2016-12-00 Community Preservation Plan: A Needs Assessment.rpt

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voted for just a 1% or 1.5% surcharge (Watertown adopted a 2% surcharge), the impact of these additional communities on future state disbursements will be seen in FYI 8. While Lexington's FYI state match is heavily impacted by the lack of state budget surplus funds and its FYI state match expected to be impacted by the additional CPA communities, CPA advocates hope that these foreseeable decreases will strengthen the effort to pass legislation that calls for a permanent fix to the CPA Trust Fund. A piece of legislation introduced in 2015 entitled, An Act to Sustain Community Preservation Revenue, calls for a review of the fees collected at the Registries of Deeds (the trust fund's primary source of funding). The current transaction fees have not been adjusted since the CPA was signed into law in 2000. If passed, it would call upon the Department of Revenue to calculate the necessary fees that would allow for all CPA communities to receive a 50% match in their first round distribution. The bill received a favorable recommendation from the Joint Committee on Revenue in 2015. An update on this legislation is expected in January 2017. The Lexington CPC consists of nine members, one each appointed by the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, Housing Authority, Historical Commission, Housing Partnership and Recreation Committee, and three at -large members appointed by the Board of Selectmen. The Committee is supported by a part-time Administrative Assistant. The CPC is required to study the "needs, possibilities and resources" for community preservation in Lexington. To that end, the Committee has reviewed existing plans and documents related to the four purposes designated for funding under the CPA: open space, historic resources, community housing and recreation. In reviewing new projects, the CPC: • Acts as a reviewing body for projects which fall within the CPA purview; • Acts as a funder, not a developer; • Seeks to advance community goals previously set forth in public documents that have received wide review and public input; • Attempts to meet multiple community preservation goals in its selection of projects to recommend to Town Meeting, and to the extent possible, meet multiple goals within each project; and • Communicates its mission and goals to applicants, to other community boards and committees and to the general public. After completion of its review, the CPC's recommendations are forwarded to Town Meeting for discussion and voting by Town Meeting members. Purpose This Needs Assessment Report ("the Assessment") is a summary of the CPC's work in developing community preservation goals for Lexington. The CPC has attempted to synthesize M