HOUSING TRUST FUND ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF "HOUSING LAND TRUST VENTURA COUNTY"

Airing on KNX radio (1070 FM) is a live interview with Housing Trust Fund CEO Linda Braunschweiger about the recent formation of the Housing Land Trust Ventura County.  Listen to an introductory snippet here.

On October 14 the Ventura County STAR ran an article about the new Land Trust. 

Housing Trust Fund Ventura County is launching Housing Land Trust Ventura County. The land trust will operate as a supporting nonprofit, but is a separate entity. 

“The goal is to preserve land for affordable housing development, as this county has fewer and fewer pieces of property available for development,” said Linda Braunschweiger, CEO of Housing Trust Fund Ventura County, which is launching a community land trust as a separate nonprofit. “By taking the land cost out, it reduces the cost of the development. And hopefully that should transfer over to the folks who are renting or purchasing.”

Community land trusts are nonprofit organizations that aim to provide affordable housing in perpetuity by owning land on which single-family or multi-family homes are built. Home and apartment owners own the building, and receive a long-term land lease agreement, typically for 99 years. Separating the cost of land from the cost of housing drives down rent and home prices, making both more affordable. 

“The focus of Housing Land Trust Ventura County is going to be extremely low-income all the way up to moderate-income housing, which is tied to the mission of the trust fund, which is providing affordable housing. Our focus is to support efforts to build more affordable housing, through both multi- and single-family homes,” Braunschweiger said.

Braunschweiger says Housing Land Trust Ventura County is expected to be operating as a separate nonprofit by the end of the year. The land trust is already accepting land donations through Housing Trust Fund. 

Click here for the full VC STAR article.