Community Preservation Act

Community Preservation Act Improving the Quality of Life in Somerville

Adopted in 2012, the Community Preservation Act (CPA, M.G.L. c. 44B) enables Somerville to fund improvements related to affordable housing, historic preservation, open space, and outdoor recreation. The public is welcome to apply for this community resource as well as influence how the funds should be spent by organizations and City departments. An annual application process is managed by the Community Preservation Committee for historic resources and open space/outdoor recreation projects. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund manages the annual process for affordable housing applications.

About the Community Preservation Committee

Committee Members

• Laura Beresky, Chair - General Public Representative
• Heather Heimarck, Vice-chair - General Public Representative
• Jahan Habib - Planning Board Representative
• Rebecca McKevitz - Public Spaces and Urban Forestry Division Representative
• Eleanor Rances - Housing Authority Representative
• Tatiana Shannon - General Public Representative
• Alan Bingham- Historic Preservation Commission Representative
• David Turin - Conservation Commission Representative
• Rose White - General Public Representative 

The key duties of the Somerville Community Preservation Committee (CPC) are to:

• Develop and maintain a community preservation plan, which establishes the Committee's priorities for recommending projects to the City Council to receive the Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding. The Committee's FY22 Community Preservation Plan is available here. The Committee updates this plan annually and holds at least one public hearing to gather public comment on it in the process. The Committee also gathers public input through a survey and other outreach efforts to provide meaningful input on community needs and priorities.
• Prepare an annual budget for the City Council, which establishes how the Committee intends to allocate annual CPA revenue. 
• Make project recommendations to the City Council. The Committee will make recommendations to the City Council regarding the allocation of CPA funding following a competitive application process. The Council can approve, reject, or reduce the Committee's funding proposals.

The ordinance governing the CPC is available here.  

Joining the CPC

Four members of the Community Preservation Committee are selected from the general public. Because the terms were initially staggered, we will be looking for new members each year from 2017 to 2020. Interested in learning more about what it's like to be on the CPC? You can watch the video from the 2018 information session for prospective CPC applicants here. All CPC members can serve for up to two consecutive terms of three years each. There is a competitive application process for the general public seat. Applications are reviewed by a selection committee with community and City representatives. If you are interested in applying, be on the lookout for calls for applications in the fall. 

The other five members of the CPC are appointed, as required by the CPA enabling legislation, from the:

• Conservation Commission
• Historic Preservation Commission
• Parks and Open Space Department
• Planning Board
• Somerville Housing Authority 

To date, $28 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, including over $3.4 million in state match funds, have been awarded to projects across all of Somerville's seven wards. Learn about these projects below.

Want to see more of what we're up to? Visit the Somerville CPA Flickr site for more project photos.

¿Quiere aprender sobre el proceso de aplicación en el español? Mira una entrevista sobre el programa aquí.

Want to incorporate arts and/or cultural components in your CPA project? Consider applying for a Local Cultural Council Grant from the Somerville Arts Council. Applications are due in October each year. Learn more here.

On this page you will find:

• CPA eligibility guidelines
• CPA application process
• Community Preservation Plans
• Resources for applicants

The first step in the Community Preservation Act (CPA) application process is to determine if your project is eligible for CPA funding. This chart provides an overview of what types of projects CPA funds can support:

For more detailed information, visit the Community Preservation Coalition and talk with the CPA Manager.

Historic Resources, Open Space, and Recreation Land Application Materials

The application process for historic resources and open space/recreation land funding has three parts: 

1. 1. Pre-Application: This step is only for community members proposing a project on City land or requesting funds for a feasibility study.
   2. Eligibility Determination: The CPC first determines if projects are eligible for CPA funding before inviting applicants to submit full applications.
   3. The Full Application: Projects determined eligible through the eligibility determination phase will be invited to submit a full proposal.
      
      • Application instructions: this packetcontains all of the information you need to submit an application, once the CPC determines your project is eligible for CPA funding.
      • Application forms: this packet contains the fillable forms you need to include with your full application.

Need help understanding the application process? Talk to the CPA Manager and plan to attend an application workshop. You can find the slides from last year's workshop here. 

Affordable Housing Projects

Applicants with proposals for housing-only projects or programs should contact the Affordable Housing Trust. The CPC has empowered the Trust to serve as the affordable housing arm of the Committee, so the Trust will receive and evaluate applications for CPA-eligible affordable housing projects and programs. Please contact Paul Goldstein at pgoldstein@somervillema.gov with questions.

Out of Cycle Funding Requests

For exceptional cases, the CPC will consider emergency requests for funding outside of the regular application cycle. If you think you might be eligible for emergency consideration, please contact the CPA Manager.

Resources for Applicants

CPA projects are often complex, involving many stakeholders and requiring necessary permits and approvals. The CPA Manager is an important resource to help applicants navigate the CPA process. 11 Things to Consider when Developing a Project for CPA Funding can help you walk through the questions you will need to answer as you develop your project idea. We also hope the information below helpful as you develop your application. 

If you are looking to get ideas for projects and are curious what others have done, you can visit the Community Preservation Coalition website to learn about CPA projects across Massachusetts and visit the Somerville CPA Projects tab to learn more about projects close to home.

Is this the first time you are writing an application for grant funding? This GuideStar blog has some helpful resources and advice for beginners. 

CPA Requirements

Projects on City Land

The CPC receives many requests from community groups for funding for projects on City land. To ensure these projects have the support of the City and are in alignment with City needs and priorities, the CPC requires that property owners be a co-applicant from the eligibility determination form phase for all projects on public lands. If you have an idea for a project on City land, read this guide to get more information about the process. 

Be sure to note that state procurement laws apply to all CPA projects on public land. It's important to factor this in when developing your project, as it may affect your budget and timeline. To read our guide for applying for CPA funds for a project on public land, click here. To watch the video from a workshop on the topic, click here. 

Preservation Restrictions

The Somerville CPC requires all historic resources projects accept a perpetual historic preservation restriction on the exterior of the building in order to receive funds. The CPA legislation requires that all property acquired with CPA funds be perpetually preserved for the use for which it was acquired, such as putting a conservation restriction on open space acquired with CPA funds. To learn more about preservation restrictions for CPA projects, click here.

Campaign Contribution Disclosure

Per the City of Somerville's Campaign Contribution Ordinance (Section 15-71 to 15-76), all CPA applicants requesting $50,000 or more must disclose their and financial contributions of the members of their leadership to candidates running for office in the City of Somerville. If an individual has contributed $500 or more to any individual candidate or incumbent in either the calendar year of the application or the calendar year preceding the application, they cannot receive a CPA grant.

Permits and Approvals

All CPA funded projects must apply for the necessary permits and approvals, which will vary depending on the scope of your project. You can learn more about what permits may be required for your project on the City's CitizenServe portal or by talking with someone in the Building Division of the Inspectional Services Department.

Don't forget that CPA funds can be used to help make your site accessible to all and your project may trigger requirements to make your site accessible if it isn't already. You can learn more about Massachusetts' architectural access regulations here.

Leveraging Funding

The CPC does not require a match to receive funding; however, the CPC does prioritize projects that leverage funding from multiple sources. And CPA funds can be used as matching funds for other grants! Not sure where you can find additional funding?

• • Sign up for the City of Boston's Funding Update, a weekly email with announcements from local, state, federal, and private funding sources.
  • If you have a historic preservation project, the Massachusetts Historic Preservation Commission awards grants annually through their Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fundand you may be eligible for a Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund
  • If your project could be considered 'placemaking,' you could be eligible for a MassDevelopment Commonwealth Places
  • If you have an open space/recreation land project, a group of Tufts University Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning students developed this listof potential sources of funding (see Chapter 10, starting on page 104).
  • For a fee, you can subscribe to the Foundation Center's Foundation Directory Onlinewhich will allow you to search for foundations that fund the type of project you are looking to implement.

The CPC seeks to fund projects that are consistent with the community's values and to use CPA funds strategically. The CPC holds a public hearing annually to help inform these priorities, typically in March. Your participation in the survey and outreach events also helps to inform the CPC’s goals and priorities.

On this page you will find:

• Funding Priorities
• Community Preservation Plan and Annual Reports
• Funding Results

Funding Priorities

 The CPA enabling legislation requires a minimum of 10% be allocated to each category every year and gives each CPC the flexibility to increase these minimums to reflect the priorities in their communities. Since FY19, the CPC set the following minimum allocations:

• Affordable Housing = 50%
• Historic Resources = 15%
• Open Space and Recreation Land = 20%
• Flexible/undesignated = 10%
• Administration = 5% (maximum)

Flexible funds are used to fund CPA eligible projects in the three CPA categories to support requests beyond the minimum allocations and are distributed based on demand and the quality of applications.

Community Preservation Plan and Annual Reports

Each year the Community Preservation Committee sets the funding priorities and minimum funding allocations for the three CPA categories through the Community Preservation Plan.  To learn more about the CPC's priorities, read the annual Community Preservation Plan:

• FY22 Community Preservation Plan
  • Community Comments
  • Online Survey Results
  • Public Hearing Video

Starting in FY17, the Community Preservation Committee began developing a monitoring and evaluation plan to accompany their annual Community Preservation Plan. The purpose of the monitoring and evaluation plan is to help the CPC track the difference CPA is making in Somerville and the trends in housing, historic preservation, and open space in our community.

See our Annual Report for more depth about what's happening in the CPA program.

You can learn more about the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund on their website. See their latest report submitted to the Community Preservation Committee on CPA-funded projects.

Find prior year plans and reports here.

Funding Results

To date, over $26 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, including over $3.4 million in state match funds, have been awarded to 86 projects across all seven wards:

• 27 affordable housing projects ($13,659,934 - 51% of CPA funding to date, includes a $6 million bond for the 100 Homes project)
• 28 historic resources projects ($7,074,901 - 26% of CPA funding to date, includes a $2.5 million bond for West Branch Library)
• 31 open space and recreation land projects ($5,271,877 - 20% of CPA funding to date)

As a result of these projects:

• 100 units of affordable housing are being created
• 12 historic buildings and 3 historic collections are being preserved
• 5 historic buildings and one collection are becoming ADA accessible
• 9 open spaces are being improved and 8 schoolyard garden classrooms were improved

These projects have been implemented by 14 different community organizations (51 projects) and City departments (26 projects). Nine projects are jointly implemented by City departments and community organizations. To learn more about the individual CPA projects, visit the "CPA Projects" tab.

In 2021, the City commissioned a Program Evaluation of the CPA program. The report from this initiative can be found here.

Somerville CPA in the News

• https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/20/metro/gem-city-somerville-museum-gets-makeover-become-accessible-all/
• https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/109560
• https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/105527
• https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/somerville-journal/2021/01/15/somerville-opens-new-playground-near-union-square/6631847002/
• https://somerville.wickedlocal.com/news/20200511/preserving-affordability-progress-on-somervilles-100-homes-program
• https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/94582
• https://somerville.wickedlocal.com/news/20191028/artfarm-somervilles-experiment-for-next-great-public-space
• https://somerville.wickedlocal.com/news/20191028/artfarm-somervilles-experiment-for-next-great-public-space