Littleton CPA Fact Sheet

 

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a new (2000) tool to help communities preserve open space and historic sites, and create affordable housing and recreational facilities. It is intended to provide municipalities with their own dedicated and predictable source of funding with maximum flexibility to fashion local initiatives that preserve and enhance community character.

 

Current Problem:

• Lack of funds to implement prioritized and agreed-to action plans documented in local planning studies (e.g., Littleton Master Plan, Open Space and Recreation Plan,  Littleton Reconnaissance Report/ Freedom’s Way Landscape Inventory, and Affordable Housing Initiatives)
• Loss of control over growth patterns and unanticipated development
• Lost opportunities, including last 6  years’ loss of state matching CPA funds

 

Benefits:

• Matched, dedicated and predictable funds for community preservation, with focus on open space and recreation, affordable housing, and historic preservation
• Funds can leverage even more state and federal dollars and private partnerships
• Maximum flexibility in funds’ use for local initiatives decided by local residents
• Enhanced community preservation, community quality-of-life, and home values

 

CPA Proposal for Littleton:

• 1% surcharge on annual real estate taxes
• Exemptions for low income person or senior with low or moderate income
• Exemption for first $100,000 value for each taxable parcel of residential property
• Exemptions for commercial and industrial properties (Farms under 61a)

 

Example of Cost and How Calculated:

• First, apply exemptions for low income, or seniors with low and moderate incomes
• For others, a taxable residential property, say valued at $450,000,  receives an exemption for the first $100,000 of valuation, leaving a remaining $350,000 value
• Next, the remaining $350,000 value taxed at 12.17 per 1000  yields a $4,260 bill which would be CPA surcharged at 1% or $42.60 per year or $10.65 per quarter.
• Finally, the state would match with up to another $42.60, yielding as much as $85.20 for local CPA initiatives

 

One third of all Massachusetts municipalities participate in the CPA program. In FY 2006 over $58 million of state funding has been distributed to some 102 municipalities based upon those communities’ self-determined level of CPA participation.  For the last 5 years, all participating communities have received 100% matching state funds making this one of the state’s best granting programs.  The State’s granting funds come from fees paid at the registry of deeds by citizens of the Commonwealth, us.  The only way to tap into these funds is by adopting the Community Preservation Act.

 

Learn More: 

For more information, see:

• Littleton CPA brochure
• Littleton CPA handout
• Conserving Littletons Heritage with Q&A (PowerPoint Presentation)

and go to:

http://www.communitypreservation.org/  and 

http://www.communitypreservation.org/CPAAdoption.v.12.20.06.pdf