Irvine Community Land Trust re-established as Independent, Nonprofit Entity
IRVINE, CALIF. (June 26, 2018) – In a move that will increase operational efficiencies and enhance its ability to provide quality affordable housing for qualifying residents, the Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT), a 501(c)3 nonprofit providing affordable housing, has become independent from the City of Irvine.
The spin-off was envisioned in the city’s business plan for the ICLT, established in 2006, which states that the trust shall become self-sustaining and independent after it attains 200 affordable housing units. That threshold was crossed in 2017, and the ICLT currently owns more than 200 homes in three communities. Additionally, it has 80 more rentals and 68 new townhomes for purchase under development.
The move to become independent is designed to incentivize donors and strategic partners, who can contribute materials, services and funds on a tax-free basis more easily under a private, nonprofit designation. While the City of Irvine will maintain certain land-transfer and funding obligations to the organization during the transition, it stands to benefit from the separation due to the savings it has gained in salary and office space.
“This is a tremendous win-win for the citizens of Irvine,” said Mark Asturias, Executive Director, ICLT. “As a sovereign entity, we are now free from potentially burdensome and expensive city government regulations and are more aligned with our private-sector partners. As a result, we can apply a greater focus on our core mission – to provide high-quality affordable housing to the community.”
Asturias started as the ICLT’s Executive Director at its creation and continues in the position as a non-city employee. The Board of Directors will remain intact, and on a non-paid, voluntary basis. The board includes: Chair Melissa Fox, Irvine city councilmember; Vice-Chair Leon Napper, president of Westnap Real Estate Appraisal and Consulting Company; Secretary Nancy Donnelly, retired; Treasurer Christina Shea, Irvine city councilmember; Mary Ann Gaido, retired; Patrick Strader, vice president of Starpointe Ventures; and Bryan Starr, president and ceo of the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce.
Irvine is one of the most expensive places in the nation to live, making it hard for lower-income families and individuals to afford to live and work in the city. This includes service workers, teachers, nurses, students and young professionals – jobs critical to Irvine’s vitality. ICLT is also committed to helping veterans and those with special needs find affordable and adequate housing options by building all its units as accessible and built for specific needs.
By encouraging private partnerships and breaking free of municipal regulations, the ICLT can operate more efficiently and with less reliance on taxpayers – all while providing high-quality affordable housing for Irvine’s most vulnerable and contributing residents.
About Irvine Community Land Trust:
The Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT) was created in 2006 by the City of Irvine to provide secure, high-quality permanently affordable housing. The vision of the ICLT is that by the year 2025, the ICLT will have created approximately 5,000 units of permanently affordable housing in the City of Irvine, contributing more than 50 percent of the City’s 2025 goal of 9,700 affordable units. The ICLT will achieve its mission through the operation of a non-profit community land trust, securing and retaining title to land on which permanently affordable rental, ownership and special needs housing will be constructed and maintained for the benefit of income-eligible families.
Learn more by visiting www.irvineclt.com.