Napa could use land trust model on future affordable development

The Housing Land Trust of the North Bay has, for more than 20 years, provided home ownership opportunities in Sonoma County for people priced out of the housing market there. In the near future, the nonprofit will likely be taking its first steps into Napa County to do the same thing for people here.

That’s because the city of Napa is looking to apply the land trust model to an affordable housing project on a 2.75-acre parcel of land at 3875 Jefferson St., which it acquired this past March.

The Napa City Council directed city staff in October to include its preference for affordable housing developers willing to work with the housing land trust model when the council issues an upcoming request for proposals to build on that land.

Deputy City Manager Molly Rattigan said in an email Wednesday that the city plans to issue the request in early 2024, following the completion of work to remove an existing building at the site.

The Napa City Council has long expressed interest in finding ways to alleviate the housing cost burden, particularly so the local workforce isn’t priced out of living in the city. The land trust model could serve as part of that solution.

With affordability restrictions, the land trust is able to keep homes affordable for buyers over time by tying mortgage payments to income levels, according to Dev Goetschius, founding director of the North Bay Land Trust.

Should a buyer wish to sell, the home goes through a resale formula that keeps the property affordable — the seller benefits from equity and a possible small gain — and the land trust seeks out a new buyer.

“It is a home ownership model that allows people who are priced out of the market to be able to purchase a home,” Goetschius said. “And that means it is also a tool to recruit and retain our workforce, because if they can’t afford to live where they work, there is a risk of losing them.”

Goetschius noted that there wasn’t much interest in a Sonoma land trust prior to 2002 because homes were generally considered affordable to the people that serve the community. But the affordability gap, between paychecks and the cost of housing, opened up — and has continued to to get larger — through the past two decades.

Goetschius added the North Bay land trust currently oversees 146 homes and has served 178 families — meaning there’s been 32 resales.

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.