Habitat for Humanity partners with James City on Clark Lane duplexes
County to transfer eight residential lots to a newly formed community land trust
The James City County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution authorizing an agreement with Habitat for Humanity for the Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg to provide affordable home ownership on the property on Clark Lane, dubbed The Moores subdivision.
The vote on July 14, 2026 will facilitate long-term affordable housing plans and cover the first phase of a larger 47-lot subdivision plan for the property, which the county acquired in June 2023 and rezoned in June 2024. Phase one calls for four duplex buildings on eight lots, which Habitat for Humanity will build. The homes will be sold to qualified low- to moderate-income first-time buyers, consistent with the approved Clark Tally residential rezoning master plan.
Takeaway: 8 lots on Clark Lane move to a community land trust as James City County partners with Habitat for Humanity on the first phase of a development with 47 planned homes.
Placing the lots in the community land trust ties the land’s long-term affordability to the homes Habitat builds, as the trust keeps ownership of the land while homeowners buy only the structures on it. Under the plan, the board will convey the eight residential lots by fee simple deed to the James City County Community Land Trust at no cost, with the trust structure designed to keep the homes affordable over time by separating land ownership from ownership of the homes built on it, so that qualified low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers can purchase the structures while the trust retains the underlying land.
Utility easements that cover water, wastewater and stormwater lines and facilities on the property were also conveyed to the James City Service Authority. The easements let the service authority install, operate and maintain them. The plans indicate that a portion of the property will remain undeveloped, serving as a natural buffer and a stormwater management area.
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