Council Approves CPA Funding

Last month Mayor Martin Walsh and the City’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) recommended that projects in Jamaica Plain and across the city, totaling more than $34 million, would be included in the fall funding round for the Community Preservation Act (CPA).

The last hurdle in the process was a vote by the City Council to appropriate the funds, and that moment came during last Wednesday’s Council meeting.

The Council voted unanimously at the time to release the recommended funding to the projects here in Jamaica Plain  and citywide.

“It’s an exciting day in Boston,” said At-Large Councilor Michael Flaherty who chairs the Council’s CPA Committee. “Whether it is the affordable housing opportunities or the beatification of our parks this round of funding will continue to benefit Boston residents for generations to come. This is why we supported the CPA and now voters and the residents are finally seeing these projects come to fruition.”

In Jamaica Plain $498,000 was approved to build a new playground adjacent to the Martha Eliot Health Center,  Boston Housing Authority Mildred Hailey Apartments, and Jackson Square shops. By adopting the CPA in November 2016, the City has created a Community Preservation Fund. This fund is capitalized primarily by a one percent property tax-based surcharge on residential and business property tax bills that began in July 2017. The City will use this revenue to fund initiatives consistent with CPA guidelines: affordable housing, historic preservation, open space and public recreation.

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