CAMDEN — Brenda Torpy, who led the Champlain Housing Trust in Vermont for nearly 30 years, recently spoke to Camden Rotary Club about how community land trusts (CLTs) provide permanently affordable housing even when property values soar beyond the reach of many working people.

Torpy explained that neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions throughout the United States have been using CLTs for decades. She observed that the recently published Midcoast housing needs assessment reflects the experience of many communities across the country.

"Housing costs have far outstripped people's incomes," Torpy said. "Incomes go up, but housing costs have gone up faster. People are looking for ways to create lasting affordability so that their communities can get out of this cycle of losing all the homes that used to serve diverse workers. And that's exactly what CLTs do."

Torpy explained that CLTs (often called housing trusts) are committed to 1) permanent affordability and 2) community-led development with broad participation from the people affected. CLTs offer a locally controlled
model as an alternative to both government and market housing: 

"Just as conservation trusts take land out of the market to protect the environment for open space, wildlife and recreation, CLTs remove land from the market to protect our communities from negative market impacts and preserve the quality of life for all our residents. CLTs are democratically structured nonprofits with an open membership and a board that the members elect, and this brings the community into decision making."

The CLT retains the land under each home, and through a ground lease, it conveys the full use of the property to the buyer. The lease contains a resale formula that assures that the price will remain affordable to future buyers without the need for further subsidy.

"This is the innovation that CLTs have brought, and that has generated so much interest, especially in hot markets," Torpy explained. She went on to recount the history of CLTs, their funding sources, the vast array of housing options they offer (rentals as well as homes for purchase), and the benefits CLTs bring to residents and the communities that surround them.

Noting that there are over 230 CLTs in 43 states, Torpy said that the flexible CLT model, which includes cooperation with local governments and collaboration with other service providers, makes it possible for communities to determine what works best for them.

In collaborating with community members from throughout the region to form a Midcoast Regional Housing Trust, club members seek solutions to the workforce housing shortage in and around Knox County.

The public is invited to view a range of presentations about local economic and workforce development issues at https://www.camdenrotary.org/Page/economic-workforce-development. Scroll to the bottom of that page to watch Torpy's presentation and download handouts.