To the editor:
The Beverly Open Space and Recreation Committee urges Beverly residents to vote yes on Question 4 to adopt the Community Preservation Act in Beverly.
The mission of the Open Space and Recreation Committee is to preserve, maintain and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Beverly by preserving open space and recreation opportunities. Adopting the CPA supports this mission by creating a local fund dedicated to open space protection and outdoor recreation, along with historic preservation and affordable housing. Equally important, CPA brings in additional state funds for those purposes.
We see opportunities to preserve open space and recreation in every ward of our city. Walking trails, waterfront access, bike paths, local farms and community gardens, wildlife habitat, and lands that protect our water supply — these are essential to our quality of life, and they benefit everybody. CPA supports them all.
Open space protection requires many partners and the ability to act quickly. The town of Rowley is just one of many examples of how the CPA helps communities act on opportunities. Rowley recently used its CPA funds and partnered with others to preserve 75 acres of land woodland and marsh. They could act fast, because they had resources to bring to the table, thanks to CPA. That land is now permanently protected as the Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary.
CPA has proven itself to be an invaluable tool to protect lands with high natural, scenic and recreational value in Rowley, as well as Gloucester, Newburyport, Peabody, Hamilton, Wenham and the 148 communities across the state that have adopted it. The Open Space and Recreation Committee urges Beverly residents to vote yes on Question 4 so that we can act on those opportunities to protect critical open space and places for outdoor recreation in Beverly.
Elizabeth Dunne
Chairperson for
the Beverly Open Space
and Recreation Committee@text1_boldCentered:
