Two community land trusts are launching in Ventura County. Here's how they work.

Erin Rode
Ventura

Two organizations have a new way for Ventura County residents to save money on housing: buying a home without purchasing the land underneath it. 

Hoping to create long-term affordable housing in the region, two organizations are starting community land trusts, which provide affordable housing “in perpetuity.” Until recently, Ventura County didn’t have a community land trust. Now it has two.

Community land trusts maintain ownership of land, which is used to develop single-family or multi-family homes. This allows the housing on the land to remain affordable, even if a resident sells their home. Additionally, separating the cost of land from the cost of housing drives down rent and home prices. 

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“The goal is to preserve land for affordable housing development, as this county has fewer and fewer pieces of property available for development,” said Linda Braunschweiger, CEO of Housing Trust Fund Ventura County, which is launching a community land trust as a separate nonprofit. “By taking the land cost out, it reduces the cost of the development. And hopefully that should transfer over to the folks who are renting or purchasing.”

Housing Trust Fund Ventura County is launching Housing Land Trust Ventura County. The land trust will operate as a supporting nonprofit, but is a separate entity. 

Matthew Fienup, executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University, and Tim Gallagher, CEO of public relations company The 20/20 Network, are also starting a community land trust called Homes for Generations of Ventura County. 

Fienup and Gallagher say the idea for a community land trust arose from a housing solutions workgroup made up of diverse county interests, including housing advocacy groups, labor unions and major businesses. Fienup said a solution was necessary to address the rising cost of housing in the region. 

“We are one of the weakest counties economically in the state, and one of the primary reasons is our lack of housing,” Fienup said. 

What is a ‘community land trust’? 

Community land trusts are nonprofit organizations that aim to provide affordable housing in perpetuity by owning land and either leasing homes or renting affordable housing units on that land. Homeowners on community land trusts receive a long-term lease agreement, typically for 99 years. 

Community land trusts began gaining popularity in the United States in the 1980s, and there are now more than 200 in the country. The largest is in Burlington, Vermont, with more than 500 homes and 2,000 rental units. The Burlington Community Land Trust launched in the 1980s under the administration of then-Mayor Bernie Sanders. 

Now a presidential candidate, Sanders continues to champion community land trusts as a housing solution, and his housing plan includes $50 billion in grants to cities and states for community land trusts. 

The success and prevalence of community land trusts in other regions motivated Fienup, Gallagher and Braunschweiger to launch similar organizations in Ventura County.

“This is a model that is tested, and they’re demonstrating success all over the country,” said Fienup, who noted that Homes for Generations of Ventura County looked to the Housing Land Trust of Sonoma County as one example. 

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“Housing land trusts have been around for many years around the country,” Braunschweiger said. “The real value here is dedicating land for affordable housing, and developers will share that the most expensive part of building affordable housing is that land cost. The goal here is reducing that cost.”

According to an analysis of community land trusts by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, community land trusts’ policy of retaining land ownership has financial benefits for homeowners, including financial gain over renting and a stepping stone into market-rate housing. Additionally, the homes included in the analysis typically sold for less than the original purchase price, demonstrating that community land trusts are able to preserve affordability for multiple generations. 

What’s next for community land trusts in Ventura County?

Both Ventura County community land trusts share a mission of making housing more affordable in the region, but they have slightly different targets. 

Homes for Generations of Ventura County will target workforce housing. Examples could include a city putting aside land in the trust to build housing for police officers or a school district placing land aside for school personnel. However, Fienup and Gallagher note that one of the advantages of community land trusts is their flexibility. 

“A lot of very good housing advocacy groups in the county usually have a niche, while this is a very flexible one because in addition to doing low-income housing, it can do workforce housing or luxury townhouses for employees of a company,” Fienup said. 

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Gallagher added: “We would entertain it if a larger employer wanted to put land in the land trust for their employees ... but we’re trying to start by working with cities to build affordable housing.” 

Homes for Generations of Ventura County currently has a potential pilot project in the works in Port Hueneme on an acre of land that could include four to six homes.

According to Fienup, removing the cost of land cuts housing costs by nearly 50%. 

Housing Land Trust Ventura County, operated under Housing Trust Fund Ventura County, will focus on low-income housing. 

“The focus of Housing Land Trust Ventura County is going to be extremely low-income all the way up to moderate-income housing, which is tied to the mission of the trust fund, which is providing affordable housing. Our focus is to support efforts to build more affordable housing, through both multi- and single-family homes,” Braunschweiger said.

Braunschweiger says Housing Land Trust Ventura County is expected to be operating as a separate nonprofit by the end of the year. The community land trust is already accepting land donations through Housing Trust Fund. 

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Erin Rode covers housing, real estate and development for The Star. Reach her at erin.rode@vcstar.com or 805-437-0312.