As part of the County of Marin's strategy to acquire, preserve, and create permanently affordable housing for low- to moderate-income families and individuals throughout Marin, the County is working to create a community land trust network (CLTN) in partnership with the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) to launch the Marin Community Land Trust Network (CLTN) — a countywide system with two coordinated parts: a technical and financing hub, and a community-governed land trust.
What Is a Community Land Trust (CLT)?
A CLT is a nonprofit organization that acquires and owns land for the long-term benefit of a community. Homes or apartments on the land are sold or rented at below-market rates to ensure permanent affordability. Residents and community members are part of the nonprofit CLT board of directors and help guide decisions to ensure affordability, resident stability and local control.
Benefits of a Community Land Trust Network
A CLTN will have multiple benefits for ALL communities in Marin through :
- Increasing permanently affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households;
- Implementing anti-displacement strategies for individuals and families to stay in their homes;
- Supporting Marin’s existing community land trusts – the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM), the Bolinas Community Land Trust, the Mount Tam Community Land Trust, Two Valleys Community Land Trust – and Hope Housing in Marin City and small nonprofit organizations throughout Marin that are dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing in the county, such as Canal Alliance and Marin Foster Care.
- Strengthening and supporting local businesses and economies by helping local workers live closer to their jobs;
- Developing and creating opportunities for affordable homeownership;
- Continuing to ensure community voice in housing decisions;
- Developing alternative options for existing affordable housing properties to sell without having to go to market-rate developers or the speculative market; and
- Preserving existing affordable housing through the purchase of small and mid-sized properties that often offer below-market rents.
Documents
The documents in this list may not work with all assistive technology and are being remediated. For alternative formats, please email Public Information Office or phone 415-473-3084. To use the California relay service, dial 711.
- Needs Assessment - Jan 2026 Update (10.40 MB) — Needs Assessment - Jan 2026 Update
- Marin Needs Assessment Executive Summary (0.06 MB) — Marin Needs Assessment Executive Summary (English/Spanish)
Why Create a Community Land Trust Network of Marin (CLTN)?
The need for housing and preventing displacement of current residents across Marin County is great. Marin County currently has several community land trusts (CLT) that operate as separate nonprofit organizations. Each CLT acquires and owns land for the long-term benefit of a community. Homes or apartments on the land are sold or rented at below-market rates to ensure permanent affordability. Residents and community members are part of the nonprofit CLT board of directors and help guide decisions to ensure affordability, resident stability and local control.
The CLTN will support Marin’s existing CLTs, while also creating opportunities for CLT housing development in all parts of the county. Based on the Steering Committee's recommendation, this support will be delivered through the Marin CLT Network (a technical assistance, capital, and development hub) working alongside Marin CLT and other local CLTs and small developers (community-rooted "spokes"). This structure is designed to expand technical and financing resources available countywide while keeping decision-making close to residents and communities.
How the Marin Community Land Trust Network is Organized?
Following the Needs Assessment and a multi-meeting Steering Committee process, SFCLT has refined the CLTN into two proposed coordinated organizations:
- Marin CLT Network — a technical assistance, capital, and development hub. It provides real estate development expertise, legal and compliance support, financial modeling, and access to funding, so that CLTs and small nonprofit developers across Marin don't each have to build this capacity on their own.
- Marin CLT — a community-rooted land trust, envisioned as a new 501(c)(3), that organizes residents, identifies acquisition opportunities, and holds land and housing permanently affordable for the long term, with a key focus on areas of Marin County without a CLT. The Marin CLT board is planned to be one-third residents, one-third community representatives, and one-third technical experts.
In this "hub and spoke" model, Marin CLT and other local CLTs (the "spokes") stay rooted in their communities, while the Network (the "hub") handles the complex financing, construction, and compliance work behind the scenes. Over time, as Marin CLT builds capacity, ownership of properties is intended to shift from the Network to Marin CLT, so that housing is ultimately governed by residents and community members.
How Does a Community Land Trust Work?
While there are many CLT models, a typical CLT for affordable housing works like this:
- A CLT is established as a nonprofit organization that is designed to create and preserve permanently affordable housing.
- The CLT purchases or acquires land and retains ownership on behalf of the community. If the land has an existing building or housing on it, those structures would either be owned by homeowners or designated as rental units owned by the CLT. The separation of land and buildings allows the land to be held in trust for the long-term benefit of the community and ensures that the housing stays affordable.
- CLTs can focus on either or both the homeownership and rental model. In the homeownership model, homeowners own their homes, and the land is owned by the land trust. For renters, the CLT owns both the land and the building, and renters benefit from stable, predictable rents tied to income levels rather than market rates. In both models, homes are kept as permanently affordable.
- The purchase price of a CLT home is more affordable than a market rate home, because the homeowner is only buying the house, not the land. Homeowners lease the land from the CLT in a long-term (often 99-year), renewable lease.
- If the homeowner chooses to sell their home, they agree to sell the home at a restricted price to keep it affordable in perpetuity, and they may still be able to realize appreciation from improvements they make while they live in their home.
What is the Process for Creating a Community Land Trust Network in Marin?
The County is partnering with the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) to explore various possibilities for the creation of a community land trust network (CLTN) for Marin, and the project has several phases.
Phase 1
SFCLT performed a needs assessment to identify gaps in resources and capacity in order to create and develop a CLTN and for creating permanently affordable housing more broadly.
The assessment highlighted strategies and solutions to fill the identified resource and capacity gaps, including how all affordable housing developments in Marin can utilize the resources and collaborations developed during the needs assessment.
SFCLT led this effort by conducting interviews with individuals and specific organizations, including:
- Nonprofits and coalitions focused on affordable housing;
- Affordable housing developers and community land trusts;
- Funders and financing organizations; and
- Local and external government agencies.
Phase 2
Phase 2 began in November 2025 and will wrap up in Fall 2026. This phase consists of providing technical assistance to Marin’s existing community land trusts and emerging affordable housing developers to build capacity and support their efforts to build capacity and advance projects that will create affordable housing throughout the county. This phase includes both direct technical assistance as well as technical assistance workshops. Examples of technical assistance topics can be seen at https://sfclt.org/video-series/
Phase 3
Phase 3 began in January 2026 with the formation of a 19-member Steering Committee of the County's existing CLTs, key community and nonprofit organizations, and other affordable housing stakeholders. Between February and June 2026, the Steering Committee met to review the Needs Assessment, and developed and refined a governance proposal recommending the two-entity Network/Marin CLT structure described above.
The project is now in a community engagement phase (August–December 2026), including one-on-one meetings with community-based organizations and resident/community focus groups to gather feedback on the proposal before it is finalized, as well as town halls to build awareness and momentum. A final governance proposal and community engagement report is expected in November 2026, with recommendations — including a funding request — planned for presentation to the Board of Supervisors in early 2027.
Background
In 2022, the Marin County Board of Supervisors allocated $1.7 million to fund and implement the County’s Race Equity Action Plan (REAP), an initiative of the Marin County Office of Equity. One of the housing related goals was to expand pathways to homeownership for marginalized communities of color.
Over the past year, the County of Marin and SFCLT have worked with a group of expert stakeholders, including existing CLTs, housing developers, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), foundations, nonprofit organizations, and others to:
- Perform a needs assessment to identify gaps in resources and capacity to create and develop a countywide land trust and for permanently affordable housing more broadly;
- Develop strategies and solutions to fill the identified gaps, including how all affordable housing developments in Marin can utilize the resources and collaborations developed during the needs assessment process; and
- Design a proposed governance structure for a community land trust network.
As part of this project, SFCLT has also provided technical assistance to advance the affordable housing work of Marin’s existing CLTs and other emerging affordable housing developers.
Proposed Timeline
- September 2026 — 1:1 feedback meetings with CBOs and Steering Committee members; 2–3 focus groups with residents and community members.
- Early October 2026 — Summary report on focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and CBO outreach findings.
- Mid-October 2026 — Findings incorporated into the governance proposal; draft distributed to the Steering Committee.
- Late October 2026 — Steering Committee meeting to review the updated proposal and provide feedback.
- Early November 2026 — Final governance proposal and community engagement report submitted to the Board of Supervisors.
- November–mid-December 2026 — Community town halls and public meetings to share recommendations and gather broader feedback.
- Early 2027 — Presentation of final recommendations, including a budget request, to the Board of Supervisors.
San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT)
As one of California’s oldest CLTs, the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) manages 168 units across 16 properties in San Francisco.
In addition to ensuring the long-term financial and social sustainability of its buildings and residents, SFCLT leads regional efforts to scale the creation of permanently affordable housing and CLTs.
These efforts include:
- Convening a network of 15 CLTs across the Bay Area that work together to build collective capacity and provide technical assistance to CLTs and small affordable housing developers; and
- Advancing collaborative funding solutions with key public and private stakeholders.
Working with the County of Marin, SFCLT has embarked on a multi-phase process to develop and identify ways to create a countywide approach for the development of a community land trust network (CLTN) that will serve all areas of the county.
Community Engagement
We want and need your participation! Between September and December 2026, we are:
- Meeting one-on-one with community-based organizations to gather feedback on the proposal;
- Holding resident/community focus groups in September to gather input on Marin CLT specifically — including its name, governance, and how residents want to be involved;
- Hosting community town halls between November and mid-December to build awareness and share recommendations prior to a presentation to the Board of Supervisors in early 2027.
Stay tuned for focus group questions and a way to provide feedback online, as well as locations and dates of the upcoming town halls!
Sign up to receive updates on the CLTN and how you can participate and make your voice heard.
CLTN Frequently Asked Questions
Affordable housing is and has been a concern for Marin County residents, and the Marin County Board of Supervisors and several City and Town Councils in Marin have identified affordable housing as a top priority.
Additionally, the County’s 2023-2031 Housing Element includes several programs aimed at:
- Preserving affordable housing;
- Supporting low income renters and homeowners;
- Preserving at-risk housing; and
- Continuing to support community land trusts.
Protecting, preserving, and producing affordable housing requires a range of tools and strategies to meet the housing needs of our communities. Community land trusts (CLTs) are one of the tools along with strategies designed to increase long-term housing stability for low- and moderate-income households, prevent displacement of current residents, and create pathways for affordable homeownership.
This project will take the first steps toward creating a community land trust network (CLTN) that serves all areas of Marin, while also supporting Marin’s existing CLTs and other small affordable housing developers. This project also seeks to increase the resources available in Marin County to create and preserve permanently affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households beyond CLTs. Following Steering Committee review, this will be delivered through two proposed coordinated organizations — the Marin CLT Network and Marin CLT — described further below.
A CLT is a nonprofit organization that acquires and owns land for the long-term benefit of a community. Homes or apartments on the land are sold or rented at below-market rates to ensure permanent affordability. Residents and community members are part of the nonprofit CLT Board of Directors, and help guide decisions to ensure affordability, resident stability and local control.
While there are many models of community land trusts, a typical community land trust for affordable housing works like this:
- A CLT is established as a nonprofit organization that is designed to create and preserve permanently affordable housing.
- The CLT purchases or acquires land and retains ownership on behalf of the community. If the land has an existing building or housing on it, those structures would either be owned by homeowners or designated as rental units owned by the CLT. The separation of land and buildings allows the land to be held in trust for the long-term benefit of the community and ensures that the housing stays affordable.
- CLTs can focus on either or both the homeownership and rental model. For homeownership, homeowners own their homes, and the land is owned by the land trust. For renters, the CLT owns both the land and the building, and renters benefit from stable, predictable rents tied to income levels rather than market rates. In both models, homes are kept as permanently affordable.
- The purchase price of a CLT home is more affordable than the market rate because the homeowner is only buying the house, not the land. Homeowners lease the land from the community land trust in a long-term (often 99-year), renewable lease.
- If the homeowner chooses to sell their home, they agree to sell the home at a restricted price to keep it affordable in perpetuity, and they may still be able to realize appreciation from improvements they make while they live in their home.
- Homeowners of a CLT home are able to pass their home down to their heirs.
Correct; under a CLT, the homeowner owns their house, and they lease the land. The land always remains part of the community trust and can never be sold as part of an individual’s home. This model allows the homeowner to purchase the home and not the land, which results in a lower purchase price for the homeowner.
A typical community land trust is a nonprofit organization run by a Board, staff, and community members. Typically, the Board is made up of 1/3 residents, 1/3 community stakeholders, and 1/3 with professional experts. The CLT Board balances the interest of its residents, the broader community and the public.
Their goals are to promote long-term and stable housing; opportunities for creating and growing assets and wealth over time; preserving, protecting and maintaining land for the community benefit, and ensuring that public investments in affordable housing remain affordable long-term, rather than being lost to the private market. A CLT leverages resources from both the public and private sectors, and is not controlled by local, County or State governments.
Under the CLT model, the tenants and homeowners rent or own their housing, however the land under the housing is owned by the Community Land Trust organization. The CLT organization is a nonprofit that is responsible for the ownership and management of the land and whose long-term commitment is to the community and whose mission is to keep the land for the benefit of the residents and the community. Because the land is owned by the Trust and will remain in the Trust, it is protected by the investment-driven real estate market.
Every CLT is different and there is not one approach in how they develop or grow. Because of the limited amount of land that is available for any affordable housing development in Marin, the project’s approach will primarily be to look at existing and smaller and mid-sized properties throughout the County. The number of available sites and existing properties, combined with available funding and other housing development requirements, can determine and influence the rate and amount of growth for a CLT.
As with all housing developments in Marin, the process from idea to production is a long one. The Steering Committee has completed a proposed governance structure recommending a two-entity CLT Network(CLTN) and Marin CLT model (described further below). Following community engagement (through December 2026) and Board of Supervisors review (expected early 2027), an implementation plan will be developed. The Marin CLT or another CLT being served by the CLTN would be the organizations that residents would buy or rent homes from.
Like other nonprofit organizations, CLTs rely on grant funding to cover their start-up and operating costs during their early years. Sources include private philanthropy (such as foundations, local employers, individual donors, and faith-based organizations) and public sector funding from federal, state, and municipal sources. Once their holdings reach a substantial scale, some CLTs have been able to generate enough revenue internally (via ground lease fees, lease re-issuance fees, rents, membership dues, and fees for service) to cover their stewardship responsibilities, ensuring that resources (land, housing, finances, public assets) are not depleted or misused.
Marin currently has several community land trusts that have successfully developed affordable housing for their local communities. A Marin CLT Network will be able to expand this housing strategy to all areas of the County and provide technical assistance and support to the smaller CLTs and emerging housing organizations. The goal is to increase long-term housing stability for low- and moderate-income households, prevent displacement of current residents, and create pathways for affordable homeownership for all communities in Marin. Following Steering Committee review, this will be delivered through two proposed coordinated organizations — the Marin CLT Network and a Marin CLT — described further below.
In addition, a countywide approach can decrease the average cost per unit for development and operating costs when compared to the cost of creating additional smaller and more local land trusts, and can increase opportunities to access funding.
This approach is also intended to support the County’s existing CLTs by exploring possible shared resources for technical and managerial productivity, as well as for financing opportunities for housing development.
The Marin CLT Network is the technical, financing, and development engine — it provides expertise and capital access so that CLTs and small developers don't have to build that capacity themselves. Marin CLT is the community-governed organization that holds land and housing permanently affordable and represents resident and community priorities. They are designed to work together: Marin CLT identifies opportunities and organizes community input, and the Network executes the technical work of financing and building.
Two entities are needed because most CLTs struggle to be strong community organizers and full-scale developers at the same time. Splitting these functions lets the Network handle complex and *expensive* development, financing, and compliance work, while Spoke CLTs and small developers, including the Marin CLT, focus on community organizing, other chosen work, and building trust and relationships, which is critical to the long-term stewardship of housing projects.
This approach will enable ALL communities in Marin to:
- Increase permanently affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households.
- Implement an anti-displacement strategy for vulnerable individuals and families to stay in their homes.
- Support local businesses by creating opportunities for workers to live closer to their jobs.
- Ensure community voice in housing decisions.
- Preserve existing housing opportunities by purchasing small and mid-sized properties that often offer below-market rents and prevent displacement of existing households.
- Support local economies through preservation of smaller and mid-sized properties.
- Develop a Countywide strategy to address barriers for the creation and development to support all permanent affordable housing, including land trusts.
SFCLT, one of the oldest CLTs in California, and has deep experience in preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement. SFCLT leads local and regional efforts and collaborations to bring together key public and private stakeholders, funders and developers to advance collaborative solutions for affordable housing development. SFCLT will also provide technical assistance to our existing CLTs, share best practices, and help design a governance structure for Marin’s CLTN.
Determining the role of a CLTN in relation to the existing Marin CLTs and within the affordable housing ecosystem in Marin has been a key part of this project. The CLTN will benefit from the experiences of the existing CLTs.
The first-hand knowledge of the complexity of establishing and maintaining a CLT in Marin has not only provided local knowledge for the needs assessment, but their participation on the steering committee has helped lead the creation of the governance structure for the CLTN. In addition, the existing CLTs have participated in the technical assistance provided and facilitated by SFCLT to move their work and affordable housing projects forward.
Marin already has several independent CLTs, including the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM), the Bolinas Community Land Trust, the Mount Tam Community Land Trust, Two Valleys Community Land Trust, and Hope Housing in Marin City. The proposed Marin CLT Network model is designed so these organizations (and other small developers) can connect to the Network as “spokes” and access its technical assistance, development partnership, and capital-connection services, without having to build that capacity themselves. Marin CLT is a new, additional spoke rather than a replacement for these organizations; existing CLTs are expected to continue operating independently and can draw on the Network's shared services. When properties are developed by/in partnership with the Network, the Network would transfer ownership of these properties to an existing CLT/small developer.
We want and need your participation! Between September and December 2026, we are:
- Meeting one-on-one with community-based organizations to gather feedback on the proposal;
- Holding resident/community focus groups in September to gather input on Marin CLT specifically — including its name, governance, and how residents want to be involved;
- Hosting community town halls between November and mid-December to build awareness and share recommendations prior to a presentation to the Board of Supervisors in early 2027.
Stay tuned for focus group questions and a way to provide feedback online, as well as locations and dates of the upcoming town halls. Sign up to receive updates on the CLTN and how you can participate and have your voice heard.
The steering committee is made up of 19 key community and affordable housing stakeholders who:
- Reviewed the needs assessment and provide additional input on strategies and solutions.
- Developed a proposed governance structure for the Marin CLT Network, including the creation of a hub-spoke model with 2 proposed new entities: a Marin CLT Network and a Marin CLT.
- Will review community feedback and incorporate it into a final proposal to be presented to the Board of Supervisors in early 2027.
Members include:
- Call Marin Home — Jenny Silva
- Canal Alliance — Omar Carrera
- City of San Rafael — Alexis Captanian
- Community Development Agency, County of Marin — Leelee Thomas
- Community rep — Nancy Johnson
- Community Vision — Sal Smyth
- Eden Housing — Andrea Osgood
- Enterprise Communities — Heather Bromfield
- First 5 Marin — Maria Niggle
- Habitat for Humanity — Felix AuYueng
- Homeward Bound — Paul Fordham
- Housing Accelerator Fund — Katie Fisher
- Housing Trust of Silicon Valley — Julie Mahowald
- Marin Community Foundation — Shashi Jivan
- Marin Housing 101 — Johnathan Logan
- City of Mill Valley — Danielle Staude
- Mt. Tam Community Land Trust — Kyle Huges and Luke Barnesmoore
- Office of Equity, County of Marin — Jamillah Jordan
- West Marin Housing Collaborative — Daniel Delmonte
Phase 2 of the project focuses on technical assistance for existing CLTs and other emerging affordable housing developers in Marin. SFCLT has offered both direct technical assistance to organizations and technical workshops, in areas such as acquisition, proforma development, asset management, fair housing compliance, operations and strategic planning. SFCLT has run a successful pilot of their Capacity Catalyst Program to members of its CLT Capacity Collaborative (CCC), an organization of 15 Bay Area Community Land Trusts and used its experience with the pilot to support and train Marin’s existing organizations.
As with most housing developments, the creation of the CLTN is a process that will take time to create, develop and implement. An essential part of the process is ensuring there is a robust community engagement process. As a result, anyone in need or interested in finding housing should consider contacting one of the existing community land trusts (CLTs) in Marin.
Those include the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM), the Bolinas Community Land Trust, the Mount Tam Community Land Trust, Two Valleys Community Land Trust, and Hope Housing Community Land Trust. We are also encouraging anyone interested in learning more about CLTs and Marin's CLTN to sign up for updates and announcements at: MarinCounty.gov/CLT.
Based on the feedback received during the needs assessment, we determined that community land trust network (CLTN) was a more appropriate name for the project. The goal of the project is to create a governance structure that is led by and includes a network of key leaders, stakeholders, existing land trusts, various communities and the public that represent a cross section of the Marin County housing ecosystem. Thus, the name Community Land Trust Network of Marin.