Community land trusts and limited‑equity cooperatives presented as permanent affordability models; funding and statute questions remain
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Summary
OPAL Community Land Trust and METTO Housing Trust explained how CLTs preserve affordability in perpetuity using ground leases and resale formulas; presenters and Lopez Island cooperative leaders urged expanded state land acquisition funding and a revolving mortgage product for limited‑equity co‑ops.
Lisa Byers, executive director of OPAL Community Land Trust, and Simon Windell, CFO of METTO Housing Trust, briefed the committee on community land trusts (CLTs) and limited‑equity cooperatives (LECs), and Lopez Island presenters described LEC experience and financing constraints.
Byers explained CLT mechanics: the nonprofit acquires and holds land in trust, grants a long ground lease (commonly 99 years with renewal options) to an owner‑occupant, uses subsidy to lower the initial purchase price, and applies a resale formula so homes remain affordable to future cohorts. “In the long run, community land trusts... one of our most important roles is that of stewardship,” she said, noting CLTs can also secure farmland, commercial sites and nonprofit facilities.
Windell and Byers described how CLTs enable homeownership at incomes below market thresholds: many CLTs in the Pacific Northwest serve households around 50–70 percent of area median income, and the model preserves affordability across resales. Windell thanked the state housing trust fund and recommended continued and expanded state support for land acquisition programs that fill the gap between development cost and affordable sale price.
Representatives from the Northwest Cooperative Development Center and Lopez Community Land Trust described how limited‑equity cooperatives (LECs), including manufactured‑home community conversions, provide permanently affordable ownership or tenure. Lopez presenters said they have developed co‑ops for decades and that their main constraint is access to long‑term financing; they requested a $30 million revolving loan fund managed by the Housing Finance Commission to provide mortgage financing for LECs.
Committee members indicated interest and said they would follow up; presenters suggested statutory clarifications to make nonprofit cooperative formation and long‑term lending easier.