CLAM is excited to be receiving an award for Outstanding Local Developer and to continue its work in the West Marin community!

Find out more about the great work of Live Local at: http://www.livelocalmarin.org/

Home Sweet Home Stories – a community gathering of storytelling from local families who have created lives in West Marin across the generations.  The conversation is hosted by none other than local historian Dewey Livingston, and will include local talented musicians, food, and fun!

Saturday, May 19th 10:00am – 12:00pm
Dance Palace

See you there!

Call CLAM at 663-1005 for any questions.

Piro Ishizaka, Operations Manger; Kim Thompson, Executive Director

We are pleased to announce the selection of Kim Thompson as CLAM’s new Executive Director. Kim brings non-profit leadership experience in working to expand affordable housing options and in advocating for supportive public policy. A skilled community builder, Kim is experienced in bringing together diverse communities and interests to focus on the issues of affordable housing, smart growth and environmentally sustainable planning.

Kim worked for several years in the San Joaquin Valley, beginning in affordable housing advocacy then working to reduce air pollution, promote smart growth and regional health. She led community organizing efforts with refugee residents to improve substandard living conditions and to advocate for long-term affordable housing. She was a founding member of the Fresno Housing Alliance, a network to promote safe, decent, and affordable housing.

In talking about her affordable housing experience Kim states, “My work in California’s housing and environmental health has shown me that entities such as Community Land Trusts are a key way for us to organize ourselves toward vital and environmentally sustainable communities. I look forward to meeting CLAM’s members and working together with them to continue CLAM’s important work in our community.”

Kim started working for CLAM on Monday February 13th. She joins staff member Piro Ishizaka, Operations Manager, in the CLAM office in Point Reyes Station. Bonnie Guttman, Interim Executive Director, is working with Kim for the next few weeks to get her on board with CLAM’s organization and projects.

As CLAM’s Executive Director, Kim will guide the organization as it explores new approaches to expanding the base of affordable housing in the local community and to growing its membership. We are thrilled to have a person with Kim’s experience, creativity and heart to lead CLAM in our second decade. A resident of Inverness, Kim is pleased to be able to work and live in her local community.

We hope you will come and meet Kim and Piro at our Annual Meeting in April. Look out for them around town before then. And watch your email for an invitation to a Welcome Reception for Kim at the Blackbird Café on Sunday, March 18th!

Maureen Cornelia
Board President

‘West Marin housing trust picks Thompson as director’ in the Marin Independent Journal.

CLAM thanks Wells Fargo Bank for use of these handouts.

Download English versions (PDF files):

Homeownership Event Flyer

Steps in Homebuying

Calculating Buying Costs

Types of Mortgages

Managing Credit

About FICO Scores

About Credit Reports

Download Spanish versions (PDF files):

Anuncio del taller

Etapas de compra

Costos de comprar

Tipos de hipotecas

Administrar credito

Puntuaciones FICO

Como Leer Informe Credito

Doable now: tenants-in-common and shared equity

More than 60 people came to the morning workshop to hear the pros, cons and how-to’s of buying property collectively as tenants-in-common (TICs) or with shared equity investors. According to panel members, these are two methods that people can participate in now without any policy changes or special county, state or Coastal Commission approval.
Tenants in common own a property together, sharing the responsibilities of purchasing, renovating and maintaining it. According to CLAM, TICs dramatically reduce acquisition and maintenance costs for each of the co-owners. The downside includes the potential for disputes over how much to spend and on what, and the fact that when one owner decides to sell, the common mortgage has to be re-financed, incurring additional fees and raising property taxes.
“TICS can and are done in our area; it’s being done a lot in San Francisco,” Levine said. “In our area it works fine.”
As an example of the shared equity option, Levine mentioned that there are properties available right now in West Marin in the $600,000 range that may or may not have a second unit available. A family who could afford to take on a $400,000 mortgage could join with an outside investor who would put in the additional $200,000 with the expectation of a return down the road, at the eventual resale or a pre-specified time limit.
These options proved popular with the audience. Nearly everyone attending had a question for the panel, which included an attorney, Martha Howard, a realtor, Dan Morse, and a TIC homeowner, Daniel Cordrey. Levine said she wanted to emphasize that CLAM can help by providing education and informational resources; connecting people to realtors and others who can help them with TIC purchases.
“If you’re interested in this, please call me at CLAM!” she said.

Pushing the envelope: co-ops and co-housing

After a potluck lunch, about 50 people forwent the warm sunshine to stay for the second workshop on co-housing, co-ops and other more “creative” solutions to affordable
ownership. Co-housing in itself does not create affordable units, but because they include common spaces with kitchens, laundry and guest rooms, the units themselves can be smaller and therefore less expensive. Members also save with shared costs and economies of scale.
The afternoon panel included CLAM trustee Susan Scott, who is a co-founder of a 25+ unit cohousing property in Sacramento; Rick Lewis, a co-op housing member, advocate and consultant from the East Bay, and Wade Holland, Inverness resident and Marin County Planning Commissioner for West Marin, who provided a reality check on affordable housing options in West Marin
“The fact that we have this rural area, that we’ve kept developers out, that we still have an agriculture industry – the things that have allowed this area to remain the same are the same things that keep us from having affordable housing now,” Holland said. “When we moved to Inverness 40 years ago, [the county] was zoned for one million single family home sites, which would have meant about three million people. But now, 89 percent of Marin is protected land, parks, open space; the 11 percent left is what we live on.”
Holland listed limited water resources and septic tanks as big constraints on housing, as well as A-60 zoning, which allows only one house per 60 acres on much of the outlying areas of West Marin. West Marin Commons Director Elizabeth Barnet asked from the audience about the possibility of a community-initiated development on A-60 land. She later said she was “somewhat disappointed, sobered, and intrigued” to hear from Holland that that would be impossible.
“The county won’t back out of this, we won’t look at putting affordable housing on ranch land,” he said. He did also say, “if you had a good, viable co-housing project–properly located, in infill, with water, and it was OK with the Coastal Commission, you could probably get it through the county.”
It’s easy to blame the county,” he said. “But it’s the state, and/or the EPA, that mandates most of it.”
Levine and Scott said they were glad to hear Holland speak about the limitations involved, especially for any kind of multi-unit new development for co-housing. What might be possible here would be a retrofit of an existing neighborhood into a co-housing structure, or as Scott mentioned from the panel, CLAM could buy raw or developed land and then provide a long-term lease to the co-housing owners. Low-income owners could buy and sell their units, which would remain forever at a certain percentage below market rate.
“We purposely did the afternoon workshop on the kind of shared ownership that is pushing the envelope on what is possible in West Marin,” Levine said after the workshops. “I was delighted that Wade came and did kind of a reality check. I know that some people took that as a downer, but I wanted people to understand how things work in this area. We all love this place for the reasons that make it this place.”

To learn more about how to participate in any affordable housing options – including how to donate or sell a house to CLAM for tax breaks while continuing to live in it or renting it for the rest of your life – contact CLAM at info@clam-ptreyes.org or 663-1005.
West Marin Citizen, May 1, 2008

Cooperative Ownership: Residents are owners; each member has the exclusive right to occupy a particular unit

Democratic Governance: Members are democratically responsible for the affairs of the co-op, electing a board of directors that oversees property management, hires employees, etc. Offers maximum autonomy in a context of mutual support

Below-market Purchase Price: Member pays established low price for share; new member buys share, assumes seller’s obligations; few or no closing costs

Below-market Monthly Costs: Members pay monthly carrying charges to co-op – a share of actual operating costs, mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, insurance and reserves

Collective responsibility for Repairs/maintenance for shared areas; some LEHC’s assume responsibility for individual dwelling unit maintenance and repair.

Individual security and Community control: Co-op has right to approve all potential members, and to terminate membership and evict residents who violate occupancy agreement; members have the right to remain in their homes as long as they meet monthly obligations and follow co-op rules and bylaws

Limited equity: co-op creates a formula to set the amount a selling member will receive; makes memberships affordable to future generations of purchasers

Seniors/disabled: alternative to institutions; provides economic structure and social framework, fosters self-reliance, interdependence and cooperation; least restrictive setting to furnish cost-effective customized care

Recycling social investment by providing permanent low-income housing stock and extending opportunities for affordable home ownership to future generations

Neighborhood stabilization and enhancement, including lower crime rates: Co-op members live in homes longer, have a homeowner’s stake in upkeep and improvement, and have a stake in neighborhood improvements and quality of life

This fact sheet about Limited Equity Housing Co-ops brought to you by:
Bay Area Community Land Trust, P.O. Box 1004, Berkeley, CA 94701, bayareaclt@yahoogroups.com

1. Participatory process.

Future residents participate in the design of the community so that it meets their needs. Some cohousing communities are initiated or driven by a developer. In those cases, if the developer brings the future resident group into the process late in the planning, the residents will have less input into the design. A well-designed, pedestrian-oriented community without significant resident participation in the planning may be “cohousing-inspired,” but it is not a cohousing community.

2. Neighborhood design.

The physical layout and orientation of the buildings (the site plan) encourage a sense of community. For example, the private residences are clustered on the site, leaving more shared open space. The dwellings typically face each other across a pedestrian street or courtyard, with cars parked on the periphery. Often, the front doorway of every home affords a view of the common house. What far outweighs any specifics, however, is the intention to create a strong sense of community, with design as one of the facilitators.

3. Common facilities.

Common facilities are designed for daily use, are an integral part of the community, and are always supplemental to the private residences. The common house typically includes a common kitchen, dining area, sitting area, children’s playroom and laundry, and also may contain a workshop, library, exercise room, crafts room and/or one or two guest rooms. Except on very tight urban sites, cohousing communities often have playground equipment, lawns and gardens as well. Since the buildings are clustered, larger sites may retain several or many acres of undeveloped shared open space.

4. Resident management.

Residents manage their own cohousing communities, and also perform much of the work required to maintain the property. They participate in the preparation of common meals, and meet regularly to solve problems and develop policies for the community.

5. Non-hierarchical structure and decision-making.

Leadership roles naturally exist in cohousing communities, however no one person (or persons) has authority over others. Most groups start with one or two “burning souls.” As people join the group, each person takes on one or more roles consistent with his or her skills, abilities or interests. Most cohousing groups make all of their decisions by consensus, and, although many groups have a policy for voting if the group cannot reach consensus after a number of attempts, it is rarely or never necessary to resort to voting.

6. No shared community economy.

The community is not a source of income for its members. Occasionally, a cohousing community will pay one of its residents to do a specific (usually time-limited) task, but more typically the work will be considered that member’s contribution to the shared responsibilities.

Download this page as a PDF file: Cohousing Characteristics

• The Local Coastal Plan, Housing Element and Development Code updating process
• CLAM co-sponsored the very successful West Marin Community # 7 on August 21st
• Inverness Fair
• Working Together to Address the Affordable Housing Challenges in West Marin
• Update on Affordable Housing Opportunities considered this year by CLAM
• Executive Director Transition
• Join Us in a Fun and Messy Fund-Raiser!

Download the complete newsletter (PDF): September-2011-CLAMBites

• Tenants-in-Common (TIC) (PDF file)
• Shared Equity Agreement (PDF file)