SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board is considering creating a Community Preservation Committee to fund preservation of open spaces, preservation of historic resources, development of affordable housing, and the acquisition and development of outdoor recreational facilities.
The committee’s establishment would be funded through a 3% property-tax bill, but would allow the town to collect matched funding from the Commonwealth in accordance with the Community Preservation Act.
Creation of the committee would require approval through a referendum at the town’s election in November 2024. But to appear on the ballot, it would first have to pass Town Meeting by a majority vote next spring.
With Swampscott currently involved in historical-preservation projects at the Glover and Pitman Houses, plans for veterans affordable housing on Pine Street, and a number of open-space and recreation developments, Select Board Chair David Grishman said participation in the Community Preservation Act would create a more sustainable form of funding for similar community projects.
“We’re already doing many of these projects. Last year, we acquired open space and we’re talking about affordable housing, but we need to figure out how we can do this in a bigger way, a more sustainable way, in a way that will be more transformative to the future of Swampscott,” Grishman said.
Grishman said the project could bring the town an extra $800,000 each year through the tax bill alone. The committee, as required in the Community Preservation Act, would comprise at least five members — one from the Conservation Commission, another from the Historical Commission, a Planning Board member, a Parks Commission member, and a Housing Authority member.
The committee would work in conjunction with professional staff to evaluate the community’s preservation and make recommendations to appropriate funds. It would also conduct an annual needs study and hold at least one public hearing as part of the initial process.
Nahant, Peabody, and 193 other Massachusetts municipalities have created similar community preservation committees since the legislature passed the Community Preservation Act in 2000. Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald expressed support for the committee’s creation and invited Grishman to present a detailed proposal at the Aug. 2 Select Board meeting.
“We’ve got literally hundreds of volunteers on these committees that could gain access to millions of dollars in state funds. I look around and I see other communities doing so many extraordinary things. We’re doing extraordinary things in Swampscott, but we don’t get a nickel out of any of those community-preservation dollars,” Fitzgerald said. “This would just help us do more.”
