Working to Preserve the Community Preservation Act

Since being passed into law in 2001, The Community Preservation Act has helped communities across the state save public areas threatened by development, rescue historic gems from the erosions of time, and create much-needed affordable housing units. These funds are currently being threatened by the lack of state funds sustaining the CPA, while a recent bill, filed by Sen. Cynthia Creem, is designed to close these loopholes, and secure state funds for the CPA. More information on communities that are working to utilize the CPA, and how your community can realize the benefits of the Act can be found at the Community Preservation Coalition.

These recent setbacks bring to light an ongoing debate about whether the CPA was created to favor high-income communities over low-income areas. These are some of the opposing views of the CPA, with critics arguing over who actually pays for the CPA and who benefits from it. In a report by The Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston of Harvard University, Cambridge is used as a prime example of an upper income area reaping the benefits of the Act:

Cambridge , which accounted for an estimated 1 percent of deed registry fees collected statewide, received more than 15 percent of revenues from the state matching fund

Much of the Rappaport Institute’s research focuses on trying to answer the question of whether or not the CPA benefits low-income and urban communities that are paying heavily into these funds.