A $3 million Chicago Community Land Trust (CCLT) pilot program to create affordable housing and prevent displacement in six gentrifying neighborhoods across the city was approved today by the City Council.

The CCLT pilot program ordinance marks a significant new chapter for the Chicago Community Land Trust. For the first time since the CCLT was formed in 2006, the city will commit $3 million so that the Trust can acquire new properties. In consultation with analysts at the Voorhees Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Trust has identified six "target areas" to begin acquisition where new affordable housing can best help low- and moderate-income Chicagoans stay in their neighborhoods in the face of gentrification. The pilot program target areas are: Woodlawn, East Garfield Park, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, and Pilsen/Little Village.

The ordinance also allows Chicago homeowners to "opt-in" to the Trust--an option that will be open to homeowners in any neighborhood, not just the target areas. In exchange for a legal commitment that their home will be sold at an affordable price when they choose to sell it, homeowners will qualify for substantial property tax savings and, for the first time, up to $30,000 in home improvement grants.

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