CommonSpace Community Land Trust - Community Meeting

Grassroots Housing Solution Stimulates Sonoma County

On Sunday, December 8, 2019 from 2-4 pm at the Sebastopol Grange, CommonSpace Community Land Trust invites all who are committed to creating a more just, grassroots housing movement in Sonoma County to join us and:

• Learn what a Community Land Trust is and how we can put this powerful tool to work in our community,
• Share your passion to care for the housing needs of marginalized members of our community, and
• Hear about the partnerships CommonSpace has begun to form and how to accelerate our capacity to house more people.

CommonSpace embraces cooperation, justice, equity, and ecological stewardship and has a vision that integrates our ethics into secure housing for all. The founding members of CommonSpace CLT began meeting in 2016, catalyzed by a clear need for transformative housing solutions in Sonoma County and the generous donation of a 3-acre property and home in Sebastopol, CA to serve as the inaugural CLT property, which currently houses 4+ people.

CommonSpace CLT gained its 501c3 status in 2017 and has been learning from other area CLTs and developing partnerships to build its capacity to develop a multi-generational, multi-cultural and innovative model of affordable cooperative community in Sonoma County.

Community Land Trusts are a 50-year-old solution to displacement and lack of housing justice. The CLT model removes land from the speculative market and treats it as a public good. The CLT model has its roots in social justice: it was inspired by the Gandhian “Gramdam” or “Village Gift” system in India, and the first CLT in the US was founded during the Civil Rights movement to help Black sharecroppers in the rural South gain access to farmland. Since then, the CLT model of affordable housing and community development has spread throughout the US, Canada, and the UK.

According to Robin Rudderow, CommonSpace CLT board member and local attorney, “Addressing the housing crisis in Sonoma County is not only a matter of justice, it’s also critical to the well-being of our community. A resilient, thriving community needs diverse people--with diverse skills and perspectives--of all income levels, and those people need secure housing as the foundation on which to build their lives. The CLT model is a proven solution to housing insecurity. In order to take action to live more sustainably and address climate change, people need a basic sense of security and investment in the place where they live.”

The Sunday, December 8 event is free and open to the public, and will include a presentation about community land trusts and CommonSpace, a World Cafe community conversation about housing, and a screening of the film “Arc of Justice.” The address for the Sebastopol Grange is 6000 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, CA.

Press Contact: Marissa Mommaerts
Phone: 970-312-7489
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.commonspaceclt.org