Lakeville CPC hears state housing experts on using CPA funds; members urged to form housing trust

SHELLEY GEHRING, a member of the Community Assistance Team at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, told the Town of Lakeville Community Preservation Committee on Aug. 21 that Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds can be used in several ways to create, preserve and support affordable housing, including acquisition, buy-downs, new construction, adaptive reuse and rent assistance.

The presentation matters because Lakeville has multiple affordable units whose affordability restrictions will expire in coming years, and committee members said they want a formal housing trust and clearer local capacity to respond to expiring-use risk. Committee members asked for Select Board members to watch the presentation and for staff and consultants to follow up with practical next steps.

Gehring outlined examples from other Massachusetts communities where small local contributions leveraged state and federal resources: a Barnstable multifamily purchase that used $500,000 in local CPA funds to preserve 124 units, Brewster and Norwell projects that used several hundred thousand dollars in local contributions to create 18–30 units, and Amherst’s approach to an expiring-use property where the community proposed bonding $1,250,000 so 41 units would remain affordable “in perpetuity.” Gehring also described a Gloucester housing-authority roof repair that combined $86,000 in CPA with state modernization funds to keep units habitable.

“Under the CPA statute, you can only use CPA funds to rehab or restore housing that was created or acquired with CPA funds,” Gehring said, explaining restrictions on how CPA rehabilitation money can be applied. She advised Lakeville to start by identifying owners and financing for expiring properties and to keep a list of restrictions and expiration dates. Gehring added that communities can transfer CPA funds to a local housing trust with specific conditions — for example, specifying projects, addresses or time frames for use and requiring the money return to the CPC if work is not completed within a set period.

Committee members described local capacity constraints. Emily Saret, the town’s management analyst, said Lakeville has no housing authority and has been without a permanent planner; she summarized the local situation and the committee’s intent to ask the Select Board to appoint trustees to a housing trust. “One of the issues that we've run into is that, like, we don't have a housing authority,” Saret said.

Gehring recommended prioritizing smaller, imminent expirations and said the 100-unit property the committee raised is not due to expire until 2039 (the committee later discussed that date as 2039 and counted the time horizon as roughly a decade-plus). For units with nearer-term expirations she advised beginning conversations now with owners, pursuing negotiation or acquisition options and considering bonding under CPA where the trust lacks capital. She also described eligible “support” activities such as predevelopment work on municipal sites, updating housing plans, and rent assistance.

Committee members raised practical questions about structure and oversight for a Lakeville housing trust. Gehring noted that state statute requires a select board member to serve on a local trust and said communities often attach conditions to trust transfers (for example, time limits or project-specific restrictions) to ease local political concerns about ceding control of funds.

The committee agreed to prepare a memo for the Select Board asking its members to watch the presentation and to convene further discussion; members planned to return with a draft memo and to place a formal vote about messaging and trustee recommendations on the September agenda. No formal CPC funding decisions were made at the Aug. 21 meeting.

Sources and next steps: Gehring and Taylor Perez of Serp Ed offered to follow up with the CPC on strategy and possible technical assistance; committee members asked staff to compile local restriction dates and to check the town’s subsidized housing inventory entries so Lakeville can track expiring affordability.

The committee’s next regular meeting is Sept. 18.