Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Land Trust topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mill Valley council authorizes MOU with Mount Tam Community Land Trust to pursue acquisitions
Summary
Council authorized the city manager to finalize and execute a memorandum of understanding with the Mount Tam Community Land Trust to support acquisition and permanent affordability; any funding allocations will return to council for approval.
The Mill Valley City Council voted May 19 to authorize the city manager to finalize and execute a memorandum of understanding with the Mount Tam Community Land Trust (CLT), a resident-founded nonprofit working to acquire and preserve housing for local workers, seniors and educators.
Danielle (city staff) introduced the MOU as a mechanism to clarify roles and help the CLT build a funding stack necessary for acquisition. "The primary funding source is the trust fund, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund that is gathered as part of a fee that was established in 2019," she said, adding that use of any city funds would return to council for approval.
Kyle Hughes, the CLT president, described the organization's early work to identify attainable multiunit properties and a mix of rental and ownership models. He said the CLT was pursuing county, philanthropic and local funding and hoped to acquire one or two properties by the end of 2025 and possibly more in 2026. "We initially are looking for rental opportunities, four- to six‑unit buildings, likely pricing at somewhere between $300,000 and $350,000 per door," Hughes said.
Councilmembers discussed process and safeguards: they asked that the Housing Advisory Committee (HAC) review any proposed acquisitions and recommended continued close collaboration between CLT leaders and city staff to ensure match funding and business‑plan review. Several members stressed that the MOU does not commit the city to a specific level of funding; one councilmember recalled prior seed commitments in the low five‑figure range and urged a conservative approach to using the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Outcome and next steps: Council authorized the city manager to finalize the MOU; the CLT will continue fundraising and return with specific acquisition proposals when financing and partnership stacks are in place. Any use of city trust funds or direct capital would come back to council for separate approval.
