Neighbor News
The CPA Campaign in Burlington
What is the status of the campaign to bring the CPA (Community Preservation Act) to Burlington?
The Burlington Committee for the Community Preservation Act (CPA) has been working on a campaign to bring the CPA to Burlington. The process first requires Town Meeting to put CPA on the ballot for the voters. When the pandemic overwhelmed us in 2020, we decided to put the CPA project on hold; Town Meeting requested that only the most essential issues be discussed at the May 2020 meeting.
We still feel strongly that there are great benefits to CPA for Burlington: it will allow us to isolate funds for critical areas that the normal budget doesn’t always cover: historic preservation, recreation, open space, and affordable housing. In addition, CPA communities received a 28.6% match on round one of the trust fund distribution this year. It is estimated that the 2021 distribution should be just as rewarding for CPA communities.
The CPA funds would have been helpful in this time of financial crisis, but CPA would have to have been passed years back. Our committee was surprised to learn that nine other Massachusetts communities DID pass CPA in the November 2021 election. We still feel we were correct to halt the campaign, but are now looking to reactivate it.
It is worth noting that just a few weeks ago, the town of Nahant voted overwhelmingly to take some land by eminent domain to prevent development that was widely disliked. The town voted to use $1.5 million from their CPA money to protect popular open space.
State law requires that the town vote on a CPA referendum at the first election after Town Meeting approves a vote. Our committee will meet again in July 2021 and decide how to reactivate our campaign. Burlington residents and businesses already contribute to a state CPA fund with every real estate transaction, but until we join CPA we are simply giving away these fees and receiving none of the benefit. It is also worth noting that no town which has adopted the CPA has ever chosen to leave the program and a number of towns have increased their initial level of contribution. To learn more about the CPA and the benefits to Burlington, visit our website: www.yescpaburlington.org
If you are interested in joining us, please contact chairman Jon Sachs at jon@jonsachs.com.