Over the past few years, there have been some big changes proposed in the way that housing is taxed in Massachusetts. One change is on the ballot, as a ballot initiative, in the City of Somerville.

4 Buyers Real Estate supports “yes” on Ballot Question 6 in Somerville.

The Community Preservation Act Surcharge is a small price to pay to increase affordable housing, historic preservation, accessible and open public spaces in this city. If you live in Somerville, you have benefited from one or many of the improvements to the city. If you own a house in Somerville, you have also benefited in the form of increased value of your property, created by the improvement in local public spaces, historic spaces, and creation of sustainable housing stock.

What is the Community Preservation Act?

“The Community Preservation Act, M.G.L. c. 44B, (“CPA”) is a Massachusetts state law that allows cities and towns to create a fund to support improvements in Open Space & Outdoor Recreation, Affordable Housing, and Historic Preservation. The CPA enables communities to raise money through a surcharge on property taxes which is partially matched by the state.” [source]

What is the ballot question about?

“Somerville adopted CPA by a vote in the General Election in November 2012, electing a 1.5% property tax surcharge. A question on the ballot in November 2024 asks whether to increase the surcharge to 3%.” [source]

How much will this cost homeowners?

The average owner-occupied condo would see an annual increase of $38 per year.

The average owner-occupied single family would see an increase of $93 per year.

The average two-family would see an increase of $99 per year.

The average three-family would see an increase of $133 per year.

The average four-to-eight-family would see an increase of $218 per year.

Low income homeowners and low-moderate income seniors can apply for full exemptions from the CPA surcharge (generous qualifying income levels). [source]

How much will this cost tenants?

If your landlord is raising the rent on the excuse that they have to pay an additional roughly $100-200 a year for the whole multifamily building, you need a new landlord. That is one lame excuse!

How much money are we talking about?

With the levels at 1.5%, between 2014 and 2023 the Community Preservation Act (CPA) program generated a total of $30 million, including $24 million in local revenue and $6 million in state matching funds. Combined CPA revenue has averaged $3 million over these years.

If the level is increased to 3%, these figures will double over the next ten years. So will the work that they do.

How does Somerville spend this money?

In the past ten years, Somerville has committed over $35M to projects that make accessible public spaces, preserve historic assets, expand open space and recreation opportunities, and create affordable housing.

Here are some highlights:

  • Preserved and restored the tower at Prospect Hill Park.
  • Installation of elevators at the West Branch Library, Somerville Museum, Temple B’nai Brith, and the Somerville Hispanic Association for Community Development, as well as life-cycle upgrades at the Elizabeth Peabody House.
  • Major improvements have been completed at Winter Hill, West Somerville, Brown, and Healey schoolyards and Allen Street and Hoyt Sullivan playgrounds
  • Planning and design are currently getting underway for the Kennedy Schoolyard.
  • CPA has helped to expand and design new open space at Glen Park, Lou Ann David Park, 217 Somerville Ave, and Junction Park, and the construction of a new multi-use path along the Mystic River, which also entails an expansion of Blessing of the Bay Park.
  • The CPC partners with the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust to administer CPA funds for Community Housing. About half of CPA funds have been spent in this category, including $10M bonded to support the 100 Homes Initiative and Somerville Housing Authority’s Clarendon Hill redevelopment project, as well as the adaptive reuse of Mystic Waterworks for low income senior housing.
  • CPA funds have contributed to the creation of over 120 affordable housing units and the support of rental assistance programs administered by partnerorganizations such as the Somerville Homeless Coalition, Somerville Community Corporation, and Community Action Agency of Somerville.[source]