Author: Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
Starting a Land Trust
Author: Conservancy
Author: Richard BrewerPublisher: UPNE
ISBN: 1611685206
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Land trusts, or conservancies, protect land by owning it. Although many people are aware of a few large land trusts--The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, for instance--there are now close to 1,300 local trusts, with more coming into being each month. American land trusts are diverse, shaped by their missions and adapted to their local environments. Nonetheless, all land trusts are private, non-profit organizations for which the acquisition and protection of land by direct action is the primary or sole mission. Nonconfrontational and apolitical, land trusts work with willing land owners in voluntary transactions. Although land trusts are the fastest-growing and most vital part of the land conservation movement today, this model of saving land by private action has become dominant only in the past two decades. Brewer tells why the advocacy model--in which private groups try to protect land by promoting government purchase or regulation-- in the 1980s was eclipsed by the burgeoning land trust movement. He gives the public a much-needed primer on what land trusts are, what they do, how they are related to one another and to other elements of the conservation and environmental movements, and their importance to conservation in the coming decades. As Brewer points out, unlike other land-saving measures, land trust accomplishments are permanent. At the end of a cooperative process between a landowner and the local land trust, the land is saved in perpetuity. Brewer's book, the first comprehensive treatment of land trusts, combines a historical overview of the movement with more specific information on the different kinds of land trusts that exist and the problems they face. The volume also offers a "how-to" approach for persons and institutions interested in donating, selling, or buying land, discusses four major national land trusts (The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, American Farmland Trust, and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy); and gives a generous sampling of information about the activities and accomplishments of smaller, local trusts nationwide. Throughout, the book is enriched by historical narrative, analysis of successful land trusts, and information on the how and why of protecting land, as well as Brewer's intimate knowledge of ecological systems, biodiversity, and the interconnectedness of human and non-human life forms. Conservancy is a must-read volume for people interested in land conservation--including land trust members, volunteers and supporters--as well as anyone concerned about land use and the environment.
The Community Land Trust Reader
Author: John Emmeus DavisPublisher: Lincoln Inst of Land Policy
ISBN: 9781558442054
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 600
Book Description
This compendium brings together seminal and historical texts that inspired and defined the community land trust (CLT). The collection also examines contemporary applications of the CLT to promote home ownership, spur community development, protect public investment, and capture land gains for the common good.
On Common Ground
Author: John Emmeus DavisPublisher:
ISBN: 9781734403008
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 502
Book Description
Land that is owned and managed for the common good is a hallmark of community land trusts. CLTs are locally controlled, nonprofit organizations that steward permanently affordable housing (and other assets) for people of modest means. This book explores the global growth of CLTs in twenty-six original essays by authors from a dozen countries.
The City-CLT Partnership
Author: John Emmeus DavisPublisher:
ISBN: 9781558441811
Category : Housing
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The community land trust (CLT) movement is young but expanding rapidly. Nearly 20 community land trusts are started every year as either new nonprofits or as programs or subsidiaries of existing organizations. Fueling this proliferation is a dramatic increase in local government investment and involvement. Over the past decade, a growing number of cities and counties have chosen not only to support existing CLTs, but also to start new ones, actively guiding urban development and sponsoring affordable housing initiatives. Two key policy needs are driving increased city and county interest in CLTs, particularly in jurisdictions that put a social priority on promoting homeownership for lower-income families and a fiscal priority on protecting the public's investment in affordable housing. Long-term preservation of housing subsidies. With local governments now assuming greater responsibility for creating affordable housing, policy makers must find ways to ensure that their investments have a sustained impact. CLT ownership of the land, along with durable affordability controls over the resale of any housing built on that land, ensures that municipally subsidized homes remain available for lower-income homebuyers for generations to come. Long-term stewardship of housing. Preserving housing affordability requires long-term monitoring and enforcement, an administrative burden that local governments are neither equipped for nor generally interested in taking on. CLTs are well positioned to play this stewardship role by administering the municipality's eligibility, affordability, and occupancy controls, while also "backstopping" lower-income owners to protect subsidized homes against loss through deferred maintenance or mortgage foreclosure. Municipal support comes in a variety of forms, depending on how well established the CLT is. For example, local governments may offer administrative or financial support during the planning and startup phase, followed by donations of city-owned land and grants or low-interest loans for developing and financing projects. They may help a CLT acquire and preserve housing provided by private developers to comply with inclusionary zoning, density bonuses, and other mandates or concessions. As the CLT builds its portfolio, municipalities may provide capacity grants to help support its operations. Finally, local jurisdictions may assist CLTs by revising their tax assessment practices to ensure fair treatment of resale-restricted homes built on their lands. As welcome as their support has been, local governments may inadvertently structure CLT funding and oversight in ways that undermine the effectiveness of the very model they are attempting to support. The challenge lies in finding the most constructive ways of putting municipal resources to work in pursuit of common objectives. Based on a review of three dozen municipal programs and in-depth interviews with local officials and CLT practitioners, this report describes the mechanisms and methods that cities across the country are using to structure their investment in CLT startups, projects, and operations. In addition to describing the full range of options for providing municipal support, the report highlights specific model practices for rendering that assistance. These practices have the most potential to balance the interests of all parties by: protecting the public's investment in affordable housing; expanding and preserving access to homeownership for households excluded from the market; stabilizing neighborhoods buffeted by cycles of disinvestment or reinvestment; and ensuring accountability to funders, taxpayers, and the communities served by the CLT. The city-CLT relationship continues to evolve. This report ends with a discussion of three emerging trends: shifts in the city's role from supporter to instigator, and from participant to g
The Community Land Trust Handbook
Author: Land Trusts for Privacy & Profit
Author: Mark WardaPublisher:
ISBN: 9781888699081
Category : Land trusts
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Illinois-type land trusts have been used for over 100 years to give real estate owners privacy, probate avoidance, lower taxes and over 25 other benefits. This book explains how real estate investors in any state can adapt these trusts to their state. It includes a summary of each state's laws and 36 read-to-use forms. Written by an attorney with 30 years experience in land trusts.
Trust in the Land
Author: Beth Rose Middleton ManningPublisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816529280
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
“The Earth says, God has placed me here. The Earth says that God tells me to take care of the Indians on this earth; the Earth says to the Indians that stop on the Earth, feed them right. . . . God says feed the Indians upon the earth.” —Cayuse Chief Young Chief, Walla Walla Council of 1855 America has always been Indian land. Historically and culturally, Native Americans have had a strong appreciation for the land and what it offers. After continually struggling to hold on to their land and losing millions of acres, Native Americans still have a strong and ongoing relationship to their homelands. The land holds spiritual value and offers a way of life through fishing, farming, and hunting. It remains essential—not only for subsistence but also for cultural continuity—that Native Americans regain rights to land they were promised. Beth Rose Middleton examines new and innovative ideas concerning Native land conservancies, providing advice on land trusts, collaborations, and conservation groups. Increasingly, tribes are working to protect their access to culturally important lands by collaborating with Native and non- Native conservation movements. By using private conservation partnerships to reacquire lost land, tribes can ensure the health and sustainability of vital natural resources. In particular, tribal governments are using conservation easements and land trusts to reclaim rights to lost acreage. Through the use of these and other private conservation tools, tribes are able to protect or in some cases buy back the land that was never sold but rather was taken from them. Trust in the Land sets into motion a new wave of ideas concerning land conservation. This informative book will appeal to Native and non-Native individuals and organizations interested in protecting the land as well as environmentalists and government agencies.
Make Your Own Living Trust
Author: Denis CliffordPublisher: Nolo
ISBN: 1413330584
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
Make Your Own Living Trust can help you make an individual or shared living trust that’s valid in your state, saving your family time, money, and headaches. You can use a living trust to name beneficiaries for property and set up property management for young people. In this way, a living trust is like a will. However, unlike a will, a living trust lets your family bypass probate court— which saves everyone money, delay, and hassle. Make Your Own Living Trust provides all of the plain English instructions, worksheets, and forms you need to create an individual or shared living trust and a basic will (for yourself and your family), without the need for a lawyer. Whether you are single or part of a couple, you can use this book to: decide whether a living trust is right for your family keep control over trust property while you live appoint someone to manage trust property, if needed name beneficiaries to inherit your assets set up property management for young beneficiaries, and learn how to transfer all types of assets to your trust, including real estate, stocks, jewelry, art, or business assets. Even if you prefer to hire a lawyer to draw up your trust, you can use this book to learn about living trusts before you go to the lawyer. Using the book to learn about living trusts will save you a considerable amount of money, compared to paying a lawyer to explain it to you. All of the explanations, instructions, and examples are in the book, and the forms are available for download details inside the book. The legal forms in this book are not valid in Louisiana, Canada, or the U.S. Territories.
Reinventing Conservation Easements
Author: Jeff PidotPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 46
Book Description
No recent happening in land conservation rivals the rapid expansion of conservation easements and the related growth in the number of land trusts over the past 15 years. Among the forces driving this phenomenon are tax and other public subsidies and the view that the conservation easement is a win-win strategy in land protection. The thesis of this policy focus report is that conservation easements are a valuable land protection tool, complementing regulation, land acquisition, and tax policies, but that reforms are needed in tax and other laws and conventions governing easements, lest we risk losing the public benefits for which the easements were established.
