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Land trust says Weston Village is meeting workforce housing targets; council presses on taxes and resale limits
Summary
Sheridan County Housing Land Trust updated the council on Weston Village, a 30-lot workforce housing development using a ground-lease model. The trust reported most homes sold or under contract and said ARPA funds covered the bulk of infrastructure; council members questioned taxation, buyout options and the resale formula.
Christine Diedrich, executive director of the Sheridan County Housing Land Trust, told the council that Weston Village—off Decker Road—uses a ground-lease model to provide permanently attainable workforce housing and that the trust has partnered with three builders to deliver about 30 single-family homes.
"Weston Village, off of Decker Road is... 30 single family lots," Diedrich said, and described a model that pairs a ground lease with buyer-occupied homes. She said the trust had tracked buyers by occupation, naming educators, hospital staff, county employees, veterans and tradespeople as purchasers, and reported sales activity: "we've got 14 homes that have closed... 11 as of today are under contract," and "there are only 6 more left for sale," as she summarized the project's sales progress.
Diedrich said the trust targets households up to 120% of area median income and that most project costs have been secured through infrastructure investments: "99% of the project cost has been secured... 2,600,000 of the ARPA funds to infrastructure." She described expected completion timing, saying most homes would be completed and sold by May with the final units delivered by December 2026.
Council members and residents asked detailed questions about how the model affects taxes, future land purchase options and resale restrictions. One council member asked whether homeowners pay property tax on the structure only; Diedrich replied that taxing questions remain under discussion with the assessor but that the ground lease requires homeowners to be responsible for property taxes regardless of how taxes are apportioned.
On buyout options, Diedrich said the only scenario that provides the homeowner a right to buy the land would be dissolution of the land trust; for Weston Village specifically, the city and county would have first rights before homeowners in that circumstance. She described the ground-lease fee as nominal—"Right now, it's $50"—and said the fee can be raised or lowered if it becomes unaffordable.
The trust uses a fixed-rate appreciation formula on resale, Diedrich said, saying the model was chosen for consistency amid market volatility: "We chose the fixed rate model because it's more consistent given the volatility of the market." That formula drew concern from at least one council member who said land-trust models can limit a buyer's ability to build generational wealth.
A council member who identified his role in approving ARPA funding in the past thanked the trust and noted the council's prior unanimous support for the allocation. Multiple public speakers also praised the project and urged continued work on additional housing opportunities.
The council did not take formal action on the update; the presentation concluded with an invitation for further questions and the mayor pro tem thanked Diedrich for the briefing.
