Lowell committee recommends $1.6 million in Community Preservation Act allocations, sends package to City Council

The Lowell Community Preservation Committee on Wednesday recommended a package of allocations from this year—ommunity Preservation Act (CPA) revenues and approved standard restrictions to safeguard historic and affordable-housing investments.

The committee voted to recommend about $1.6 million in allocations and to reserve $220,422.25 for open-space projects, then forwarded the full list of project recommendations to the Lowell City Council for final appropriation. Committee members noted the committee—an only recommend awards; the City Council has the legal authority to appropriate CPA funds.

The recommendations follow deliberations on 10 applications from housing and historic-preservation applicants. The committee noted the total request pool was nearly $5 million; members said available funds were far smaller and urged applicants that were not recommended to reapply or seek other sources. Committee members and staff repeatedly emphasized that some requested line items are not eligible under the CPA statute.

Staff and committee discussion highlighted one eligibility issue: the East End Club pplication sought $100,000, including roughly $80,000 for a parking garage and EV chargers. Committee staff told members those items are not…