West Marin’s Community Land Trusts
Real estate in the U.S. is structured to encourage wealth accumulation, with less of a focus on actually housing people. CLAM is working to change this by putting people and community first.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST?
A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a nonprofit organization that owns land and puts it to use for the community's long-term benefit. CLTs can serve the community in a variety of ways: by providing options for tenant-controlled affordable housing, affordable mixed-use and commercial spaces, and green spaces such as community gardens and farms.
Unlike traditional property ownership, CLTs separate the ownership of land from the ownership of buildings. The CLT retains ownership of the land while residents own or rent the homes and buildings built on that land.
From a housing standpoint, the CLT model creates permanently affordable housing by removing properties from the speculative real estate market. When a CLT homeowner sells, they receive a fair return on their investment, but the home remains affordable for the next family. This ensures that housing affordability doesn't disappear after just one generation.
THE ORIGINS OF COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS
The Community Land Trust model has roots in England’s Garden Cities, India’s Gramdan Movement, and Israel’s cooperative agricultural settlements. Here in the U.S., the model came into being in the 1930s, though it didn’t fully take root until the civil rights movement of the 1960s when CLTs emerged as a tool for establishing secure land tenure and building wealth within marginalized communities of Black farmers in the rural South.
In 1969, New Communities Inc., founded in Georgia by civil rights leaders including Slater King and Bob Swann, became widely recognized as the first CLT in the United States. The organization sought to provide Black farmers with access to land and economic opportunity in the face of discrimination and displacement.
From these origins, the CLT model spread across the country as communities recognized its potential for preserving affordable housing, preventing displacement, and ensuring that land serves community needs rather than speculative profit. Today, there are an estimated 200 - 300 CLTs operating throughout the United States, each adapted to serve their local community's unique needs.
CLAM'S ROOTS IN WEST MARIN
The Community Land Trust Association of West Marin got its start in the early 2000s, when West Marin residents recognized a growing crisis: working families who formed the backbone of the community could no longer afford to live here. Rising housing costs and the conversion of long-term rentals to vacation properties were pushing out farmworkers, service workers, teachers, small business owners, and others essential to West Marin's economy and character.
In response, a group of dedicated community members came together with a vision of locally controlled, permanently affordable homes that could be made available for generations to come. Meetings were held where passionate discussions about housing justice and community preservation took place. And between 2001 – 2003, the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin was formally incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)3 and formed its board of directors.
Growing One Home at a Time
In 2005, CLAM achieved a major milestone: acquiring its first property on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Inverness Park. CLAM converted the single-family home into two affordable rental units.
This first acquisition proved that the CLT model could work in West Marin. It showed that with community support and creative financing, permanently affordable housing was possible, even in one of California's most expensive regions.
Since that first property, CLAM has steadily expanded its portfolio. Today, CLAM's portfolio includes 46 properties serving 75 residents across West Marin, with a mix of rental homes, ownership homes, and accessory dwelling units.
Why the CLT Model Matters in West Marin
CLAM chose the Community Land Trust model because it addresses the root cause of West Marin's housing crisis: the treatment of housing as a commodity rather than as a community resource.
By removing land from the speculative market, CLTs ensure that:
Housing remains affordable forever, not just for one generation
Families build equity through homeownership while keeping homes affordable for future buyers
The community has a voice in housing decisions through the tripartite board structure
Economic and racial diversity can be preserved in communities facing gentrification
CLAM operates with a unique three-way governance structure: one-third of board members are residents of CLT properties, one-third are community members, and one-third are stakeholders or experts in housing and community development. This structure ensures that those most affected by housing decisions have a voice in shaping them.
In West Marin, where market-rate home prices can exceed $1 million, CLAM's work ensures that teachers, farmworkers, service industry employees, artists, and others can continue to call this place home.
LOOKING FORWARD
The Community Land Trust model continues to offer a powerful alternative to market-driven displacement. From those early community meetings to today's community-owned homes, CLAM has remained true to its founding vision: creating a West Marin where people of all income levels and backgrounds can afford to live, work, and thrive.