Community Preservation Committee

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Lakeville Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is to maintain the rural character of Lakeville as a beautiful, residential community, rich in natural resources.

As per the Community Preservation Act, it is our mandate to create and maintain a Community Preservation Plan that will protect, expand or enhance open space, historic resources, affordable housing and outdoor recreation. 

By utilizing community goals set forth in our Master Plan, Open Space and Recreation Plan and through a series of public meeting inviting community input, the CPC will recommend to Town Meeting projects that it feels are consistent with the Town’s long term planning goals and provide the maximum benefit for the citizens of Lakeville.

CPA Overview:

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a smart growth tool that helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities.  On April 4, 2022, Lakeville became the 188th community to pass CPA.  Until this point, there was no steady funding source for preserving and improving a community's character and quality of life. The CPA is a 1% surcharge on your real estate tax minus $100,000 exemption which goes into a special fund and receives a state match annually. The match comes from a fee that is charged state- wide at the registry of deeds and is distributed among the communities that have adopted CPA.  The state match varies from year to year depending on the number of communities that have CPA and the revenue received from the registry of deeds in fees.  In the past few years, state legislation has allocated state budget surplus funds into the CPA Trust fund to increase the amount of money going to CPA communities. The match can be anywhere from 23-53%.   For the average assessed home in Lakeville, the total surcharge is around $40 per year.  Low income households and seniors can file for an exemption with the assessor’s office.  There are three categories to which CPA funds must be allocated:  10% Open Space/Recreation, 10% Community/Affordable Housing, 10% Historic Preservation with the remaining 70% used toward any of the three categories, and 5% can be used toward administration of the CPA.  Additional funds can be obtained by bonding against future CPA revenue stream in order to fund large projects for which adequate CPA funds are not currently available. Another method of obtaining additional funds is leveraging from state and federal grant programs, other local funds, non-profit organizations, and/or private entities.

The first responsibility for this Committee is to study the needs, possibilities and resources of the community with regards to community preservation. In performing this research function, the CPC must meet and consult with other municipal boards and committees to get their input, and must hold at least one public hearing annually to get input from the general public. Following its research, the CPC is responsible for developing a local CPA plan to guide its decision-making on CPA project proposals.

The second responsibility of the CPC is to accept project proposals from the community and town boards by way of an application, conduct a review, and make recommendations to the community. Once the CPC has voted on any projects to recommend, along with the specific dollar amounts and CPA funding sources it recommends to complete them, it will be presented to the Town Meeting for the residents to vote.

CPA funds, which are kept separate from the town budget and cannot be used for any other purpose by the town, do not have to be spent every year so they can be left in Lakeville’s local CPA fund for use in the future.   CPA projects are proposed by the residents and are approved by the residents only at town meeting.   After five years, if Lakeville so chooses, CPA can be removed. However, any funds that have been bonded need to be paid off first before the town will no longer collect the surcharge.  Out of all the communities that have CPA, not one has decided to have it removed.

Community Preservation Committee By-Law

The ballot question approved at the April 4, 2022, election

Information sheet on the expected first-year tasks of the Community Preservation Committee

Information sheet on the Community Preservation Act which will be included as an insert into the tax bills being set out the end of June

Board Members

Committee Members

NameTerm Expires

Chair

2025

John Lucey

Vice-Chair

2025

Nancy Yeatts

Treasurer

2025

Susan Spieler

Secretary

2024

Barbara Standish

2024

Nancy LaFave

2024

Amy Knox

2025

Kathleen Barrack

2026

2026