I have seen a lot of misrepresentation and misinformation around Just Cause Eviction and the proposed Community Preservation Act (CPA) ballot measure, including a recent article in this paper (3/11, “Affordable housing, eviction and CPA discussed during housing meeting”). [Editor’s note: A correction for that article is printed in this edition of the Gazette.]
The truth is that Community Preservation in Boston isn’t going to cost anyone an arm and a leg. The CPA surcharge won’t be based on a property’s market value, but rather on 1 percent of homeowners’ city property tax. I encourage you to get the facts for yourself; you can call the City Councilors who proposed the measure, Mike Flaherty (617-635-4205) and Andrea Campbell (617-635-3131).
I bought in JP because of our neighborhood’s rich cultural history and diversity. Given the current housing crisis in Boston, I feel lucky to have stable housing here, as I see my friends and neighbors struggling to stay in the neighborhoods that they love.
Community Preservation will allow more tenants, especially renters who have lived here for decades and are the backbone of our communities, to stay in the city. Maintaining the identity of our neighborhoods benefits all of us and supporting CPA is the very least that I and other homeowners can do.
Tom Rust
Jamaica Plain resident