Vision & Needs
Our mission is to protect the land that was so precious to our ancestors and handed down from generation to generation. This land, vital to our people must be kept out of the hands of land speculators intending to make a quick dollar from our family heritage.
In the following years scattered parcels of land will be acquired and banked. With time, homes will be built and sold at affordable rates. The NGCLT will rely on its partner organizations to assist in locating clients, offering credit counseling and homebuyer counseling, and provide grants for homeownership. The NGCLT will also work with its construction partners to provide the most cost-effective homes for its clients. Affordability will be preserved through the Community Land Trust model well known throughout the nation. Through this method, essential affordable housing will be created for the neighborhood, the dilapidation of the area will be addressed, and nearby wetlands will not be filled for housing development.
In 2007 the NGCLT will draw a 5-year plan that will outline the future development of the organization. The Community Master Plan will also be drawn in 2007 and will dictate how the community itself will develop. This Master Plan will follow the guidance of the already drafted Priority Action Plan for the Turkey Creek and North Gulfport Communities(Insert Link to Plan), as well as the Watershed Implementation Plan for the Turkey Creek (Insert Link to Plan), but will delve further into specific details as to how the communities are to be constructed setting architectural standards and design guidelines, as well as establishing open space areas for wetlands preservation and recreation.
Community involvement is critical to this master planning process. Community members will dictate how commercial corridors will develop, how and where open space will develop, how streetscapes will be designed and what types of businesses will be encouraged in the area. It will be a community planning process orchestrated by community and environmental development professionals for the benefit and preservation of the community.
Finally, in 2007 the NGCLT will spearhead the creation of two quarterly community newsletters. The first newsletter will be created by the NGCLT for those members of the Community Land Trust. It will highlight development of the Land Trust and any other news pertinent to fulfilling the agenda of the NGCLT. The second community newsletter, spearheaded by the NGCLT and other community groups will offer information to all locals living within the North Gulfport community. It will include articles written by local community organizations and civic groups and address various issues pertinent to the community as a whole.
