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What is a Community Land Trust?

Community land trusts (CLTs) are nonprofit organizations that provide lasting community assets and permanently affordable housing opportunities for families and communities. Each CLT is governed by a board of CLT residents/lessees, general member representatives, and public representatives. CLTs are committed to the creation of homes that remain permanently affordable, providing successful home ownership opportunities for generations of lower income families. CLTs advance rural and urban agricultural projects, develop commercial spaces to serve local communities, create affordable rental and cooperative housing projects, and conserve land or urban green spaces. There are currently over 225 community land trusts in the United States. Join this rapidly growing movement.
 

Why SE CT CLT?

Why have a community land trust in southeastern Connecticut? It is a matter of equity, stability, and strengthening local communities by reversing some of the disastrous policies and municipal decisions that have kept mostly poor and BIPOC people from accessing quality housing and home ownership, and that have even recently driven entire neighborhoods out of their homes for little appreciable benefit to the broader public.

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Urban & Rural Agriculture

Our mission includes putting land in trust for urban agriculture, green space, as well as supporting permanently affordable farms in Southeastern Connecticut. Our first garden plot is on Ledyard Street in New London. FRESH New London improved the neighborhood by cleaning up the lot and adding a small greenhouse, fruit trees, and a raised bed of garlic.

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Community

The Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust is a regional organization with local focus. The New London Chapter is the first to activate, and has already acquired and sold their first home to an income-qualifying homeowner. Local chapters seek to support projects and programs that are a priority to the community. There are several ways to be a supporting and active participant. Join the New London Chapter or start a chapter in your community!

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Membership Based

We are funded through community gifts, partner organizations, and our members. As a membership-based nonprofit and a community land trust, our members are our reason for being. In addition to supporting the local community, membership also comes with benefits, including eligibility to purchase a SE CT CLT home or other holding. To learn more about the benefits our members enjoy and how to join us, please visit our Membership & Ways to Give page.

CONTACT US

ANNUAL  REPORT

860-772-4012

info@sectclt.org

32 Broad Street, New London CT 06320

The SE CT CLT  recognizes that Indigenous people have lived and cared for this region for thousands of years before the setters. Their understanding of land as a shared responsibility, supporting both human and non-human life, stands in contrast with the settler colonial concept of private property.

 

We acknowledge that the transformation of land into a commodity has brought wealth to some while causing deep harm, displacement, and loss to others. As a Community Land Trust, we hold title to land within this system and recognize the complexity of that responsibility.

 

We aim to move from extractive ownership models toward community-based stewardship, and we are committed to working respectfully and collaboratively with Indigenous partners to build a more just and sustainable future for land access in Southeastern Connecticut.

© 2025 SE CT CLT

SE CT CLT Land Acknowledgement

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