For example, if a $400,000 home sat on a plot of land with an assessment value of $100,00, then the homebuyer would purchase the home for $300,000.
"We're going to try to acquire as much land as possible. And we do have some land that is banked with the town right now," said Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert.
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The town owns 13 acres on South Hughes Street next to the Stone Glen apartment complex. "So we're taking advantage of those opportunities. But if we could just get units in place, use that as a momentum, I believe we can have some success forward," Gilbert added.
The town's community engagement director, Marla Newman, led the presentation during last week's council meeting.
"We were definitely falling farther and farther behind when it comes to providing the appropriate affordable housing as a community," said councilwoman Audra Killingsworth. She told ABC11 that previous conversations with town leaders led her to believe there weren't enough options available for all income levels, primarily in the affordable housing space. Therefore, the community land trust model made sense as an attractive option.
"We're talking about the longevity of it. Potentially keeping it in perpetuity so that it's always going to be affordable for the community," said Killingsworth.
In the Triangle, there are community land trusts in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Gilbert and Killingsworth said they looked at how well other municipalities were using their CLTs.
"This is my hometown. I want as many people to enjoy this as possible," said Gilbert. "So, having people to continue to say, 'Hey, Apex, North Carolina, is it affordable for me to live there?', well, how do we respond? We put a solution on the table. And this is, this is why we're going to do it."
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The International Center for Community Land Trust said there are more than 600 community land trusts globally, with half in the United States.
"It's as a result of increasing unaffordability of housing that people are looking for long-term solutions," said executive director Greg Rosenberg. "And it's very common for municipalities to partner with cities in particular on partnering around publicly-owned land. Because with the inflation and land prices being able to reduce or eliminate the cost of land is a huge contribution to affordability."
The town looks to begin forming a board of directors for its community land trust in November with the goal of finalizing members, creating an operating agreement, and bylaws by February. Requests for proposals for construction are slated to start in June.
Mayor Gilbert would not commit to a specific date but expects to see construction begin in 2026.