James City trusts that affordable housing is a community effort
Board forming for Community Land Trust; Clark Lane site prep bidding closes
A Williamsburg Independent editor used AI tools to help create this report.
The James City County Board of Supervisors recently met in closed session to consider appointments to the inaugural board of a planned Community Land Trust. In a related development, the city has closed the bidding process to begin site preparation work at county owned land at 179 Clark Lane, near the Sentara Regional Medical Center. The first phase of the project includes a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg for construction of eight duplex units.
Community Land Trust
At its May 26 business meeting, the Board of Supervisors placed consideration of appointments to the inaugural nine-member CLT Board of Directors on the closed session agenda. No public confirmation or vote on those appointments was recorded when the board returned to open session. The county had solicited applications through April 20 from candidates who could “contribute professional and/or lived experience to help guide the organization.” Board members will initially serve staggered one-, two-, and three-year terms. Service is voluntary and unpaid, with all appointments made by the Board of Supervisors.
According to the county’s CLT website, the trust is being established primarily to support affordable homeownership but could also support community facilities, small businesses, and other community-serving uses depending on future needs. The first eight duplex units are intended to serve as the initial asset for the trust, with the broader Moores development to come later.
Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg website:
“Rising home costs continue to price many families out of the housing market, increasing the demand for affordable housing in Virginia. A Community Land Trust (CLT) helps solve this critical problem by creating permanently affordable homeownership. In a CLT, the homeowner buys and owns the house, but not the land underneath. The CLT keeps ownership of the land and leases it to the homeowner, usually through a 99-year renewable ground lease. By separating the cost of the home from the value of the land, this model makes homeownership more attainable.”
A resale formula embedded in the lease would limit price increases while allowing homeowners to retain their down payment, paid-down mortgage principal, and a predetermined share of appreciation, keeping homes affordable for subsequent buyers without requiring additional public subsidies. The model is known as shared equity homeownership. According to county documents, primary eligibility would target households earning 80 percent of Area Median Income or below, though the trust may also serve households earning up to 120 percent, estimated at $120,600 for a family of four as of April 2023. Homes are expected to be priced at no more than roughly $361,800. All buyers of Habitat for Humanity homes in James City County must currently live or work in the county.
Site preparation and infrastructure work
According to county records and solicitation documents, James City County acquired seven properties in the Clark Lane and Mooretown Road area in September 2023 with the intent of constructing the affordable housing. The project now moving toward site preparation calls for site clearing, stormwater infrastructure upgrades, and utility installations across a 3.01-acre site divided among eight parcels, buffer areas, and a stormwater management open space. The property is zoned R3 for residential redevelopment, with approximately 2.25 acres to be disturbed during construction.
Work outlined in the invitation for bid and detailed in accompanying technical drawings includes, according to county documents, rehabilitation of existing best management practices, upgrades to an existing dry pond to meet current stormwater regulations, and installation of new stormwater piping, inlets, and swales. Contractors would also extend potable water lines to the site and install eight municipal sanitary sewer connections. Silt fencing and other runoff controls are required under the approved plans.
The site plans show asphalt driveways, parking areas, concrete sidewalks, and a new entrance from Clark Lane. Stormwater runoff would be directed to a central extended detention dry pond. Landscape plans preserve existing vegetation in some areas and replant disturbed sections. Environmental documents filed with the county indicate the site falls outside any mapped floodplain, with no wetlands or Resource Protection Area buffers identified within the project limits.
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