About TapRoot CLT
TapRoot CLT evolved out of the observed need for innovative solutions to the housing crisis in the Hudson Valley.
In 2019, a group of concerned Kingston residents came together to strategize around the serious lack of affordable housing, and explore the best ways to protect their community from gentrification. It quickly became clear that the need for stable, affordable and quality housing extended well beyond the City of Kingston to municipalities all throughout Ulster County and the region. As a result, TCLT was incorporated in 2021 to serve Ulster County as a whole. Fast forward to present day, TCLT is an independent nonprofit organization led by a diverse collaboration of motivated community members, affordable housing experts, activists and more. TCLT has established formal partnerships with both the Kingston Land Trust and RUPCO to best achieve our mission to usher in a new and visionary approach to affordable housing in Ulster County.
What Is a Community Land Trust?
The Community Land Trust (CLT) movement began during the civil rights era, protecting black farmers in the Jim Crow South from expropriation. While certain exploitative housing policies have changed, many remain in place and the CLT model is proving to be one of the best ways to empower communities with regards to housing and land. Due to the lack of home price regulation, inadequate government support and profit motivated development, access to homeownership and rent stability has dramatically decreased for those with modest incomes. The CLT model offers an alternative solution that has been successfully adopted across New York State and around the United States.
CLT’s are most known for the unique way that they enable homeownership, but they are also flexible and can be effective in many scenarios, including: commercial properties, greenspaces, farmland, community gardens, housing cooperatives, community spaces and orgs, housing rentals and more.
Individual Ownership
TapRoot CLT removes the price of land from the purchase price of a home so that homes become affordable to income-qualifying individuals and families. During their residence, homeowners enjoy the freedom and security of normal homeownership, as well as the responsibilities, such as mortgage fees, taxes, maintenance. In exchange for the financial assistance that TapRoot CLT contributed towards the purchase of the home, the homeowners agree that whenever they decide to move, they will resell the property to another income-qualifying buyer. This is where the magic of the CLT begins. The subsidy that allowed the first homeowner to enter into homeownership is extended to the next generation of homebuyers, thereby building a network of permanently affordable homes.
For a more detailed explanation of the arrangement between individual homebuyers and TapRoot CLT, please go to the “How It Works” page.
Collective Ownership
As mentioned above, all homes placed into the trust are permanently designated for affordability because they are resold to folks with modest incomes and not just the highest bidder. As we increase the number of CLT homes, our neighborhoods and community as a whole will be more resilient to the displacement and gentrification that inevitably results from inflated home prices.
All TapRoot CLT Members gain voting rights and elect, among themselves, representatives to serve on the Board of Directors. We believe that those most affected by housing ought to be leaders in the solution and have designed TCLT to always give a 2/3rds majority of the decision making power to the membership. For more information, visit the FAQ and Get Involved pages.
Mutual Empowerment
The Community Land Trust Model represents a departure from the outdated, problematic and exclusionary approach to ownership that this Country is founded on, where a certain race or class is somehow not equally deserving of safe housing. It is an innovative synthesis of both individual and collective ownership. The individual’s sovereignty does not take away or ignore collective sovereignty, and vice versa. For each CLT home sale, the entire community can rejoice knowing that the home will not only bring comfort to the current resident, but future community members as well.
For more information, please visit our FAQ page.
Staff & Board of Directors
Team Member 1
Team Member Position
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Team Member 2
Team Member Position
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TEAM MEMBER 1
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TEAM MEMBER 2
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