Case Study: Burlington Community Land Trust (BCLT)

BCLT is a major partner in the city’s third sector housing market strategy. Incorporated in 1984 as a private, non-profit tax-exempt membership-based corporation, BCLT is the first community land trust in the country created and funded by a municipality. It is also the largest affordable land trust in the country, based on the number of units held in trust. BCLT properties total 250- primarily single family homes and condominiums- 75% located in the Burlington area. It has grown steadily and today has over 1400 members, diverse funding sources and a portfolio of affordable single family homes, condos, apartments, co-op housing, and commercial space.

BCLT lowers the cost of housing and ensures the future affordability of housing by holding ownership of the land and by entering into a covenant with homeowners that restricts the selling price of the home to the original price plus 25% market appreciation, and 100% recovery of the cost of the improvements homeowners make to the home. In this way, affordable housing is insulated from market forces and land speculation, access to land and housing is assured for low income people, and neighborhoods are preserved and improved.

In addition to providing affordable housing options to low income residents, BCLT is a major redeveloper of brownfields (blighted industrial and commercial property) in the city’s low income neighborhoods, transforming them into housing, non-profit, and commercial space. BCLT has also developed numerous community facilities in Burlington including the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, VT Legal Aid, and the Multi-Generational Center.

Cross Sectoral Benefits

Environmental: 215 homeownership units and 152 rental units have been created by the land trust since its inception.

Economic: Families and individuals have been served with housing that costs 25-30% of their income on average.

Social: Promotes neighborhood preservation and provides stable housing to households under stress.

Governance: Furthers self-governance through an elected Board that includes four leaseholder representatives and a voting membership made up of four at-large community members, and four representatives from community agencies, such as the Vermont Housing Finance Agency.