Lclt is a 501(c)3 non-profit that builds a diverse, sustainable lopez island community through affordable housing, sustainable agriculture, and other dynamic rural development programs.
Affordable housingover the past several decades, the character of lopez has changed significantly. Sjc has the largest housing affordability gap in wa state, with some of the state's highest housing costs and lowest wages. In response to the growing need for permanently affordable housing, the lclt was established in 1989.today, lclt owns and stewards roughly 37.5 acres of land dedicated to affordable housing. These properties include seven limited equity housing cooperatives (lehcs) comprising 53 homes, one fee simple home, and seven rental units. Lclt develops each affordable home and, upon completion, transfers ownership of the homes to either the applicable lehc association or, in the case of a fee simple home, to an individual homeowner. Lclt permanently retains ownership of the land beneath each home and leases it to the lehc association or homeowner through a renewable 99-year ground lease, ensuring the homes remain permanently affordable for future generations. During 2025, lclt completed construction of its seventh lehc neighborhood, consisting of six homes. Ownership of the homes was transferred to the newly formed oystercatcher association in november. By year-end, lclt also achieved substantial completion of a new fee simple home and began the renovation and upgrade of a four-bedroom house as a rental.
Sustainable agriculture and rural developmentthe sustainable agriculture and rural development (sard) program of the lclt is committed to strengthening our local food network by purchasing and stewarding working farms, supporting local food security initiatives and encouraging ecologically sound rural development related to water, transportation and solar energy. Lclt's current sard programs include managing an ev carshare, coordinating a grain community supported agriculture (csa), producing a biennial publication of the lopez farm products guide, hosting regular harvest dinners, coordinating interns to learn with and assist local farmers, and managing the lopez island farm trust (lift). The lift program currently consists of 3 working farms (roughly 106 acres) which were acquired in 2017, 2020, and 2024 respectively. The land is leased to the farmers who live and work on the properties.