Canton council approves creation of Canton Community Land Trust to support affordability
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Summary
Council voted to authorize formation of the Canton Community Land Trust, directing staff to finalize articles of incorporation and return bylaws for council review; no specific properties or transfers were approved at this time.
On July 3 the Canton City Council voted to proceed with creation of a Canton Community Land Trust after a presentation by city staff.
City housing staff summarized prior discussions from the June meeting on resale formulas and income eligibility and said the requested action was to approve formation of the trust and direct staff to bring back articles of incorporation and bylaws for final council review. Mr. Patten told council the motion does not transfer properties or commit any specific parcels; those decisions would return to council if or when the land trust is formed and a property transfer is proposed.
Supporters on council described the land trust as an additional tool to preserve long‑term affordability, estimating (per a council comment) that the mechanism could reduce home costs by roughly 20–25% for qualifying buyers when used. Several council members requested that the articles and bylaws be reviewed by the city attorney and returned for final approval, and the council approved moving forward with formation with that understanding.
What’s next: staff will finalize the articles of incorporation, have those documents reviewed by the city attorney, and return them to council for approval and subsequent appointments to the trust board if created.