Habitat for Humanity’s new director outlines plan to expand builds and pursue community land trust in Mason County

Steven Heuford, the new director of Habitat for Humanity serving Mason County, told the Board of Commissioners he wants to accelerate the group’s local work and tap state and federal resources to preserve long-term affordability.

"As you may well know, Habitat's been involved in Mason County for 30 years," Heuford said, noting the affiliate built 41 houses and logged what his organization estimates as about 80,000 volunteer hours. "My hope is we'll do 45 homes in the next 5 years. Don't tell anyone, but I'm hoping that's actually conservative."

Heuford outlined several changes to how the affiliate operates: moving away from holding mortgages toward third-party lending relationships, partnering with larger Habitat affiliates (for legal and technical help) and pursuing grants tied to Habitat International and HUD that would expand both new construction and home-preservation work such as ramps and bathroom modifications. He said the affiliate owns a parcel in Shelton that could be the next build site and that staff are actively looking for land across Mason County to build a five- to ten-year pipeline.

On potential ownership models, Heuford described the community land trust (CLT) or ground-lease approach: the trust keeps title to land and sells the house at an affordable price under a long-term (often 99-year renewable) lease that caps resale appreciation to keep the home in the affordable stock.

"The model is permanent affordability," Heuford said. "We sell it at that reduced value to an affordable buyer. We don't take any money. There's a ground-lease fee to help maintain the property… but it creates a bar on the highest they can sell it for, and then it gets sold to a qualified buyer."

Commissioners and other attendees asked how that model affects a homeowner's ability to build equity. John Taylor, who said he previously served on Habitat’s board and later identified himself as emergency manager of parks and recreation, urged caution.

"If you move to where it's a land trust, they're getting even less bargain," Taylor said. He warned that limiting resale gains could make it harder for buyers to build wealth: "I'm trying to build their wealth, not the wealth of your nonprofit."

Heuford responded that CLTs are designed to balance equity and community benefit, and he pointed to examples where homeowners exit CLT properties and move into the mainstream housing market. He said Habitat will also pursue mortgage programs—USDA, FHA and other partners—and that many of the affiliate’s project budgets assume buyers will qualify at about 65% of area median income while some programs target up to 80% of AMI.

Commissioners asked for more detailed financial models and eligibility rules. Heuford offered to provide numbers and meet with commissioners individually to review proposed appreciation caps, ground-lease fees and how grants and down-payment assistance would be structured.

The board did not take action on the presentation but agreed to follow up. Heuford said he would return with more detailed models and grant information for commissioners to review.