Beverly Kicks Off Community Preservation Act Funding Process

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly officials are looking for resident feedback on which types of projects would be best served with this year's Community Preservation Act funding.

The funding is made available through a 1 percent surcharge on real property, as well as state taxes that are set aside for this purpose. Funding may be put toward preserving open space, recreation space, historic preservation and community housing.

Cities and towns have the option to adopt the CPA funding guidelines, which Beverly did in 2012. Since then there have been 70 projects in which the city has invested in using the funding. In 2021, there was $977,181 in state and local tax revenue available in Beverly in addition to unspent funds carried over from previous years.

The hearing on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Barnet Gallery of the Beverly Public Library on Essex Street will solicit input on this year's priorities. The funds will then be awarded through an application process that begins later in the month.

More information on the Community Preservation Act and Beverly's funding history can be found here.

Some projects that have received CPA funding over the past 10 years are the improvements to the GAR Hall located at 8 Dane Street and upgrades to many of the city's parks. Other funded projects include the conservation of historic documents, the creation of a community housing study, a historic preservation plan, and the purchase of property which will remain as open space.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)