Land trusts link efforts to put more people in homes

Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Oregonian
The Clackamas Community Land Trust is about to begin its biggest drive to provide permanently affordable housing in Clackamas County.

The agency is joining with the Portland Community Land Trust to rehabilitate 30 houses in Portland and another 30 in Clackamas County over three years. The land trusts will help low-income buyers purchase the homes.

The project will focus on neighborhoods near amenities such as schools, parks and public transportation, including the planned Interstate 205 light-rail line that will connect the Gateway area to Clackamas Town Center, said Nancy Yuill, executive director of the Clackamas Community Land Trust.

The goal is to help people buy homes in neighborhoods "before they get so gentrified that people can't afford them," Yuill said.

Low-income buyers will be screened by the land trusts and qualify for a mortgage. Then, they'll go shopping with a real estate agent and pick a house they can afford.

The land trusts will cover the cost of the land where the chosen house sits and help pay for renovations to the house once it has been purchased. The land trusts plan to provide subsidies of $60,000 per house.

Once the homes become part of one of the land trusts, they are kept permanently affordable. The organizations keep the purchase price of a house low by paying for and keeping the land where it sits.

The two agencies are joining forces to share policies, marketing and contractors. They'll also make joint funding proposals, said Allison Handler, executive director of the Portland Community Land Trust. The Home Depot Foundation has pitched in some early funding for operating expenses, but the agencies have a long way to go before they raise enough capital to make the program work, Yuill said. -- Sarah Hunsberger

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