Conservation Commission unanimously opposes CPA surcharge cut at Town Meeting

SUDBURY -- April 28, 2025, Sudbury Conservation Commission votes unanimously to oppose Article 54 cutting the CPA surcharge in half. After Goodman's Hill Road resident Janie Dretler told the commission Sudbury has collected more than $35 million in surcharge revenue, drawn over $15 million in state match and earned over $2 million in investment income since the early 2000s, member Jeremy Cook moved opposition to the May 5 Town Meeting citizen petition, which would cut the surcharge from 3 percent to 1.5 percent. Chair David Henkels, the commission's representative on the Community Preservation Committee, estimated the average annual CPA bill on a $1.13 million home at roughly $480 and cited acquisitions at Broadacre, Cutting Farm, Dickinson and Pantry Brook Farm. The commission also approved a notice of intent from Philip and Michelle Burke at 5 Lakeshore Drive for a 22-foot garage extension and mudroom, conditioned on Japanese knotweed stem-injection treatment, straw-wattle erosion controls and a bar on new gutter tie-ins, and reappointed Henkels as chair and Kenneth Holtz as vice chair.