The Northborough Community Preservation Committee (CPC) presented its proposed warrant articles for FY2026 to the Select Board, framing a slate of historic-preservation, open-space and affordable-housing uses the committee considers eligible under the Community Preservation Act (CPA).

The CPC proposed funding for several items on the Town Meeting warrant: an affordable housing project that would add eight units dedicated to veterans at Village Drive; a $200,000 deposit to the town’s conservation fund to rebuild acquisition capacity; a $93,000 design and architectural-services article to prepare White Cliffs for removal of non-historic additions and weatherproofing (the committee described a two-phase project with the larger demolition and repair work anticipated later); a $166,575 CPA payment on the White Cliffs bond; a $10,758 proposal for a Revolutionary War memorial; and the maximum permitted CPA administrative allocation (roughly $42,000 for FY26) to cover appraisals and legal expenses.

John Campbell, a CPC member, said the veterans housing proposal is a roughly $2 million project: the CPC recommends $880,000 from CPA, the Northborough Housing Authority has pledged $300,000, and the remainder is expected from the State Executive Office of Housing. The committee said four of the eight units would be accessible and the project intends to serve veterans in the local waiting list. CPC members said approving the units helps the town preserve its compliance with Chapter 40B affordable-housing targets and avoids dropping below the 10% “safe harbor” threshold as market-rate units are added elsewhere.

Ron Bonnie, director of the Housing Authority, told the board the timing of state funding (a $2 billion bond authorization at the state level) is favorable but not guaranteed; he said the town would not commence construction until all funding sources were secured and that the worst-case impact would be a delay if state funding did not materialize. The CPC described its funding plan for the Village Drive project as coming from a combination of CPA reserves, unreserved balances, and FY26 new CPA revenue rather than town borrowing.

On White Cliffs, CPC members said the $93,000 article would fund design, architectural and bid-preparation services to remove later (non-historic) additions to the building and to prepare the structure for a second-phase construction or preservation effort expected to cost substantially more (the CPC estimated phase-two work in the neighborhood of $700,000). The CPC stressed that this first article is to make the building marketable to a partner or to prepare it for municipal reuse and that the removal would be done to protect the historic core.

The CPC also proposed replenishing the conservation fund to approximately $400,000 when combined with state contributions expected for a prior project, noting the committee’s long-term goal of maintaining a healthy conservation reserve in the vicinity of $1 million to take advantage of land-preservation opportunities.

Select Board members asked about contingencies if state grant funding fails, parking and configuration at Village Drive, and whether veteran units would be age-restricted (the committee said the Village Drive units are not a senior-only complex but would serve veterans, including younger veterans with disabilities where applicable). The board did not vote on CPC articles at this meeting but received the presentation for Town Meeting preparation.