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7 <br />Date: June 6, 2003 <br />To: Kevin Foy, Margaret Brown, Michael Nelson, Joe Phelps, <br />Edith Wiggins, Flicka Bateman, Alex Zaffron, Cal Horton, <br />John Link, Jr., Eric Peterson, Gwen Harvey, Tara Fikes, James <br />Harris, Emily Dickens <br />Copy To: Wayne Kuncl, Eleanor Howe, Nina Moseley, Garry Sronce <br />From: Robert Dowling <br />Re: Notes from meeting about the Land Trust <br />I thought it would be useful to simply list the major themes that were <br />discussed at our meeting at Chapel Hill Town Hall. As we discussed, the <br />board of the Land Trust is relatively new, and members are interested in <br />directing the organization in a way that meets the expecstations of our local <br />government fenders. <br />The major points/questions raised at the meeting were the following: <br />1. A question was raised about why the governments fund just 70-75% of <br />the Land Trust budget? <br />2. In response, it was noted that the Land Trust is able to earn <br />development and marketing fees to augment allocations from the <br />governments. <br />3. The Land Trust will not typically endorse development applications. <br />However, we will express our willingness to work with private sector <br />developers who include affordable housing in their developments. <br />4. The Land Trust is currently considering participating in a retirement <br />community in Hillsborough. Buyers of these retirement homes will <br />not be first-time homebuyers. This did not seem to deter anyone. <br />5. The County has established housing priorities and allocated bond <br />funds to reflect those priorities. The majority o:f the bond funds are <br />designated for rental and special needs housing. At this time the Land <br />Trust is not working with these populations. However, our <br />organizational goals include providing rental housing for persons <br />below 60% of median income. <br />6. It was said that there should be an emphasis on :rehabilitating existing <br />homes rather than building new homes. We have done some rehab; <br />enough to know how difficult it can be. <br />7. Some believe the Land Trust should focus its efforts on partnering <br />with private sector developers, rather than undertaking development <br />on its own. <br />8. Another opinion offered was the Land Trust shc-uld do its own <br />development if it has the resources and capacity (as well as work with <br />the private sector). <br />9. A common opinion was that the Land Trust should tap into County <br />bond funds that are available for land banking. <br />