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Using Community Land Trusts to Preserve Neighborhood Green Space

 

Introduction

Creating a Community Land Trust (CLT) is a valuable way to protect land in a community through ownership of the land. The most common form of CLT provides for affordable housing  by having a CLT own land and by allowing those who want to own a home to enter into a long-term lease of the land instead of actually purchasing it. For more information on this traditional CLT model and how it is used, see other posts relating to the topic here and here. But, while providing affordable housing is one beneficial use of CLTs, many communities have alternative needs that may also be met through this model of community stewardship.

 Using Community Land Trusts for Housing vs. Green Space

A CLT is a nonprofit organization formed to allow the community to be the stewards of their own space.[1] The designation of “Community Land Trust” doesn’t come from creating a different form of legal entity than other nonprofits, but comes from the purpose of the organization. CLTs are created with the broad purpose of purchasing land in order to keep it available for use within the community instead of being vulnerable to outside developers whose use of the land might not be in line with what the community really needs. As mentioned above, this has most commonly ended up meaning that the CLT provided options for affordable housing, but alternatives to this can include retail spaces for entrepreneurs in the community or even just keeping land open for green spaces in areas that would otherwise become overdeveloped. Using a CLT to preserve green space in communities has often been overlooked as an option, but there are many places where having space for parks, community gardens, or other outdoor activities is the priority for the people who live there.

Baltimore Green Space (BGS)[2] in Baltimore, Maryland is one example of this kind of CLT. BGS focuses their work on fostering community gardens, pocket parks, forest patches, and other community-managed open spaces[3]. BGS does this by purchasing city-owned vacant lots where community members have already created the kind of outdoor land uses that fits within their mission. The people in the community can apply to BGS to have BGS take ownership of the land from the city. This allows the community stewards of the land to continue creating spaces that improve their neighborhoods while not having to worry about any potential issues with the city or what will happen to the land if they are  no longer able to care for it. The model that BGS uses is just one of the many ways that a CLT focused on protecting green space may be structured, but their success shows just how valuable a CLT can be outside of the affordable housing realm.

 Considerations When Using a CLT to Preserve Green Space

Because CLTs are not typically used for non-affordable housing purposes, there are not a lot of examples of how to structure these types of CLTs.  . Governance, land stewardship, and liability are three areas that may be structured differently in green space CLTs than in affordable housing CLTs.   It is important to consider how these three areas can best serve the purposes of the organization and the community.

Board Governance

In a housing focused CLT, the governing board is usually made up of at least one third of the board of directors consisting of residents of the housing.[4] This aspect is inherently different for a green space CLT since there isn’t anyone living on the land that it owns. When looking to start a green space  CLT, it is important to consider what limitations should be put on who can be on the board. Should it be limited to only people in the community? If so, how exactly are the borders of the community defined? Should the board membership be broadened to include people in local government for their expertise even though they might not be within the community? All of these questions must  be considered when finding initial board members and setting up the bylaws for the election of future board members.

Land Stewardship

In a housing focused CLT, generally the occupiers of the land are the ones in charge of taking care of it.[5] When it comes to a green space CLT, however, the question of how the land will be cared for is important to consider before starting to amass vacant plots. In the case of BGS, they don’t take on ownership of any land unless there are already community members caring for it.[6] If the project gets abandoned by whoever was responsible for it, BGS will try to find new community members to take it over and, if this is unsuccessful, they will sell the land. For groups looking to create the green spaces themselves, taking care of the land can become a large responsibility. Is there money in the budget to pay people to keep the land in good condition? Will the organization’s members be responsible for the land maintenance? Is there enough community support to recruit volunteers outside of the organization to help? These are just some of the questions that need to be considered before forming a green space focused CLT.

Liability

Since green space focused CLTs are generally formed for public use, a significant issue  to consider is liability. If someone gets hurt on the land, the organization could be held responsible for it. The Land Trust Alliance[7] is a national organization that provides support for land trusts and can be a valuable resource for affordable insurance for CLTs.  However, insurance can still be costly and only covers certain activities. What does the organization plan to do on the land? Will there be playgrounds? Can the organization afford to pay for insurance? Are there local laws that will provide liability protection? If so, are there limitations on the protection? Can the organization afford legal help if an accident does happen? How much risk is the organization willing to take on? It is important to consider these questions before starting a CLT so that the organization doesn’t end up being held liable for something that it could’ve been protected from.

 

 By Emily Tuten


[1] https://community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/clts/index.html

[2] https://baltimoregreenspace.org/

[3] Miriam Avins, The Land Trust Solution: How Baltimore Green Space Uses Land Ownership to Help Neighborhoods, Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 17 (2015).

                                               

                                   

                       

 

[4]https://community-wealth.org/sites/clone.community-wealth.org/files/downloads/tool-burlington-startingCLT.pdf

[5] https://community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/clts/index.html

[6] Miriam Avins, The Land Trust Solution: How Baltimore Green Space Uses Land Ownership to Help Neighborhoods, Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 17 (2015).

[7] https://www.landtrustalliance.org/

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