OPAL’s Future: “Greener” Homes, Broader Funding, Greater Involvement

The trustees of OPAL Community Land Trust are committed to continuing to meet the need for permanently affordable access to land and housing on Orcas Island.

The trustees’ vision includes specific goals to be met in 2012:

• To add 6 more single-family ownership homes, for a have a total of 98 homes in trust by the end of 2012, responding to the demand for housing for very-low-, low- moderate-, and middle-income households;
• To renovate the 22-unit Lavender Hollow apartments;
• To have a proven track record of building green and affordable structures with a light footprint on the land;
• To be supported financially by a variety of public funding sources, including a county fund, and by private donations, including large and small gifts from 25% of the island’s households.

Their vision also includes strengthening values and conditions that already exist:

• OPAL is a community-based, community-supported, and consensus-driven organization known for innovating sustainable solutions to evolving needs;
• OPAL homeowners and tenants are integral participants in the work and creativity of island life;
• OPAL is supported by a growing number of dynamic, dedicated, and creative volunteers, led by an engaged, well-connected, and mission-driven board of 10 to 12 trustees;
• OPAL is served by a highly skilled and dedicated staff, who implement projects and programs in response to community needs and direction by the board of trustees;
• OPAL works in partnership with other community land trusts through the CLT Alliance of the San Juan Islands and the Northwest CLT Coalition, and in collaboration or partnership with other organizations that help to provide permanently affordable access to land and housing;
• OPAL is a resource and support for OPAL homeowners in maintaining their homes and governing their neighborhoods;
• OPAL is a model steward of the land and buildings that we own.

A copy of OPAL’s Long Range Plan looking toward the year 2020 is available in Adobe Acrobat format on the Publications page.