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Housing Land Trust tells Rohnert Park its model keeps 157 homes permanently affordable; city partnership cited
Summary
Housing Land Trust of the North Bay told the Rohnert Park council it stewards 157 permanently affordable homes, including 36 in partnership with the city; Willow Glenn and Somo Village were cited as local examples and staff and council praised the inclusionary housing ordinance.
Caitlyn Garfield, housing director at Housing Land Trust of the North Bay, presented to the Rohnert Park City Council on May 26 about the trust’s model for permanently affordable homeownership and its local portfolio.
Garfield said the nonprofit, founded in 2002, currently stewards 157 permanently affordable homes across the Northern Bay Area; 36 of those homes are in partnership with Rohnert Park and more are in the pipeline. She cited Willow Glenn (29 units, 14 low-income and 15 moderate-income units) and Somo Village (four moderate-income units recently occupied) as local examples and explained the trust’s approach: buyers purchase the home at an income-restricted price while the trust retains the land under a long-term stewardship agreement so that units remain affordable in perpetuity.
"The home buyer directly purchases the home at a price that is affordable to their income. And then the land underneath the home is entered into the trust and is protected as a community asset," Garfield told the council, describing resale controls and stewardship designed to preserve affordability for subsequent buyers.
Resident and Generation Housing member Brenda Smith described her own experience as a retired teacher living in one of the trust’s units and urged continued work to expand opportunities for teachers, health-care providers and other local workers.
Council members praised the program and noted the city’s inclusionary-housing rules, which require on-site affordable units for projects of 50 or more homes, as a key policy tool that helped produce local affordable units. Council members pointed to the visible integration of affordable units in neighborhoods as a strength of the model and celebrated recent household moves enabled by the trust’s stewardship.
What’s next: Housing Land Trust continues to work with the city on pipeline projects; council members encouraged continued partnership and local policy enforcement to support affordable homeownership.
