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RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE POLICY THAT A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST IS NECESSARY IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY IN ORDER TO FURTHER THE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION OF PERMANENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMITTING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT COMMUNITY LAND TRUST IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY; ESTABLISHING A PILOT COMMUNITY LAND TRUST PROJECT MANAGED BY AN ORGANIZATION WITH THE NECESSARY AND RELEVANT EXPERTISE WITH THE GOAL OF PRODUCING AT LEAST 100 UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITHIN FIVE YEARS; DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO RECOMMEND WHICH ORGANIZATION WILL BE SUPPORTED TO BE THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND TO CREATE PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR THE PILOT PROGRAM, TO FIND SEED MONEY, REAL PROPERTY, OR A COMBINATION OF THE TWO, TO SUPPORT THE PILOT PROGRAM, AND TO CONSULT AND/OR PARTNER WITH EXISTING LOCAL COMMUNITY LAND TRUST AGENCIES; AND DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT REPORTS AS PRESCRIBED HEREIN

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WHEREAS, the County suffers from a shortage of affordable housing, which means housing that costs no more than 30 percent of household income, particularly for residents whose household incomes are not greater than 30 percent of the area median income (�Extremely Low-Income�); and
WHEREAS, this shortage of housing also impacts households whose incomes are not greater than 80 percent of area median income (�Low Income�) and households whose incomes are not greater than 140 percent of area median income (�Moderate-Income�); and
WHEREAS, this Board desires to provide opportunities for residents whose incomes are not greater than 140 percent of area median income (�Extremely Low- to Moderate-Income Households�) to secure housing that is decent and affordable; and
WHEREAS, high land costs in Miami-Dade County drive up the cost of housing, often making decent housing too expensive for Extremely Low- to Moderate-Income Households; and
WHEREAS, a community land trust (�Community Land Trust�) is a mechanism that may be used to combat the inflation of housing prices due to high land costs; and
WHEREAS, a Community Land Trust is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to hold legal and equitable title to and/or lease land or units, including but not limited to condominium units, for the purpose of preserving the longterm affordability of housing created for Extremely Low- to Moderate-Income Households; and
WHEREAS, when a Community Land Trust does not own the underlying land in a setting such as a condominium unit, it shall maintain the affordability of resale restricted condominiums or other forms of affordable housing by means of an affordability covenant incorporated within or otherwise made a part of the deed to one or more dwelling units within the regime; and
WHEREAS, among the Community Land Trust�s purposes may be the ability to undertake neighborhood development of a nonresidential nature that is ancillary to and compliments and supports affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, a Community Land Trust may also include among its purposes the acquisition of property for future development, as permitted by applicable law; and
WHEREAS, a Community Land Trust separates ownership of the land from ownership of the housing units in order to bring housing costs down and permanently preserve land for use as affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, a Community Land Trust sells or rents housing units to income-eligible households at an affordable price, while retaining ownership of the land; in homeownership, the land is then made available to the homeowner/renter through a long-term lease, such as a 99-year lease; and
WHEREAS, a Community Land Trust reduces the price of the homes, making them more affordable for Extremely Low- to Moderate-Income Households and ensures that the homes remain affordable in perpetuity; and
WHEREAS, other housing assistance from the County, municipalities, or other agencies and lenders may be used to further increase the affordability of the homes; and
WHEREAS, a homeowner who purchases a home from the Community Land Trust retains a long-term leasehold interest in the land and ownership of the improvements, which enables the homeowner to build equity in the home and to pass the home to heirs; and
WHEREAS, a renter who rents a home from the Community Land Trust will have access to quality, stable, affordable rental housing, which limits displacement due to rising housing costs and expands social and economic opportunity for the renters; and
WHEREAS, the structure used by the Community Land Trust is beneficial to the community because it ensures permanent affordability of rental and homeownership units, encourages investment into homes and the community, encourages maintenance by the homeowner of the property, and promotes economic opportunities for Extremely-Low to Moderate-Income Households, all of which have the effect of combating the deterioration and decline of neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, this Board desires to enable the establishment of a Community Land Trust in Miami-Dade County and desires to create a Community Land Trust program (�Community Land Trust Program�) in order to provide seed funding, property and other support to the Community Land Trust; and
WHEREAS, this Board desires to direct the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to develop the program described in this resolution and to report back to this Board with program guidelines and resources available,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated in this resolution and are approved.
Section 2. This Board adopts the policy that a Community Land Trust is necessary in Miami-Dade County in order to further the development of affordable housing. The Community Land Trust must be a non-profit organization, which may be a coalition of organizations, created to hold land for the benefit of the community and preserve affordability for individuals within the community. The Community Land Trust supported by the County must maintain affordability of its properties for the benefit of the community; develop, in accordance with law, land use plans for the properties owned by the Community Land Trust to determine their best long-term uses; and identify and incorporate mixed-income and mixed-use opportunities where possible to help the Community Land Trust serve the lowest income households -- those which are Extremely Low- to Low Income -- while still making the project feasible. Any real property conveyed by the County to the Community Land Trust shall be conveyed by a deed with restrictions and a reverter providing for the reversion, upon written notice by the County and at no cost to the County, of the property in the event it is not utilized as affordable housing.
Section 3. This Board hereby establishes a pilot Community Land Trust Program with the goal of assisting in the production and retention of at least 100 units of affordable housing within five years of development of the pilot program. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee is directed to recommend to this Board a Community Land Trust organization which will participate in the pilot program. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee is further directed to establish program guidelines for the pilot program consistent with the parameters set forth in section 2 of this resolution, to find seed funding for the pilot program of an amount sufficient to accomplish the goal of the pilot program, and/or real property to be allocated or conveyed to the Community Land Trust participating in the pilot program with capacity to immediately develop affordable housing, and return to this Board within 180 days with a report describing the pilot program, the seed funding to be used, and the real property to be conveyed. The County Mayor or County Mayor's designee shall place all reports required by this resolution on agendas of this Board in accordance with Ordinance No. 14-65.
Section 4. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee is directed to consult with and/or partner with existing local Community Land Trust organizations, non-profit organizations philanthropic foundations and local universities which specialize in housing policy including but not limited to South Florida Community Land Trust, Inc., Miami Homes for All, the South Florida Community Development Coalition, the University of Miami Office of Civic Engagement, in order to develop Miami-Dade County�s pilot Community Land Trust Program.