Orange County NC Website
5 <br />Summary of the December 8, .1997 Land Trust Implementation Task Force <br />Meeting <br />On Monday, December 8, 1997, the Chapel Hill Land Trust Implementation Task Force <br />held its second meeting. Present were Mark Chilton, Council Member Joyce Brown, <br />Susan Levy, Douglas Mitchell, Allison Weiner, Myles Presley, Mayor Mike Nelson, <br />Alderman Alex Zaffron, Rich Bell, Rick Summers, Allan Rose, Mary Tippens, Robert <br />Dowling, County Commissioner Margaret Brown, Tara Fikes, James Harris, and Loryn <br />Bames. <br />The meeting took place at Carrboro Town Hall in conjunction with a community meeting <br />organized called by Carrboro Mayor Michael Nelson and Allison Weiner, a Board <br />member. of the Orange Community Housing Corporation. The purpose of this meeting <br />was to discuss how a land trust could be implemented in Orange County. <br />The group raised the following questions and issues regarding a land trust for future <br />discussion: <br />• Who would administer the land trust? <br />• What target population would be served? <br />• Would the land trust focus strictly be for home ownership or a combination of <br />homeownership and rental? <br />• Would the land trust be a community based effort or a government initiated effort? <br />• Would the land trust cover southem Orange County, the entire County, or would <br />each Town have its own land trust organization? <br />The group was able to agree on the following four points: <br />1. Although the entire County could benefit from a land trust, it was recognized that the <br />need was greatest in southem Orange County <br />2. A citizen group could implement a land trust more quickly than the local <br />governments. <br />3. The target population should be households earning less than 80°~ of the area <br />median income. <br />4. The primary function of the land trust would be to purchase properties and make the <br />properties available to developers. The land trust would impose a long term <br />ground lease on the properties so they would remain affordable in perpetuity. <br />The two groups decided that they would continue to meet together. The next meeting <br />will be held on Monday, January 12, 1998 at 5:30 at Chapel Hill Town Hall. <br />