Community Preservation Plans

Watertown CPA Plan Cover

After adopting the Community Preservation Act, a new community must develop a Community Preservation Plan to facilitate implementation of the Act, according to Section 5 (b)1 of CPA. After the initial plan is created, the Community Preservation Committee must hold a public hearing and update the plan every year. Most communities also develop application forms and procedures for applicants to use in applying for CPA funds. Below you will find examples of these documents from CPA communities, updated and adapted by the Coalition for use as samples.

Community Preservation Plan Examples

Who Creates the CPA Plan?

The vast majority of CPA plans are written by members of the Community Preservation Committee, municipal staff, or a combination of both. Occasionally, some larger communities will hire an outside consultant to write the plan - in these cases, the municipality must follow the state procurement laws to hire the consultant. For a sample "Request for Qualifications" that the town of Brookline used to hire an outside consultant for their CPA plan, click here.

Applications for CPA Funding

Most CPA communities develop a standard CPA project application form at the same time that their CPA Plan is being written. For more information about what goes into crafting a quality CPA application process, best practices for the project proposal review process, and different components of a CPA application, check out the following technical assistance article: Building a Better CPA Application Process

Annual CPA Public Hearings

Part of the process for creating your community's CPA Plan includes holding an annual public hearing. All CPA communities are required to host at least one CPA public hearing each year - for more information on the different ways that communities have spread the word about their local CPA program, read our full technical assistance article: CPA Public Hearings - Creative Ways to Get the Word Out

Oct. 2023