Tonight at 7PM in the Community Room of the Reading Public Library, the second of two financial forums will be held. Scheduled to attend are the Finance Committee and the Select Board. The previous financial forum had presentations regarding the new Killam School as well as the Reading Pickleball Players Association. After remarks from State Senator Jason Lewis and Town Manager Fidel Maltez, tonight’s forum will be focusing on two items; MBTA Communities and the Community Preservation Act (CPA).

MBTA Communities refers to Section 3A of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40A, which states: “An MBTA community shall have a zoning ordinance or by-law that provides for at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right; provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children.”

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a smart growth tool that helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities. CPA allows communities to create a local Community Preservation Fund for open space protection, historic preservation, affordable housing and outdoor recreation. Community preservation monies are raised locally through the imposition of a surcharge of not more than 3% of the tax levy against real property, and municipalities must adopt CPA by ballot referendum.

Below is the complete agenda for tonight:

• 7:00 PM Welcome/Overview of Meeting from Ed Ross, Finance Committee Chair
• 7:10 PM Remarks from Senator Jason Lewis
• 7:15 PM Remarks from Town Manager, Fidel Maltez
• 7:25 PM MBTA Communities Presentation with Community Development Director Andrew MacNichol and Senior Planner Mary Benedetto
• 8:00 PM Q&A Session on MBTA Communities
• 8:30 PM Discussion on Community Preservation Act
• 9:00 PM Future Agenda Items
• 9:15 PM Approve previous meeting minutes

The Financial Forum will be held in-person in the Community Room of the Reading Public Library, and remotely via Zoom through the following meeting link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81253317728
Meeting ID: 812 5331 7728

The YouTube link for the meeting is below: