NAHANT — The town, along with the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), will have a public meeting where residents can learn more about the CPC and the Community Preservation Act (CPA).
The in-person meeting will be held on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Residents will also be able to attend virtually via Zoom.
During the meeting, the CPC will explain the CPA and grant-funding procedures. Residents will also be given a chance to provide suggestions and feedback. Feedback is critical in assisting the CPC in analyzing resources and identifying needs for community preservation, according to the town.
“I’ve seen firsthand how the town has taken advantage of the state match and extended its ability to improve Nahant,” CPC Chair Lynne Spencer said. “The CPA has allowed us to rehabilitate the Town Wharf, playgrounds and recreational facilities at Flash Road, the Lifesaving Station, and Town Hall. We urge the public to attend our meeting to learn more about our mission and the grant-application process and help guide our future priorities.”
The CPC’s primary mission is to protect and enhance the town’s unique character as a coastal, residential community. The CPC facilitates efforts to preserve historic places and structures, retain and protect open spaces, increase and develop lands available for recreational use, and seek creative solutions to the problem of affordable housing in town.
The CPA allows any city or town in Massachusetts to adopt a property-tax surcharge with revenues from this surcharge and state matching funds devoted to open space, historic preservation, affordable housing, and recreation. According to the CPC, the first three of these areas must receive at least 10 percent of each year’s revenues.
Open space may include land for recreation and, according to the CPC, as of July 2012, revenues may be appropriated for rehabilitation and capital improvements on land designated for recreational use.
Back in 2004 in a special town referendum, Nahant accepted the CPA. This added a 3-percent surcharge to town property taxes, with an exemption for the first $100,000 of assessed value and with a further exemption for property owners who qualified for low-income housing and low- or moderate-income senior housing.
According to the CPC, 175 communities have adopted the CPA.