From One Citizen to Another: CPA is good for business
By GuestDear Editor:
I am writing in response to a recent article about CABI’s opposition to the Community Preservation Act (CPA), which will be put to town voters for approval on April 3. I appreciate what local businesses do for our town, and as a former local owner of a small business, I am sympathetic to their tax burden. But their frustration to the dual tax rate is misplaced in their opposition to the CPA.
Funds generated by CPA will benefit all citizen and businesses by preserving and improving the wonderful amenities our town offers, making Canton a desirable place to live, work and shop. CPA’s surcharge of 1 percent of current tax bills — an average of $44 per year for residential property owners (with exemptions for low-income households and seniors) — will be used to preserve town assets and revitalize the business community by creating jobs and ensuring that the future development of key properties benefits us all.
Right now, the largest opportunity for continued revitalization of downtown, the former Plymouth Rubber site (also the site of Paul Revere’s barn and rolling mill), sits as an eyesore. Development of this historic property will change the face of our downtown forever.
How do we ensure that its future use revitalizes versus drains our town, bringing new business downtown, rather than driving it away? Imagine a place that draws people to the downtown with a river walk, playground, playing fields, historical site, and limited senior and veteran housing — attractions that could be a magnet for downtown businesses. Or we can allow developers to determine what downtown will look like, how much traffic is acceptable, how much burden our schools can bear, and how much empty retail space we can tolerate.
The way to ensure that development of properties such as Plymouth Rubber benefits the town is to control them. The way to control their development is through ownership. How do we get the money to control our future? Through the creation of a dedicated public fund, enabled by CPA. The accumulation of CPA funds over time would make revitalization of this property and others a possibility. Let’s take control of our future. Vote Yes for CPA.
Yours truly,
Deb Sundin
Chairman, Voters for the Preservation of Canton
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=12117
Posted by Guest
on Mar 7 2012. Filed under From One Citizen to Another, Opinion, Town Election.
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