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Guest forum: What is a community land trust anyway? By Carlus Harris (submitted by Tammi Spencer) Ashland The original community land trust model, for the preservation of land for community uses, was created by Bob Swan, an activist and World War II protester. Bob was seeking a way to help poor southern sharecroppers create personal wealth through cooperative ownership of the land they worked. With housing needs being a large part of their challenge, homes were incorporated in the plan to give the power of self-determination to the people of that community. The modern community land trust still serves to bring community control to agricultural, ecological and housing endeavors across the nation. The community land trust provides affordable housing by purchasing the land, then selling the constructed homes to qualified buyers, leasing the land beneath on a 99-year, transferable, inheritable lease. This arrangement removes the cost of the land from the transaction, making homes affordable in even the most expensive housing markets. The lease agreement signed by the home owner pledges them to a resale formula that preserves most of the equity in the home for future community members. When an owner chooses to sell, the land trust is given the opportunity to purchase the home first, selecting a buyer from its list of qualified members on the waiting list. Since the community land trust is a non-profit organization, the homes usually increase in cost by the percentage of equity promised the previous owner, plus any costs incurred in the transaction. The amount of increased home costs are greatly exceeded by the market costs of a comparable home. The results is that, compared with increases in market value and wages, community land trust homes become even more affordable over time. And they remain affordable in perpetuity. The trust itself is a non-profit, membership organization whose board is comprised of community members, a third of which being leaseholders or their designated representatives. The board construct ensures that the community's interests, as well as those of the folks who own the homes, are represented. History of ACLT Ashland Community Land Trust was founded in September, 1999, in a cooperative effort between the Ashland Housing Commission and ACCESS, Inc. ACLT was the first Oregon land trust to have housing on the ground and available to qualified community members. During a time when Ashland's skyrocketing housing costs made affordable housing virtually unthinkable, ACLT was doing the impossible. The organization built three new townhouses and sold them to members of the community whose incomes were below 80 percent of area median income. Those homes sold for approximately 75 percent of the market rate, and would be available at about 50 percent of market value today, due to the innovative and self-perpetuating model for affordability. Responding to the expressed needs of the community for affordable rentals, ACLT is presently developing five units of rental homes across from Garfield Park. Like the homes before them, these apartments will be held in trust, governed by the community and affordable forever. The future of ACLT The future will see ACLT's membership grow, as more concerned citizens become aware of the effectiveness of this model in the provision of permanently affordable housing. The organization endeavors to make 10 percent of all housing development in Ashland affordable in perpetuity through placing them in the community's trust. ACLT will be the most vibrant and successful vehicle by which Ashland's socio-economic diversity will be preserved and prosper. Election letters: Teachers for levy Please join us in voting yes for the Youth Activities Levy. This is not an increase in taxes, it just extends the present levy. As teachers, we know how valuable the community contribution to the levy has been in recent years. Please continue to support this levy and our children. Barbara Heyerman and Mark Sherbow Teachers of The Blenders, Lincoln School Ignore it, and it will go away I would imagine there are many local residents who are wondering why citizens of Ashland would support an additional tax. From my perspective as a single mother of four children in the Ashland public schools, the answer is simple: It is more than worth it. Each of my children has benefited from the Youth Activities levies that have passed over the years. From club sports at the high school level, to elementary orchestra; academic teams, to intramural sports; second languages, to alternative education programs: The Youth Activities Levy has supplemented the excellent basic education of Ashland children and made it well-rounded and the envy of neighboring districts. I urge all to vote in this election, and if you live in Ashland, vote "yes" once again for the Youth Activities Levy. A quality, enriched educational system: If we ignore it, maybe it will just go away. Karen Delsman, Ashland 'We must keep it going!' As the co-chairman of the original Youth Activities Levy committee in 1992 and as the current chairman of the city Levy Oversight Committee I urge the voters of Ashland to vote for passage of the current levy. Just as it was in 1992, the Legislature has failed to adequately fund the schools. Ashland was unique in providing a partial solution by separating the co-curricular activities from the academic budget that allowed the state allocation to go direct to the academic programs. The school district and the community have recognized the value of having activities available for the kids to round out their educational experience. Over 80 percent of the students participate in some way in the programs that are funded by the levy. We must keep it going! Bill Cobb, Ashland Levy was, still is a great idea When my second child graduated from Ashland High in 1991, the budget cuts due to Measure 5 were just starting to adversely impact the educational program of the district. Soon, foreign language classes at elementary and middle school levels would be lost, the outstanding and inspiring music/arts programs were in jeopardy, and some sports were scheduled for elimination. This was a devastating time. Suddenly, a brilliant idea emerged. Because the city properly tax was not at the maximum rate, funds could be raised through a voter-approved levy to assist both city recreation programs, including the Senior Center, and school-based co-curricular activities such as DECA, debate, Natural Helpers and the sports, all vital to a full educational experience. Thankfully, residents approved that levy, assuring the future of quality education in Ashland. My third child took advantage of these great opportunities and received a well-rounded secondary education. Now she, and her classmates, are productive members of their communities, returning what they were given. I urge all voters to support the renewal of the Youth Activities Levy; get those ballots to the recorder's office or the mailbox without delay. Debbie Miller, Ashland Lipski for board We are fortunate to have Sheryl Lipski running for the Ashland School Board. I have known Sheryl in various aspects of her community life in Ashland, beginning with her career as a teacher at Ashland Middle School. Sheryl has a strong sense of the critical value of public education to our society, and has participated in public education as a teacher, an administrator, and as a parent. One of the exciting qualities of Sheryl Lipski is her ability to use these different perspectives in forming her ideas about the needs and directions for our public schools. She is the kind of team player that listens to and learns from all sides of an issue, and formulates decisions based on the most complete information available to her. Sheryl is an extremely hard worker and has the integrity to follow through on whatever she sets out to accomplish. This integrity is reflected in the quality of her past work in the Ashland School District, and I am confident that it will be fundamental to her work on the board. Skye Gunsolus Sugar, Ashland LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -