(Image Credit: CFJC News)

By Sydney Chisholm

COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

Community Land Trust designed to help support ‘missing middle’

Jul 27, 2023 | 5:02 PM

KAMLOOPS– Earlier this week, Kamloops Council voted in favour of the city’s first-ever community land trust.

According to the city, once established, the Kamloops Community Land Trust Foundation will be a community-owned and controlled organization intended to create more attainable housing to meet current and future demand.

“Community land trusts aren’t new in North America, a lot of people know them as co-op housing,” City Councillor Mike O’Reilly explained.

“This is just moving into community government piece being a part of that and that’s something that we are very excited to be a part of.”

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O’Reilly said the city has been working on this project since 2019. He said the land trust foundation will bring non-traditional partners, like health authorities, crown corporations and faith-based groups who have underutilized properties together with developers.

“We know, for example, the school district isn’t a land developer, the church isn’t a land developer,” the councillor said.

“But if we bring people to the table and say ‘hey this is what will benefit you, and the risk will be removed from you’, then it makes it easier for them to make that decision.”

In the report presented to council, the city said land trusts take the land price out of the cost of development, reducing the end price of the home.

O’Reilly believes the model will give more power to the community

“Obviously the city controls it,” O’Reilly said.

“But it’s made up of a board of experts in the community and that helps remove the politics from the actual development of things and I think that’s a healthy relationship.”

The city councillor did not provide a start date for the program but expects the foundation to hit the ground running with new developments coming as soon as possible.