The Charlotte County business community had not been challenged with work force housing issues prior to Aug. 13, 2004. Recognizing the tremendous need after Hurricane Charley, Enterprise Charlotte President Tom Rice formed a task force to examine the options. The task force is looking at best practices and will make recommendations to the county commissioners.

The first meeting looked at the challenges our community faces in terms of single family platted sites, State Housing Initiative Partnership funds and the need for a work force housing inventory. To gain an understanding of community land trusts, Michael Brown of Burlington Associates provided information on Community Land Trusts, which are independent, not-for-profit corporations whose focus is primarily work force housing and eliminating neighborhood blight.

A CLT does not sell its land, but provides for the exclusive use of its land by the owners of any buildings located thereon. Parcels of land are conveyed to individual homeowners through long-term ground leases. By design and by intent, the CLT is committed to preserving the affordability of housing -- one owner after another, one generation after another, in perpetuity.

The CLT has a continuing interest in what happens to the structures and to the people who occupy them. Should property owners default on their mortgages, the ground lease gives the CLT the right to step in and cure the default, forestalling foreclosure.

The CLT remains a party to the deal, safeguarding the structural integrity of the building and the residential security of the occupants. The CLT is a tool of uncommon flexibility, accommodating a variety of land uses, property tenures and building types.

The task force also looked at an overview of the need for work force housing in Charlotte County. Bill O'Dell, associate research professor in the Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing, University of Florida, provided statistics on the high percentage of home ownership (84 percent) and the small size of the household. Seventy-six percent of the homes have one to two persons per household and only five percent have five or more persons per household. O'Dell provided growth projections stating that between now and 2010, there will be the need for 446 new work-force housing units per year.

The conversations will continue and recommendations will be forthcoming. This issue will persist for years to come. Having housing for the work force in our community is critical, as it lessens the burden on transportation infrastructure and improves the quality of life of our work force.

Betty Williams is economic development manager for the Charlotte County Economic Development Office (www.PureEconomics.org).