Community Preservation Committee

The Massachusetts Community Preservation Act (CPA), M.G.L., Chapter 44B, became law in September, 2000. The CPA allows communities to raise monies through a surcharge of up to 3% of the town's real estate tax levy with the option of excluding certain properties from that surcharge.  Communities that adopt the CPA surcharge are eligible to receive up to 100% matching funds from an independent state trust fund, the money in which comes from fees imposed on state Registry of Deeds transactions. Currently, these funds are transferred to communities annually and all funds are kept in interest bearing accounts.

The residents of Goshen voted in the May 2007 Town Election to adopt the CPA with exemption from the surcharge of "property owned and occupied as a domicile by a person who would qualify for low-income housing or low- or moderate-income senior housing in the town."  The CPA regulations require a town adopting the CPA to select a Community Preservation Committee of five to nine members, and adopt bylaws for that committee. The regulations require that this local committee study and hold at least one public meeting on the "needs, possibilities and resources" for community preservation, and to consider proposed projects utilizing the funds raised through the surcharge and the state match ("the CPA funds"). Those applications for proposed uses of the CPA funds that are recommended by the Committee are then presented to Town Meeting for a recorded vote.

Click on the Community Preservation Coalition for more detailed information about the Community Preservation Act.