Community land trusts, cooperative ownership and Mountain View pilot discussed as preservation tools

Representatives from South Bay Community Land Trust, the City of Mountain View and Silicon Valley at Home briefed the Human Relations Commission on Sept. 11 about models for community ownership, preservation and alternative approaches to affordable homeownership.

Juan Aquelucano of the South Bay Community Land Trust described CLT structure and acquisition activity. He said the trust was formed in 2019 to combat displacement and land speculation and to expand housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents. Aquelucano reviewed two acquisitions: a downtown San Jose property (Reed Street), acquired in February 2023 with grassroots fundraising (roughly $500,000 raised for an initial down payment, according to the presentation), and the Virginian Avenue property in East San Jose, an 18-unit complex for which the land trust is pursuing rehabilitation funding. For Virginian Avenue, the presentation said the project is pursuing $5,000,000 in Measure E funds from the City of San Jose and $4,500,000 from another local financing source; rehabilitation was expected in late 2025.

Matthew Reed, Mountain View’s housing officer for policy and programs, described that city’s Community Ownership Program (COPE) framework. Reed said Mountain View designated $4 million in seed funds in March 2024 to support flexible finance and technical assistance for community-ownership projects. The city’s advisory committee identified core goals — decommodification, shared governance, long-term stewardship, capacity building and accountability — and recommended flexible funding products (for example, zero-interest or forgivable loans and technical-assistance grants) to respond to diverse project needs. Reed said the city considered but did not adopt at this time a formal Opportunity to Purchase Act because local funding and organizational capacity were insufficient to ensure tenant- or nonprofit-led purchases under that model.

Josh Ishimatsu of Silicon Valley at Home summarized alternative ownership models including limited-equity cooperatives, social housing (public or nonprofit ownership with mixed-income occupancy, as exemplified by Vienna-style models), acquisition/rehab preservation strategies and tenant- or community-opportunity-to-purchase policies. Ishimatsu said limited-equity cooperatives can combine affordable entry prices with democratic governance, community ownership can be structured to preserve affordability in perpetuity, and TOPA/COPA-type laws create additional time and notice for tenants or nonprofits to make offers when a property is sold; he noted such policies require funding and capacity to be effective.

Commissioners asked about neighborhood outreach and building standards for renovated properties. Speakers emphasized tenant organizing and door-to-door outreach as a first step, and noted that rehabilitation projects must address building-safety and accessibility needs. Reed and Aquelucano described community leadership development and tenant organizing as core parts of preservation-based acquisitions.

Commissioners also asked about regional coordination and financing; Reed said Mountain View is developing technical assistance grants and a flexible product set and will return with program details in early 2025. Aquelucano urged Palo Alto to continue conversations about preservation and community ownership and offered to assist with questions. The commission received no public comment on this topic but noted emailed public interest.