THE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ACT IN NORTHAMPTON SUMMARY, 11-3-11

HISTORY:
CPA law was enacted by the Commonwealth in 2000 and adopted by 147 out of 351 cities and
towns in the state since then.
State Matching Funds come from state-wide Registry of Deeds fees and have averaged a 50%
match of local dollars for Northampton over the past five years (see attachment).
Northampton voted to adopt the CPA with a 3% local property tax surcharge in November 2005,
first collected in fiscal year 2007. The first funding round started in January 2008.
Exemptions for the surcharge are described in an attachment.
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION PLAN FOR NORTHAMPTON:
The complete text of the Plan can be found at www.northamptonma.gov/cpc
The Plan establishes the Community Preservation Committee and its duties, the review criteria
for applications, and the requirement for a public, transparent review. process for applications.
The Plan is reviewed bi-annually in public meetings.
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE:
9 citizen volunteer members, 2 elected and 7 appointed, representing the Historical Commissior:t, the
Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, the Recreation Commission, the Housing Authority, and
one each appointed by the Mayor and the City Council.
PROJECT CATEGORIES (see "Allowable Use Table" attached)
Historic Preservation (minimum of 10% of revenue, 16 grants in past five years)
Community Housing (minimum of 10% of revenue, 13 grants in past five years)
Open Space Preservation (minimum of 10% of revenue, 15 grants in past five years)
Recreation (4 grants in past five years)
Multiple categories (3 grants in past five years)
FUNDING PROCESS:
There are two 4-month rounds each year, including submission of applications with project budgets, site
visits, meetings with applicants, meetings devoted to public comment, and CPC recommendations
presented to the Mayor who then presents them to the City Council. The City Council votes twice on
allocation of grants, and the Office of Planning and Development oversees contracting, payment of
invoices, regular reporting, and final reports from grant recipients.
LEVERAGING OF CPA FUNDS:
Local revenue of $3.8 million has generated $24.3 million in funding 51 projects over five years.
When the CPA is the "first in" with a local project, additional grants from the state, federal
programs, private foundations, and other donors have been very responsive.
Local CPA Surcharge
[-H-1'----------------------
o 3/o surcharge on real estate taxes
o First $1 OOK of property value is
exempt
o Average family pays $79 fyr
o Exemptions for seniors and low
income households - must file with
assessor
o Totals about $850,000 per year
Northampton
CPA Income Limits, 2011
Moderate Low Income
Household
Income Limits Limits (owned
(owned and and occupied
Size
occupied by by non-
senior_) seniors]
1 person $48,510 $38,808
2 people $55,440 $44,352
I
3 people $62,370 $49,896
4 people $69,300 $55,440
5 people $74,844 $59,875
6 people $80,388 $64,310
7 people $85,932 $68,746
8 people $91,476 $73,181
State Match

D First year state matched 1 00/o
o Declined as additional towns adopted CPA and
registry transactions declined
o Currently 32.5/o- about $290,000 in FYll
Fiscal Year Local Surchar_ge State Match Match
0
/o
2007 $714,215.00 $714,21 5.00 1 00/o
2008 $738,678.32 $588,231.00 79.63%
2009 $7 67,021.29 $338,552.00 44.14/o
I
2010 $281,512.00- 33.95/o
I ----- -- ----- --- - - -- --- -----
:tijJ Community
. " ~ ~ ! r ! ~ : ~ , ~ ~ ! ! ~ ~
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION FUND ALLOWABLE SPENDING PURPOSES (G.L. c. 448, 5)
DEFINITIONS
(G.L. c. 44B, 2)
ACQUISITION
Obtain property interest by gift,
purchase, devise, grant, rental,
rental purchase, lease or otherwise.
Only includes eminent domain
taking as provided by G.L. c. 44B
CREATION
To bring into being or cause to
exist. Seideman v. City of Newton,
452 Mass. 472 (2008)
PRESERVATION
Protection from injury, harm or
destruction, but not maintenance,
which is upkeep of property
SUPPORT (not defined)
REHABILITATION AND
RESTORATION
Remodeling, reconstruction or
making extraordinary repairs to
make assets functional for intended
use, including improvements to
comply with federal, state or local
building or access codes or federal
standards for rehabilitation of
historic properties
OPEN SPACE
Land to protect existing and
future well fields, aquifers
and recharge areas,
watershed land, agricultural
land, grasslands, fields, forest
land, fresh and salt water
marshes and other wetlands,
ocean, river, stream, lake and
pond frontage, beaches, dunes
and other coastal lands, lands
to protect scenic vistas, land
for wildlife or nature preserve
and land for recreational use
Yes
Yes if acquired or created
with CP funds
HISTORIC RESOURCES
Building, structure, vessel, real
property, document or artifact
listed or eligible for listing on
the state register of historic
places or determined by the
local historic preservation
commission to be significant in
the history, archeology,
architecture or culture of the
city or town
Yes
Yes
RECREATIONAL LAND
Land for active or passive
recreational use including, but
not limited to, the use of land
for community gardens, trails,
and noncommercial youth and
adult sports, and the use of
land as a park, playground or
athletic field
Does .!!..2! include horse or dog
racing or the use of land for a
stadium, gymnasium or similar
structure
Yes
Yes ifacquired or created with
CP funds
COMMUNITY HOUSING
Housing for low and moderate
income individuals and families,
including low or moderate
income seniors
Moderate income is less than
100%, and low income is Jess
than 80%, of US HUD Area
Wide Median Income
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes, includes funding for
community's affordable housing
trust
Yes ifacquired or created with
CP funds
Chart Directly Copied from: Community Preservation Fund Frequently Asked Questions -Budgeting, Accounting and Spending. Page 10.
Prepared by the Department of Revenue for Community Preservation Coalition Workshop- April2011
An Act to Sustain Community Preservation rvoVr 2011
Summary of An Act to Sustain Community Preservation
In addition to a number of technical corrections, this bill has three main components:
1. Ensure Lasting Success of the Community Preservation Act (CPA)
The bill would provide an annual minimum distribution from the CPA Trust Fund equal to 75% of
locally raised CPA revenues. The trust fund is comprised of per-filing recording fees collected at the
state's registries of deeds, which would increase from the current fixed rate of $20 to a sliding scale
capped at $50. From 2001 to 2007, each CPA community received a distribution from the CPA Trust
Fund equal to 100% of its locally raised revenue. Beginning in October 2008 however, the CPA Trust
Fund could not sustain the 100% match due to the popularity of the program and reduced real estate
activity. The distribution rate fell to 67% for many communities in 2008, and has declined each year
since, to a projected 25% in 2011.
2. Broaden CPA Participation
While 147 communities currently participate in CPA (42% of the Commonwealth), many cities and less
affluent communities have yet to adopt the Act. This bill would allow communities to combine a
traditional1% CPA property tax surcharge with up to 2% of other municipal revenue in order to fund
their local Community Preservation account. This alternate method of adoption relies less on the local
property tax surcharge to raise revenue and provides a higher level of matching funds from the
statewide CPA Trust Fund, which will spur more CPA adoption in urban communities.
Furthermore, the bill adds a new optional exemption for the first $100,000 of property value for
commercial and industrial properties, mirroring the current optional $100,000 residential exemption.
This new exemption is especially beneficial to small businesses.
3. Clarify Allowable Uses to Promote Sustainable Communities
The bill would clarify the allowable uses of CPA funds so that communities can rehabilitate existing
outdoor parks and other recreational resources. Currently, rehabilitation projects are restricted to
recreational resources that were acquired or created with CPA funds. This has been extremely limiting
in many communities, including larger, urban communities with less open space to protect but many
older parks in need of capital rehabilitation. This change would mirror a legislative amendment made
in 2002 allowing CPA funds to be devoted to rehabilitation of historic assets not acquired under CPA.
Legislative Support
Senate Sponsor and Co-Sponsors (26)
Cynthia Stone Creem (D)
(Lead Sponsor)
Gale Candaras (D)
Harriette Chandler (D)
Sal DiDomenico (D)
Kenneth Donnelly (D)
Eileen Donoghue (D)
Benjamin Downing (D)
James Eldridge (D)
Susan Fargo (D)
Barry Finegold (D)
Robert Hedlund (R)
Patricia Jehlen (D)
John F. Keenan (D)
Thomas Kennedy (D)
Michael Knapik (R)
Thomas McGee (D)
Mark Montigny (D)
Michael Moore (D)
Richard Moore (D)
Michael Rodrigues (D)
Stanley Rosenberg (D)
Richard Ross (R)
Karen Spilka (D)
James Timilty (D)
James Welch (D)
Daniel Wolf (D)
House Sponsor and Co-Sponsors (90)
Stephen Kulik (D)
(Lead Sponsor)
Denise Andrews (D)
James Arciero (D)
Brian Ashe (D)
Cory Atkins (D)
Bruce Ayers (D)
Ruth Balser (D)
Carlo Basile (D)
Richard Bastien (R)
Jennifer Benson (D)
Nicholas Baldyga (R)
Garrett Bradley (D)
William Brownsberger (D)
Thomas Caller (D)
linda Dean Campbell (D)
Christine Canavan (D)
Stephen Canessa (D)
Gailanne Cariddi (D)
Cheryl Coakley-Rivera (D)
Thomas Conroy (D)
Michael Costello (D)
Geraldine Creedon (D)
Mark Cusack (D)
Viriato DeMacedo (R)
Angelo D'Emilia (R)
Carolyn Dykema (D)
Lori Ehrlich (D)
Kimberly Ferguson (R)
John Fernandes (D)
Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D)
Michael Finn (D)
Linda Dorcena Forry (D)
Gloria Fox (D)
Sean Garballey (D)
Denise Garlick (D)
Susan Gifford (R)
Anne Gobi (D)
Patricia Haddad (D)
Sheila Harrington ( R)
Jonathan Hecht (D)
Bradford Hill (R)
Kate Hogan (D)
Kevin Honan (D)
Steven Howitt (R)
Bradley Jones (R)
Louis Kafka (D)
Jay Kaufman (D)
John D. Keenan (D)
Kay Khan (D)
Peter Kocot (D)
Peter Koutoujian (D)
Jason Lewis (D)
David Linsky (D)
Marc Lombardo (R)
Timothy Madden (D)
Elizabeth Malia (D)
Christopher Markey (D)
Paul McMurtry (D)
James Miceli (D)
James Murphy (D)
Harold Naughton (D)
Rhonda Nyman (D)
James O'Day (D)
Sarah Peake (D)
Alice Peisch (D)
George Peterson (R)
Elizabeth Poirier (R)
Denise Provost (D)
Angelo Puppolo (D)
Byron Rushing (D)
Tom Sannicandro (D)
Paul Schmid (D)
John Scibak (D)
Frank Smizik (D)
Todd Smola (R)
Christopher Speranza (D)
Joyce Spiliotis (D)
Thomas Stanley (D)
Ellen Story (D)
William Straus (D)
David Sullivan (D)
Timothy Toomey (D)
Clean Turner (D)
David Vieira (R)
Chris Walsh (D)
Martin Walsh (D)
Steven Walsh (D)
Martha Walz (D)
Daniel Winslow (R)
Alice Wolf (D)