Community Preservation Act
Have an idea for a CPA Project? FY21 Eligibility Forms are due July 17!
Want to learn more?
Watch the video from the application workshop here.
For questions and to submit forms, contact CPA Manager Judith Tumusiime at [email protected]
Eligibility Determination Form
Application Process Instructions
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a Massachusetts state law (M.G.L. c. 44B) that enables adopting communities to create a dedicated fund for preserving open space and historic resources and expanding community housing and outdoor recreation opportunities. With the passage of the CPA in November 2012, the City of Somerville joined now 176 other communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a steady funding source dedicated to preserving and improving their character and quality of life. Somerville voters passed the Act by 76%, the second-highest passage rate in CPA history. This achievement has provided Somerville the opportunity to use these resources to become an even more exceptional place to live, work, play, and raise a family. CPA funding comes from residents, through a 1.5% surcharge on local property taxes and a state match.
Since the Community Preservation Committee began accepting project applications in FY15, the Somerville CPA program has allocated over $26 million for eligible projects in all three areas, including $2.96 million in state funds. This money has supported 79 projects: 24 historic resources, 30 open space/recreation land, and 25 housing. For FY19 the minimum allocations were adjusted to 50% for affordable housing, 15% for historic resources, 20% for open space/recreational land, and 10% for undesignated. Undesignated funding can only be awarded to CPA eligible projects in the affordable housing, historic resources, and open space/recreational land categories. These funds are awarded based on the annual demand in each category and the quality of applications submitted.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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About the CPA
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CPA Projects
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Apply for CPA Funding
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CPA Results
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Community Preservation Committee
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Community Preservation Committee?
The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) consists of nine members: four at large members and one representative each from the:
- Conservation Commission
- Historic Preservation Commission
- Parks & Open Space Division
- Planning Board
- Somerville Housing Authority
Committee members serve three year terms and can serve up to two terms. The committee set the priorities for approximately $2 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds each year and recommend which projects should be funded to the City Council. More information Community Preservation Committee
What is CPA and who should apply for the funds?
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a Massachusetts state law that enables municipalities to create a steady funding source for affordable housing, historic preservation, open space, and recreation land projects.
Community organizations, City departments, and individuals can apply for CPA funding for eligible projects through the annual process managed by the Community Preservation Committee for historic resources and open space/recreation land applications. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund manages the annual process for affordable housing applications.
What are the sources of the CPA Funding?
The funding for CPA comes from three sources:
- A 1.5% surcharge on net property taxes. The first $100,000 of assessed value is exempt, and qualifying low- and moderate-income households may also apply for an exemption. See Surcharge Information for details.
- Municipal revenue. Because Somerville adopted a "blended CPA," the City may choose - though it is not required - to dedicate additional municipal revenue to CPA. The maximum amount the City can contribute in any year is roughly equivalent to the revenue raised by the 1.5% surcharge.
- Distributions from the Commonwealth's Community Preservation Trust Fund. Distributions match local funding on an annual basis, including surcharge revenue and dedicated municipal revenue. Since FY15, Somerville has received over $2.96 million from the state match. Communities with local funding equivalent to the maximum 3% surcharge are eligible for an increased match rate.
What is the Affordable Housing Trust Fund?
The City of Somerville Community Preservation Committee designated the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund (SAHTF or Trust) to administer Community Preservation Act (CPA) Community Housing funds. The Trust was created in 1989 by city ordinance, and its first programs began in 1991. Its purpose is to preserve and create affordable rental and homeownership units in Somerville and carry out programs to assist homeowners and renters directly. All of its activities must benefit low and moderate-income households (with incomes at or below 110% of area median income). The projects and programs receiving CPA funds must constitute a CPA allowable spending purpose as defined by the state Department of Revenue. CPA Community Housing eligible uses include the following five categories:
- Acquisition – to obtain property interest by gift, purchase, devise, grant, rental, rental purchase, lease or otherwise. Eminent domain takings only as provided by G.L. c.44B.
- Creation - to bring into being, cause to exist.
- Preservation - protect personal or real property from injury, harm or destruction.
- Support - provide grants, loans, rental assistance, security deposits, interest-rate write downs or other forms of assistance directly to individuals and families eligible for community housing or to an entity that owns, operates or manages such housing for the purpose of making housing affordable.
- Rehabilitation and Restoration – eligible if property was acquired or created with CPA funds. Capital improvements to comply with federal, state or local building or access codes or federal standards for rehabilitation of historic purposes. More information available AHTF Website
Can CPA Funds Help with Rental Assistance?
Yes, the 2012 amendments to the Community Preservation Act clarified that rental assistance programs are an eligible CPA community housing application. Projects of this type fall under the “support category” of the allowable uses chart, as defined in section 2 of the CPA legislation:
"Support of Community housing", shall include, but not be limited to, programs that provide grants, loans, rental assistance, security deposits, interest-rate write-downs or other forms of assistance directly to individuals and families who are eligible for community housing, or to an entity that owns, operates or manages such housing, for the purpose of making housing affordable.
Each year, the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund issues Requests for Proposals (RFP)s for community agencies to operate housing programs using CPA and other Trust funds. Examples of the most recent RFPs:
- FY20 CPA Development Project RFP
- FY20 CPA Housing Program RFP
- FY20 Tenancy Stabilization Program RFP
Community agencies that are currently operating housing programs using SAHTF CPA and non-CPA funding include:
What is the Community Preservation Act (CPA) application process?
The application process for historic resources and open space/recreation land funding has three parts:
- Pre-Application: This step is only for community members proposing a project on City land or requesting funds for a feasibility study.
- Eligibility Determination: The CPC first determines if projects are eligible for CPA funding before inviting applicants to submit full applications.
- The Full Application: More Information available Applying for CPA Funds and Things to Consider
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
Applicants with proposals for housing-only projects or programs should contact the Affordable Housing Trust.
What are CPA requirements?
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. To read the City 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. For more information click 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! For more information click here
What projects has the CPA supported?
To date, the City has allocated over $26 million for CPA eligible projects across the City. This includes:
- Creating 90 new units of affordable housing through projects like the Somerville Housing Authority's Mystic Water Works project, which is both preserving a historic building and creating 25 new units of affordable housing, and Somerville Community Corporation's 100 Homes project, which takes homes off of the speculative market and makes them affordable in perpetuity.
- Stabilizing Prospect Hill Tower, so it can be open again to the public, and providing funding to preserve nine historic buildings, including adding elevators to the Somerville Museum and Temple B'nai Brith so they will be accessible to all.
- Providing funding to create new designs for eleven open spaces, including the Prospect Hill Park, the Somerville Community Path, and four schoolyards.
- Funding the construction of the new Hoyt-Sullivan Playground, Winter Hill Schoolyard, and Prospect Hill Park.
- Acquiring the 5 Palmer parcel, which will add 0.04 new acres of recreational land to the Capuano Schoolyard/Glen Park, and 35 Richardson, which will create a new 0.13 acre park. More information under CPA Results
About the CPA
Final Report Released for West Somerville Dog Park Feasibility Study
The first CPA feasibility study is now complete! The Civic Space Collaborative completed its final report on the feasibility of creating a new dog park in West Somerville. You can read the final report here. Thanks to everyone who came to the public meeting and participated in the online survey.
Have an idea for another feasibility study? Applications are due May 15.
Work underway to make Dilboy Auxiliary Fields more useable
The City of Somerville will complete a utility redesign of the Dilboy Auxiliary Fields (natural grass) that will include drainage, irrigation, and sports lighting to increase the useable hours of the site. The work is underway and began with a survey of the field. The consultants, Warner Larson, are expected to complete the work in February 2019 and construction is expected to begin in the fall. For more information, read the project's CPA application here or contact Luisa Oliveira at [email protected].
Community organizations, City departments, and individuals can apply for CPA funding for eligible projects through the annual process managed by the Community Preservation Committee for historic resources and open space/recreation land applications. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund manages the annual process for affordable housing applications.
The CPC has awarded CPA funds to a number of projects across the City and these include:
- Creating 90 new units of affordable housing through projects like the Somerville Housing Authority's Mystic Water Works project, which is both preserving a historic building and creating 25 new units of affordable housing, and Somerville Community Corporation's 100 Homes project, which takes homes off of the speculative market and makes them affordable in perpetuity.
- Stabilizing Prospect Hill Tower, so it can be open again to the public, and providing funding to preserve nine historic buildings, including adding elevators to the Somerville Museum and Temple B'nai Brith so they will be accessible to all.
- Providing funding to create new designs for eleven open spaces, including the Prospect Hill Park, the Somerville Community Path, and four schoolyards.
- Funding the construction of the new Hoyt-Sullivan Playground, Winter Hill Schoolyard, and Prospect Hill Park.
- Acquiring the 5 Palmer parcel, which added 0.04 new acres of recreational land to the Capuano Schoolyard/Glen Park, and 35 Richardson, which will create a new 0.13 acre park.
CPA Projects
To date, $26 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, including over $2.96 million in state match funds, have been awarded to 79 projects across all of Somerville's seven wards. Learn about these projects below.
2020 Projects
Click here to read about the FY20 CPA Projects.
$2,504,337 awarded to 10 projects (5 affordable housing, 2 historic resources, 3 open space/recreation land; 8 community projects, 2 City projects)
2019 Projects
Click here to read about the FY19 CPA Projects.
$2,219,049 awarded to 9 projects (4 affordable housing, 5 historic resources, 2 open space/recreation land; 5 community projects, 2 City projects, and 1 joint project; $1 million in funding for ArtFarm pending City Council approval)
2018 Projects
Click here to read about the FY18 CPA Projects.
$9,602,409 awarded to 14 projects (5 affordable housing, 2 historic resources, 7 open space/recreation land; 9 community projects and 5 City projects)
2017 Projects
Click here to read about the FY17 CPA Projects.
$2,243,122 awarded to 15 projects (3 affordable housing, 4 historic resources, 8 open space/recreation land; 5 community projects, 5 City projects, and 1 joint community/City projects)
2016 Projects
Click here to read about the FY16 CPA Projects.
$5,651,423 awarded to 13 projects (4 affordable housing, 5 historic resources, 4 open space/recreation land; 6 community projects, 5 City projects, and 2 joint community/City projects)
2015 Projects
Click here to read about the FY15 CPA Projects.
$4,086,987 awarded to 15 projects (4 affordable housing, 7 historic resources, 4 open space/recreation land; 10 community projects and 5 City projects)
Want to see more of what we're up to? Visit the Somerville CPA Flickr site for more project photos.
Apply for CPA Funding
FY21 Community Preservation Act Funding Round Now Open!
Eligibility Determination Forms Due July 17 at 4:30pm to CPA Manager, Judith Tumusiime at [email protected]
Learn more by watching the video from the application workshop here.
¿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.
| April |
Virtual Community Preservation Plan hearing and plan development Virtual Pre-application workshop- April 22 at 6:00pm |
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| June |
Community Preservation Plan and application materials released |
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| May 25 |
Pre-applications due by 4:30pm |
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| July 2 & 3 |
Virtual Application Workshops July 2, 6:30pm July 3, 1:00pm |
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| July 17 | Eligibility Determination Forms due by 4:30pm | |
| September 16 | Full applications due by noon
CPC beings evaluation of project proposals |
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| October 28 | Community meeting (date tentative) at 6:30pm | |
| November/December | CPC finalizes evaluation of project proposals CPC sends recommendations to City Council |
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| January/February | City Council considers funding recommendations | |
| March onwards | Grant agreements signed |
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.
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 Heidi Burbidge at [email protected] with questions.
Historic Resources, Open Space, and Recreation Land Application Materials
The application process for historic resources and open space/recreation land funding has three parts:
- Pre-Application: This step is only for community members proposing a project on City land or requesting funds for a feasibility study. This portion of the application process is now closed.
- Eligibiltiy Determination: The CPC first determines if projects are eligible for CPA funding before inviting applicants to submit full applications. The FY21 eligibilitiy determination forms are due July 17 at 4:30pm.
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The Full Application: Projects determined eligible through the eligibility determination phase will be invited to submit a full propsoal. Full proposals are due September 16 by 12 noon.
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Application instructions: this packet contains all of the information you need to submit an application, once the CPC determines your project is eligible for CPA funding.
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Application forms: this packet contains the fillable forms you need to include with your full application.
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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.
Community Preservation Plan
Every CPA program in Massachusetts is as unique as its municipality. Each year the Community Preservation Committee sets the funding priorities and minimum funding allocations for the three CPA categories through the Community Preservation Plan. The CPC seeks to fund projects that are consistent with the community's values and use CPA funds strategically. To learn more about the CPC's priorities, read the annual Community Preservation Plans below. To help inform these priorities, come to our annual Community Preservation Plan hearing, typically held in March.
- FY21 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here, results from online survey available here, video of public hearing available here)
- FY20 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here, results from online survey available here, video of public hearing available here)
- FY19 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here, video of public hearing available here)
- FY18 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here, video of public hearing available here)
- FY17 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here, FY17 monitoring and evaluation plan available here)
- FY16 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here)
- FY15 Community Preservation Plan (community comments available here)
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. For 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.
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 Fund and you may be eligible for a Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund grant.
- If your project could be considered 'placemaking,' you could be eligible for a MassDevelopment Commonwealth Places grant.
- If you have an open space/recreation land project, a group of Tufts University Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning students developed this list of potential sources of funding (see Chapter 10, starting on page 104).
- For a fee, you can subscribe to the Foundation Center's Foundation Directory Online which will allow you to search for foundations that fund the type of project you are looking to implement.
CPA Results
To date, over $26 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, including over $2.96 million in state match funds, have been awarded to 79 projects across all seven wards:
- 26 affordable housing projects ($12,607,035 - 50% of CPA funding to date, includes a $6 million bond for the 100 Homes project)
- 24 historic resources projects ($6,787,962- 28% of CPA funding to date, includes a $2.5 million bond for West Branch Library)
- 30 open space and recreation land projects ($4,654,419- 19% of CPA funding to date)
As a result of these projects:
- 90 units of affordable housing are being created
- 10 historic buildings and 3 historic collections are being preserved
- 5 historic buildings and one collection are becoming ADA accessible
- 7 open spaces are being improved and 8 schoolyard garden classrooms were improved
These projects have been implemented by 12 different community organizations (46 projects) and 9 different City departments (23 projects). Ten projects are jointly implemented by City departments and community organizations.
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. You can find the annual Community Preservation Plans, including the monitoring and evaluation plan, under the Apply for CPA Funding tab.
To learn more about the individual CPA projects, visit the CPA Projects tab.
Funding Statistics
In FY15, 63% of proposed projects received funding:
- 63% of community projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (13/20)
- 80% of City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (8/10)
- 100% of community and City projects that submitted full applications were funded
In FY16, 50% of proposed projects received funding:
- 50% of community projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (8/16)
- 75% of City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (6/8)
- 75% of joint community/City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms received funding (3/4)
- 100% of community and City projects that submitted full applications were funded; 75% of joint applications funded
In FY17, 68% of proposed projects received funding:
- 62% of community projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (8/13). Clarendon Hill application review is still pending.
- 75% of City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (6/8)
- 100% of joint community/City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms received funding (1/1)
- 73% of community projects that submitted full applications were funded; 86% of City applications funded; 100% of joint applications funded
In FY18, 52% of proposed projects received funding:
- 50% of community projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (5/10)
- 50% of City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (5/10)
- 100% of joint community/City projects that submitted eligibility determination forms were funded (1/1)
- 83% of community projects that submitted full applications were funded; 71% of City applications funded; 100% of joint applications funded
Most projects funded were either withdrawn or determined to be ineligible for CPA funding:
- FY15- 9 of 30 projects did not submit a full proposal, all other projects were offered funding
- FY16- 10 of 28 projects did not submit a full proposal; 1 project was not funded and 1 offered lower funding
- FY17- 3 of 20 projects did not submit a full proposal; 1 project determined ineligible; 3 put on hold by applicant and 1 project received a lower funding amount than requested
- FY18- 7 of 21 projects did not submit a full proposal; 3 projects did not receive funding; 5 projects received a lower funding amount than requested
Interested in going more in-depth about what's happening in the CPA program? You can read our annual and mid-year reports here:
- FY16 annual report
- FY17 mid-year report
- FY17 annual report
- FY18 mid-year report
- FY18 annual report
- FY19 mid-year report
- FY19 annual report
- FY20 mid-year report
You can learn more about the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund on their website. The reports they have submitted to the Community Preservation Committee are below:
Still want to learn more about the CPA program? Read the results from our annual CPA surveys of applicants and project implementers:
- 2016: Project Implementers (38% response rate)
- 2016: Applicants (33% response rate- includes 2015 applicants)
- 2017: Applicants (50% response rate)
- 2017: Project Implementers (53% response rate)
- 2018: Applicants (38% response rate)
- 2018: Project Implementers (43% response rate)
- 2019: Applicants (54% response rate)
- 2019: Project Implementers (65% response rate)
Somerville CPA in the News
- Somerville Preservation Committee Gets Logo Help from High Schoolers (Somerville Patch: April 19, 2017)
- CPA-funded Prospect Hill Tour inclusion video unveiled (The Somerville Times: March 8, 2017)
- Landmark: Somerville's Prospect Hill Tower (Boston Home: Spring 2017)
- From the Ashes: Fire forces owner of historic Somerville Victorian to restore home to original glory- for the second time (Boston Globe: February 5, 2017)
- Somerville preserves its heritage at Prospect Hill Tower (Community Preservation Committee: November 2016)
- East Somerville Community School, city celebrate school garden success (The Somerville Times: November 3, 2016)
- Community Preservation Act enhancing quality of life in Somerville (The Somerville Times: October 6, 2016)
- Somerville to offer tours of Prospect Hill Tower (Boston Globe: September 16, 2016)
- Soon you'll be able to climb Somerville's Prospect Hill Tower (Boston Magazine: September 16, 2016)
Community Preservation Committee
About the Community Preservation Committee
Committee Members
- Jane Carbone, Chair - General Public Representative
- Laura Beresky, Vice-chair - General Public Representative
- Amelia Aboff - Planning Board Representative
- Luisa Oliveira - Parks and Open Space Department Representative
- Eleanor Rances - Housing Authority Representative
- Tatiana Shannon - General Public Representative
- Caitlin Hart- Historic Preservation Commission Representative
- Cristina Kennedy - Conservation Commission Representative
- Heather Heimarck - 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 FY19 Community Preservation Plan is available here. The Committee will update this plan annually and will hold at least one public hearing to gather public comment on it in the process.
- 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