Building Homes. Building Community.
Growing a stronger Bolinas and Stinson Beach together.
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
A strong community is built on more than a collection of houses. That belief has been at the heart of the Bolinas Community Land Trust from the beginning, and this year we’ve seen years of hard work, partnership, and community come to life in exciting new ways.
At 31 Wharf Road, construction is underway on eight permanently affordable homes that will give families the chance to stay rooted in our community and build their futures here. At Bo-Linda Vista, we continue to provide safe, stable housing for 50 neighbors who were displaced, while working toward a permanent solution. And across the eight properties BCLT owns and operates, we continue to house the teachers, artists, caregivers, and community members who help make Bolinas and Stinson Beach the place we all cherish.
Together, these projects show what’s possible when a community invests in its own future. And a community land trust can be more than a steward of permanently affordable housing — it can be a place where neighbors come together, local organizations collaborate, and everyone can afford to belong. This year, we’ve also been focusing on the spaces, relationships and services that help our community grow stronger. New funding is supporting improvements to our properties, creating shared spaces for local organizations and service providers, and helping us better understand what our neighbors in Bolinas and Stinson Beach need most.
There is much more ahead, and we’re excited about what comes next. Whether you volunteer, donate, attend a community event, or simply believe that we should all have a place to call home, you are part of this story.
Thank you for building this future with us.
In service,
JEFFREY CLAPP
Co-Managing Director,
Properties, Finance
and Projects
ANNIE O’CONNOR
Co-Managing Director,
Philanthropy and Community
Engagement
“ The health and vitality of West Marin’s communities are dependent on creating an adequate supply of quality housing affordable to local workers and residents.”
— GROWING TOGETHER
2024 study of housing solutions for
workers in West Marin
CREATING AND SUSTAINING LONGTERM AFFORDABLE HOUSING
For more than 40 years, Bolinas Community Land Trust has worked to keep Bolinas and Stinson Beach a place where people can live, work, and stay for generations.
BCLT is a lean and nimble organization, with fi ve full-time and two contract employees. Our team supports the residents, manages and maintains all properties, runs community programs, and creates new affordable housing opportunities. Together, with our nine board members, we are working to preserve our vibrant community surrounding the Bolinas Lagoon.
STRONG FOUNDATIONS ROOTED IN PARTNERSHIP
Recent grant investments from public and private funders are strengthening our properties, expanding community spaces, and deepening our understanding of what our neighbors need most.
Preserving Our Properties
$100,000 from Tamalpais Pacific
BCLT was awarded a grant to support improvements at the historic Gibson House and 6 Wharf Road, the site of the BCLT offices and Bolinas gas station. Funding will cover exterior painting, new windows and curtains at 6 Wharf Road, and essential maintenance projects like new stairs at the Gibson House.
Creating New Spaces
$119,000 from the County of Marin
Funding from the County will help build out office space at 31 Wharf Road, BCLT’s newest project with Habitat Greater San Francisco. The County will rent one office and share the conference room with local organizations and service providers serving southern West Marin.
Focusing On Community
$150,000 from West Marin Fund
BCLT and local partners will spend the next 18 months gathering data on service needs and gaps in Bolinas and Stinson Beach. The findings will help local nonprofits, foundations, and public partners shape programs rooted in the needs identified by residents.
It’s official: BCLT has completed the purchase of 160 Mesa Road, the former Tacherra Ranch. This marks a major milestone in creating more permanent affordable housing for Bolinas and Stinson Beach. Together with the adjacent 20-acre property at 130 Mesa Road, the land will be deed-restricted for long-term affordable housing.
The project grew out of an urgent need to prevent displacement. In 2023, BCLT created Bo-Linda Vista as temporary housing after Marin County condemned substandard structures at the ranch, putting 60 long-time community members at risk of losing their homes.
Now, those same families will have priority to qualify for 25 permanently affordable homes, including eight ownership and 17 rental homes.
The future homes will be built where the former dwellings stood, allowing more than 80% of the ranch to remain open space and agricultural land.
It is an opportunity to preserve the land’s history and character while creating a lasting foundation for the future of Bolinas. With ownership secured, BCLT is moving forward with environmental cleanup, site planning, design and community engagement.
PERMANENT HOMES COMING SOON!
IN CONVERSATION WITH RESIDENT AZUCENA VÁZQUEZ AND BCLT BOARD PRESIDENT SARAH HAKE
SARAH HAKE: Azucena, my dear friend, what do the homes in Bo-Linda Vista mean to you and your family?
AZUCENA: It means a stable, safe place, where we feel at ease knowing no one can displace us. That helps us to not have stress, and it lets my daughters feel free and happy to belong to this Bolinas community where they’ve grown up.
SH: What are your hopes for the permanent homes BCLT is building with and for the people of Bo-Linda Vista?
AV: We’re hoping this will be a dream come true — something we’ve always longed for with all our hearts — that the homes being built will help my family as well as other families. It’s a beautiful project that BCLT is doing and all the people who are donating. It’s important because it’s going to change the lives of so many people in our community.
SH: What does the Bo-Linda Vista community and the larger Bolinas and Stinson Beach community mean to you and your family?
AV: This community means family and unity. We feel like part of this community because we see the support from the people who live here. They make us part of it, and that’s very beautiful and important.
“The Bolinas Community Land Trust is doing everything it can to keep our families in town, to keep the town alive for the next generation.”
— SARAH HAKE
BCLT Board President,
Co-owner Gospel Flat Farm
