Verde Valley community group outlines plan for 45 affordable homes, land trust

Mary Shaquen, executive director of the Verde Valley Community Development Organization, briefed the board on regional housing work and a land-trust project the organization is developing.

Shaquen said the group has created a countywide ‘‘developable land’’ GIS layer, conducted regional planning and formed a housing advisory committee. She described the land-trust model the organization is pursuing and said a donor in November gave the organization 14 acres on Highway 260 valued at about $550,000. "We are in the process of developing that property with 45 single family homes that will be sold to the missing middle," Shaquen said, adding the homes will target buyers at about 150% of area median income for Yavapai County.

Shaquen explained how the land-trust sales would work: the trust retains ownership of the land and buyers purchase the vertical structure while leasing the land, a model intended to preserve affordability over time. She described program safeguards including appraisal, HUD-approved housing counseling, mortgage requirements and ongoing meetings with the trust. "The homes will be ... 2 and 3 bedrooms," she said, and buyers typically enter a 30-year mortgage and participate in counseling.

Supervisors asked about resale controls and whether manufactured homes could be included. Shaquen said municipal permitting can limit manufactured-home placement and noted the organization is exploring County property and partnership with towns to use an existing 'home of your own' model to reduce costs.

Shaquen also said VVCDO had committed $100,000 in lending support to a LIHTC project in Prescott and had helped secure philanthropic funds. Board members thanked Shaquen and encouraged coordination with other local groups.

The presentation prompted clarifying questions but no board action during the meeting.