Establish a Community Land Trust (CLT) that will own land on which homes for homeownership can be built and then allowing long term leasehold of the land reducing cost of homeownership. Bay County could subsidize the creation of the CLT and then restrict home sales & leases based on individual AMI restrictions both on initial and resale of homes. A limit of maximum increase equity on the home should also be restricted to preserve affordability. The City of Houston created a very aggressive CLT after Hurricane Harvey to increase affordable homeownership city wide. The Houston CLT model could be used to increase homeownership for both the short term and long term. Multiple sources of land could be used to start and expand the CLT such as; existing government owned land, land if a buyout program is established, donated land and/or individual lots across the county where the potential buyer meets the AMI restrictions and needs the subsidy to purchase their home and are willing to have the CLT own the land. CLTs have also helped to develop or redevelop targeted areas and can also assist with pressures on transportation infrastructure and/or school population challenges.
