Department of Planning and Community Development
Weymouth Town Hall
75 Middle Street,
East Weymouth, MA 02189
Telephone: 781-340-5015
Fax: 781-335-3283

Community Preservation Committee

Contact: James Clarke, Planning Director

Members:
Walter Flynn, Chair
Daniel Condon
Stephen Ford
Christopher Hannan
Laura Harbottle
Ed Harrington
Donald Mathewson
Donna O'Sullivan
Donald Sheehan

Community Preservation Committee Funding Proposal - PDF 45k

Community Preservation Needs Assessment - PDF 22k

Description of The Community Preservation Act
The Community Preservation Act is statewide enabling legislation to allow cities and towns to exercise control over local planning decisions. This legislation strengthens and empowers Massachusetts communities:

• All decisions are local.
• Local people must vote by ballot to adopt the Act.
• Local legislatures must appoint a committee of local people to draw up plans for use of the funds.
• These plans are subject to local comment and approval.
• If residents don’t feel the CPA is working as they expected, they can repeal it.

The Community Preservation Act provides new funding sources which can be used to address three core community concerns:

• Acquisition and preservation of open space
• Creation and support of affordable housing
• Acquisition and preservation of historic buildings and landscapes

A minimum of 10% of the annual revenues of the fund must be used for each of the three core community concerns. The remaining 70% can be allocated for any combination of the allowed uses, or for land for recreational use. This gives each community the opportunity to determine its priorities, plan for its future, and have the funds to make those plans happen.

Property taxes traditionally fund the day-to-day operating needs of safety, health, schools, roads, maintenance. - and more. But until the CPA, there was no steady funding source for preserving and improving a community’s infrastructure. The Community Preservation Act can give a community the funds needed to control its future.