under 1%; Northfield is the other.
Click here to view the new CPA statewide adoption map.
Communities Voting on CPA Adoption on 11-4-2014
| City/Town | Vote Tally | Result | Surcharge | Exemptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | Yes: 10034, No: 8476 | Pass | 1.50% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential; the first $100,000 commercial |
| Berkley | Yes: 785, No: 1241 | Fail | 1% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential |
| Boxborough | Yes: 1193, No: 823 | Pass | 1.50% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors |
| Egremont | Yes: 254, No: 328 | Fail | 3% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential |
| New Bedford | Yes: 8802, No: 7405 | Pass | 1.50% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential; the first $100,000 commercial |
| Newbury | Yes: 1486, No: 1635 | Fail | 1.50% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential; the first $100,000 commercial |
| Otis | Yes: 263, No: 286 | Fail | 3% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential; the first $100,000 commercial |
| Woburn | Yes: 6167, No: 6298 | Fail | 1% | low income persons and low/moderate income seniors; the first $100,000 residential; the first $100,000 commercial |
Communities Voting on CPA Surcharge Increase on 11-4-2014
| City/Town | Vote Tally | Result | Surcharge | Exemptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | Yes: 3624, No: 3154 | Pass | 1.5% to 3% | no change |
| Essex | Yes: 499, No: 767 | Fail | 0.5% to 1.5% | no change |
Further Resources:
- Read the Standard-Times' coverage of the New Bedford CPA election "New Bedford Voters Strongly Back Community Preservation."
- Read the Daily Times Chronicle on Woburn advocates interest in trying again "CPA Backers Say They Will Try Again Soon."