SC to submit recommendations to Housing Land Trust Committee during next commission meeting

Sheridan County Commissioners Christie Haswell and Nick Siddle appeared on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program and gave listeners an update on the development of the Sheridan Housing Land Trust.  

As reported by Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter in October of this year, early in 2022, a Housing Land Trust Committee was formed to evaluate the feasibility of using a housing land trust to address attainable housing in Sheridan County. The committee recommended that Habitat for Humanity of the Eastern Bighorns manage the trust with a seven member board to be known as the Sheridan County Attainable Housing Council.

The Housing Land Trust through Habitat will be a separate operation from Habitat’s other housing projects. The City and County are each contributing $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that will be used for attainable housing through the Housing Land Trust. 

Haswell explained that local government entities will have no influence on the decisions of the housing council, but the City of Sheridan recommended the names of three potential members while Sheridan County will soon be announcing the names of their four recommendations.

The development of the trust itself is still in the early stages, many questions still remain unanswered. Siddle told listeners, that’s the purpose of the developing Sheridan County Attainable Housing Council, to find answers to the how, where, and when of the trust.

The City has already suggested the names of Bob Utter, Jenny Craft and Sasha Johnston to sit on the Sheridan County Attainable Housing Council.