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- Incorporated in Washington State May 1989
- Service area: Orcas Island, Washington
- “OPAL” is an acronym that stands for Of People And Land
- Homes provided:
- 58 -- single-family homes (owned by individuals or families) that are located on community land trust land
- 7 -- rental apartments owned and managed by OPAL
- 3,600 -- square footage of office space owned and managed by OPAL
- Services provided:
- Acquire land and construct homes for very-low, low- and moderate-income households
- Provide homebuyer education and counseling
- Provide rental and energy assistance for very-low income households
- Governance: democratically elected board of trustees of whom one-third represent low-income people. The bylaws allow the board to be comprised of as few as six or as many as twelve trustees. The board generally has between nine and twelve trustees.
- Staff: Five people--one full-time and four part-time. Their total work hours are equivalent to those of three and one-half full-time people.
- Awards to OPAL:
- 1995: Honorable Mention from the Fannie Mae Maxwell Awards for Excellence in Affordable Housing
- 2004: Community Partner Award from the Opportunity Council, the regional community action agency
- 2005: Housing Assistance Council/Home Depot Foundation Green Building Fund award for Lahari Ridge water catchment system
- Selected list of publications about OPAL or that include information about OPAL:
- My View: Newlsetter of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (April 2006).
- Pitcoff, Winton. “Affordable Forever: Land Trusts Across the Country.” National Housing Institute’s Shelterforce Magazine 121 (Jan/Feb 2002).
- OPAL Community Land Trust. Of People And Land: Telling Our Stories, Building Homes, Creating Community. Eastsound, Wash.: OPAL Community Land Trust, 1999.
- Dwyer-Voss, Ron. “Community Land Trusts: A Flexible Form of Affordable Homeownership.” Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), Pacific Mountain Review, 15, no. 1 (1977).
- Jones, Tom, et al. Good Neighbors: Affordable Family Housing. New York: The Images Publishing Group, McGraw-Hill, 1995, pp. 37 and 68-69. Also available online at www.designadvisor.org.
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