Minnesota Community Land Trusts 2006 Homes for All Convention

Land Trust Characteristics There are 5 basic characteristics of Community Land Trusts:

#1 Nonprofit, Tax-exempt, Community-based Corporations Independent, non-profit organizations Governed by elected board from service area

#2 Dual Ownership and Leased Land Permanent ownership of land by CLT Ownership of homes by eligible buyers Homeowners enter into a 99-year, renewable lease for the land Balance of lessees and land trust interests –Security, privacy, legacy, equity, use control –Appropriate use, structural integrity, long-term affordability

#3 Permanent Affordability and Responsibility Resale value formula –Fair return on owners’ investment –Preserves affordability for future buyers CLT retains responsible interest in homes for perpetuity and can: –Cure defaults –Exercise option to repurchase –Force repairs if necessary

#4 Local Control and Governance Balance of community and leaseholder interest on Board of Directors –1/3 leaseholder representatives –1/3 general community representatives –1/3 public representatives All Directors are elected from CLT’s membership

# 5 Flexibility Tailor activities to community needs –Can develop various types of affordable housing Single-multi family housing, condos, co-ops, mobile home parks –Can fill different housing roles in the community Contractor/buyer, developer, homebuyer education, buyer-initiated purchase programs, land-holder, advocacy and community organizing –Can develop various facilities for neighborhood Businesses, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, community gardens, pocket-parks

CLTs in Minnesota Several community land trusts operating in various parts of the state recently formed a coalition Mission Statement of the Minnesota CLT Coalition:  To promote a common agenda, including policies and resources that benefit the work of community land trusts.  To provide a forum for practitioners to work and learn together.  To promote permanently affordable housing using the community land trust model.

MINNESOTA CLT COALITION Northern CLT First Homes Cannon River CLT Two Rivers CLT City of Lakes CLT Rondo CLT WHAHLT Chaska CLT Central MN CLT Greater Frogtown CDC

2006 As of January 2006, the MN CLT Coalition had over 350 CLT homes 350 units of housing, at an average value of $150,000 per unit for a total of over $52 million in leveraged funding As of October 2006, there were 438 MN CLT homes. MN CLTs anticipate there will be close to 650 CLT homes by the end of 2007.

Differences Among Minnesota CLTs  CLTs operate in different areas and economies of the state.  CLTs have the support of a wide range of political constituencies in the state because the CLT model is a sensible housing solution from both social and economic perspectives.  CLTs reflect the goals and needs of each community.  CLTs have a wide range of activity dependent upon community needs, including: new construction (in-fill and sub-division), rehab, house moving, financing, land holder, buyer-initiated programs.

 Have formed to respond to a specific community need.  Most are very new, with the exception of NCLT and Rondo.  Use CLT model to preserve resources to keep housing permanently affordable. Commonalties of Minnesota CLTs

Policy Initiative Opportunities Property tax fairness Other permanent affordability policy change opportunities –Below rate mortgage financing for CLT buyers –Special pools of funding for CLT projects/buyers –Capacity funding for new & existing CLTs –Changes to MN condo law –Lower interest construction financing funds –Use of State Gen. Obligation Bonds w/o municipal requirement

Challenges facing MN CLTs Limited housing funds at every level It’s expensive – important to share benefits and ROI to community Alignment of stakeholder priorities CLTs not always at the table General public awareness

Websites Central MN CLT: Chaska CLT: City of Lakes CLT: First Homes: Greater Frogtown CDC: Northern CLT: Rondo CLT: Two Rivers CLT: WHAHLT: