Community Land Trusts

Getting Inclusionary Housing Right

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Cities across Santa Clara County are considering this powerful tool to build more new affordable homes without subsidy.

But done wrong it can fall short, or even stop the development of new homes in its tracks. Learn how it works, and how to get it right!

Many of our local cities are joining forces right now in a shared nexus study, the wonky and in-depth analysis that assesses the feasibility of local residential development and the potential for developers of market-rate housing to add a share of affordable homes to their buildings.

If cities require too few affordable homes or affordability that’s too shallow, they leave public benefits on the table. Too much, and developers can’t build any housing at all.

Come hear about local cities that are getting it right: successfully using inclusionary housing policies to achieve mixed-income communities, generate funding to subsidize deeper levels of affordability, and gain valuable land for affordable homes!

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A community land trust (CLT) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation that is defined in federal law as an entity that:

Acquires parcels of land to be held in perpetuity, primarily to provide affordable housing with long-term ground leases;
Transfers ownership of any buildings or other structures located on such leased parcels to the lessees; and
Retains a preemptive option to repurchase any such buildings or other buildings constructed at a later date, if the lessee chooses to sell, at a price determined by a formula that ensures that the building remains affordable to low- and moderate-income households in perpetuity.

CLTs around the country have constructed (or acquired, rehabilitated, and resold) single-family homes, duplexes, condos, co-ops, SROs, multifamily apartment buildings, and mobilehome parks. CLTs have created facilities for neighborhood businesses, nonprofit organizations, and social service agencies. They have provided sites for community gardens, vest-pocket parks, and affordable working land for entry-level agriculturalists. Permanently affordable access to land is the common ingredient linking them all.

Typically, CLTs are run by a board of directors whose members include three groups of stakeholders: (1) residents or leaseholders; (2) people who reside within the targeted neighborhood or community but do not live on the CLT’s land; and (3) the broader public interest, frequently represented by government officials, funders, housing agencies, and social service providers.

In the case where the lessee is a homeowner, the formula for setting the resale price is designed to give the present homeowner a fair return on their investment while giving future homebuyers fair access to housing at an affordable price. By design and by intent, the CLT is committed to preserving the affordability of housing (and other structures), one owner after another, one generation after another, in perpetuity.