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Community Preservation Act committee recommends $3.05 million for affordable housing, parks and historic preservation; town meeting endorses
Summary
Arlington’s CPA committee recommended roughly $3,050,000 for FY27 projects including safety upgrades at Cusack Terrace, $500,000 toward Emma’s Court affordable housing, $750,000 for Crosby Courts, and other open-space and historic-preservation projects; town meeting endorsed the recommendations.
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) committee presented its FY27 funding recommendations to Arlington’s town meeting on May 26, asking the body to endorse roughly $3,050,000 in awards for community housing, open-space/recreation and historic preservation.
Sue Doctorow, cochair of the CPA committee, outlined the recommended grants: $300,000 for a fire-safety project at Cusack Terrace (replacement of fire alarm systems and sprinklers for units lacking them); $20,000 for the Housing Corporation of Arlington’s homelessness-prevention fund (bridge grants up to $2,500); $500,000 toward HCA’s Emma’s Court project (a proposed campus of 97 permanently affordable units intended to leverage roughly $28,000,000 in additional capital); $750,000 for renovation and rehabilitation of the Crosby Courts (four tennis courts and a basketball court identified as unsafe); $300,000 toward renovation and accessibility upgrades at Veterans Memorial Park; and $140,000 for the Cooks Hollow preservation project along Mill Brook.
Doctorow said the committee received preliminary requests totaling about $8,000,000 and prioritized projects that could leverage outside funding; she also described the committee’s request for an administrative allocation near 3.5% (to fund a retreat and to develop a written community preservation plan). Doctorow said that after the recommended awards about $470,000 would remain in CPA reserves.
Members asked about the $93,000 line in administrative expenses; Town Manager Jim Feeney explained that administrative requests historically offset staff salaries (deputy town manager, budget coordinator) and cover items such as project signage, printing and dues—and that appropriations are sometimes not spent in full, producing an undesignated CPA balance. After discussion and a motion to terminate debate, town meeting endorsed the CPA committee’s recommendations by a recorded vote of 178 yes, 16 no, and 5 abstentions.
The CPA award list includes projects intended to qualify for state matching funds or to show local support for larger capital proposals; several proponents emphasized that a local CPA award can be critical to attracting state grants and private capital.
