Introduction

We who live here in the Town of Shelburne are “all in this together” as we face these uncertain times. We need to work together to prepare for, address, and respond to, whatever may come our way.

One of the ways we have agreed to work together is to set ourselves up to receive significant funding from the Commonwealth’s Community Preservation Trust Fund. Now that we have decided to adopt the Community Preservation Act, the Commonwealth will give us funds we can use to save open space, create outdoor recreation projects, create more housing for our community, and restore/preserve our historic buildings and spaces.

In addition, by becoming a CPA community, we have increased our opportunities for getting grant funding from other sources for our projects. To get these funds from the Commonwealth, each of us will give a little in order to get a lot for our town. Each land owner will pay a 3.0% property tax surcharge.

What is the Community Preservation Act?

The Community Preservation Act – CPA - enables towns like Shelburne to create a locally-controlled fund for open space, historic preservation, community housing, and outdoor recreation projects. Towns that adopt CPA receive annual distributions from the Commonwealth’s Community Preservation Trust Fund to help fund these projects. (For more Information on the Community Preservation Act, go to: https://www.communitypreservation.org) More than 190 communities in Massachusetts have adopted CPA, including many of our Franklin County neighbors: Conway, Deerfield, Greenfield, Northfield, Leverett, Shutesbury, Sunderland, and Whately. (In addition, these other Western Mass towns have adopted CPA: Amherst, Belchertown, Easthampton, Goshen, Hadley, Hatfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Pelham, and Southampton.)

What Have Our Neighboring Towns Done With Their CPA Funds?

How Will We Fund Our CPA Projects?

How Do I Calculate the 3% Surcharge for My Property?

What Projects Could Shelburne's CPA Fund?

Who Decides Which CPA Projects We Will Fund?