Non-profit seeking financial support from district, municipalities
How would a community land trust help alleviate Muskoka’s housing crisis?
Suzanne Martineau is one of the directors of Muskoka Community Land Trust, a not-for-profit that aims to hold, develop and manage land and housing projects through a community ownership model.
As a real estate agent and someone who is heavily involved in the community, such as the food bank and women’s shelters, she said it is important to recognize the problems of housing availability, affordability and attainability.
It came out of the Muskoka Housing Task Force launched a few years ago by the District of Muskoka.
“I’m involved in the community and I’m a real estate person, so I understand free market. I also understand how this model works to help maintain affordability and create affordability over various ownerships,” said Martineau.
She gave a presentation during Gravenhurst’s Nov. 16 council meeting about the concept of a land trust and the benefits it would bring to the region.
Here are some of the highlights from her presentation.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST?
Martineau says a land trust “balances the needs of individuals who want security of tenure and occupying and using lands, and the needs of the surrounding community.”
Land trusts can be developed in the form of community gardens, civic buildings and even commercial spaces.
“We will acquire land, hold it, develop it, manage it over the long term. We want to provide home ownership opportunities, housing stability and food security,” said Martineau.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
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“We take land and we separate it out from the structure. We maintain the land under a not-for-profit and then we develop the land and it can be a lot of different types of development … Then we offer it to people who are eligible and qualify for purchasing,” Martineau explained.
The idea is to make properties more affordable at the onset but also to maintain this affordability over time.
“The value of that building actually increases over time. It increases incrementally to the purchaser, but the market value remains as equity within the community land trust,” she said.
Martineau said the model would fit well in Muskoka and help tackle the region’s housing crisis by offering more affordable, flexible housing options.
“We’re suffering desperately in Muskoka, as you all know. We have employers that can’t house employees. We have people living in tents,” she said.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
The Muskoka Community Land Trust is working to raise capital and establish a board of directors.
Next comes support from the municipalities.
“We’re looking for a commitment of $60,000 over the next three years. We’re approaching each municipality for $10,000 and this will all go into the operating costs, of which we have budgeted out,” said Martineau. “After a three-year period, we should be able to self-sustain based on developments that we move forward.”
In the meantime, the land trust will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to spread awareness and ensure that the projects are community-driven, she said.
Sarah Law, Gravenhurst Banner, Tuesday, November 23, 2021