Community Land Trusts: Irvine - Terner Center case study on affordable housing development

Sep 15, 2026

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The case study examines how Irvine, California created the Irvine Community Land Trust (Irvine CLT) in 2006 to ensure publicly subsidized or inclusionary-housing units remain affordable in perpetuity. It contrasts LIHTC and other rent-restricted subsidies that later revert to market rates with the CLT approach of permanently holding land below market value. The document details Irvine’s evolving inclusionary zoning policies, the loss of affordable units after deed restrictions expire, and how redevelopment and set-aside funding supported CLT development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Irvine’s housing challenges

Inclusionary housing program evolution

Irvine Community Land Trust

CLT model and long-term affordability

A Terner Center Case Study • April 2019 Community Land Trusts: Irvine This brief is part of the Terner Center series “Statewide Goals, Local Tools: Case Studies in Affordable Housing Development in California.” The vast majority of new nationwide is subsidized affordable housing constructed in part by the federal Low-In- come Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. With LIHTC, as with similar state and local subsidies, the subsidized units remain affordable for several decades and then eventually revert to market-rate. For tenants of these rent-restricted units, their housing situation can become precarious upon the expiration of the subsidy agreement. An alternative to this model—which directly addresses the temporary nature of many subsidies such as LIHTC—is the community land trust (CLT) . Homes for sale or rent within a CLT are permanently held below the market cost while also offering the potential for residents to build equity and share in the economic advancement of their neighborhood. Faced with rising housing costs and a steady decline in affordable homes, Irvine, California created the Irvine Community Land Trust (Irvine CLT) in 2006 to ensure that all new units created using a public subsidy or as a result of the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance would remain affordable in perpetuity. The following case study explores how cities and counties can play a prominent role in starting and supporting the development of CLTs, which are traditionally owned and operated privately. Background Irvine, California is a relatively young city located an hour’s drive south of downtown Los Angeles. Incorporated in 1971, Irvine is a master-planned community of about 220,000 residents. It is a classic bedroom community, characterized by primarily detached single-family homes, a low crime rate, and high-quality Copyright 2019 Terner Center for Housing Innovation For more information on the Terner Center, see our website at [www.ternercenter.berkeley.edu](www.ternercenter.berkeley.edu) public education. Irvine’s population has grown faster than the surrounding communities in Orange County in recent decades. It is also home to a campus of the University of California.1 Irvine’s primary housing challenges are twofold: 1) higher than average housing costs2 and 2) the dramatic loss of affordable units built through the city’s inclusionary housing program. Long considered a leader in creating affordable housing in Orange County, Irvine has provided a number of incentives and funding programs for affordable housing projects over the years.3 As an early adopter of inclusionary zoning,4 Irvine launched one of the nation’s first voluntary inclusionary housing programs in 1978.5 Since its adoption, Irvine’s voluntary inclusionary housing program has produced 3,155 units of low-and moderate-income affordable units in new developments, with another 1,245 units created through US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted developments.6 In 2003, Irvine updated its inclusionary housing program from voluntary to mandatory, requiring all residential developers to set aside 15 percent of housing units in a proposed development at a price affordable for low-and moderate-income households.7 However, because Irvine’s inclusionary housing program requires that units remain affordable for only up to 30 years, housing created through the program in the 1970s and 1980s has been converted to market-rate following the expiration of deed restrictions.8 By 2006, approximately one-third of the original 3,155 affordable housing units created through the program were converted to market-rate, a significant loss of the affordable housing portfolio for the community.9 Tasked with searching for strategies that both produce and preserve affordable housing, Irvine also sought to capitalize on the recent annexation and pending redevelopment ofthe El Toro 1 Marine Corps Air Station (El Toro).10 After years of debate about how to

FAQs

Why did Irvine establish the Irvine Community Land Trust (Irvine CLT) in 2006?

To keep new affordable housing units created through public subsidy or the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance affordable in perpetuity, addressing the risk that many subsidies eventually expire and revert to market-rate.

How does the community land trust (CLT) model differ from LIHTC-style subsidies?

CLT homes keep land permanently held below market cost while enabling residents to build equity and share in neighborhood gains, whereas LIHTC units remain affordable for decades and then revert to market-rate after the subsidy agreement ends.

What housing policy problems did Irvine face before launching the CLT?

Irvine faced higher-than-average housing costs and the dramatic loss of affordable units as inclusionary housing deed restrictions expired, converting a portion of earlier affordable units to market-rate.

Sep 15, 2026

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