In historic Faneuil Hall on August 2nd, Boston's City Council unanimously passed an ordinance creating a committee to recommend proposed investments, nine months after voters approved the Community Preservation Act (CPA) by a nearly 3 to 1 margin.
Coming on the heels of Mayor Walsh's announcement on Friday naming former Franklin Park Coalition executive director Christine Poff as the city's first CPA Director, the pieces are now in place for fully implementing the law this fall. It is expected that a nine-member Community Preservation Committee will be named by December and hold its first meeting shortly thereafter.
"As the community coalition that passed Yes on 5 in November, Yes for a Better Boston remains deeply invested in the implementation of the Community Preservation Act in Boston. We had hoped for our involvement to be named in the Council ordinance, but we are excited about the many provisions stressing transparency, accountability, and diversity that were included," said Cortina Vann, co-chair of Yes for a Better Boston and MAHA community organizer. "We look forward to continuing to partner with the Council to select great committee members and to ensure that CPA becomes a truly grassroots, community-based program of which Bostonians will be proud."
172 communities across the state have now passed the Community Preservation Act which requires spending in three areas: affordable housing, parks and open space, and historic preservation. Boston is expected to collect up to $20 million in FY2018 in a combination of locally raised revenues and a state match.
