The answer to Golden’s housing crisis may not come from a single project or policy, but from individuals with the vision and determination to try something new.
I sat down with Dan Geddes, a co-founder of Homing Inc., a non-profit aiming to start a community land trust in Golden. Dan is also the owner of Dirtbag Climbing Corp., a local climbing gym that offers memberships and runs youth programs.
A community land trust, or CLT, is a non-profit organization that acquires and holds land to serve the needs of the community. Once purchased, the land is removed from market pressures, allowing for permanently affordable housing. Homing Inc. is still in the early stages of its plan, but I wanted to have a conversation with one of the founders to better understand the vision and motivations behind the organization.
The future of Golden and the future of the real estate market in Golden are deeply intertwined. Over the years, the town has become increasingly reliant on tourism, particularly with the rise of adventure tourism. Golden’s unique charm and relative affordability compared to nearby towns like Banff and Canmore make it an appealing destination not only for visitors, but also for people looking to purchase vacation properties.
Dan sees a major issue tied to this pattern. “The cost of land and the cost of a house is related to how much you could generate if you ran a B&B,” Dan shared. This idea, often tied to speculative real estate, prices home buyers looking for a family home out of the market. “I don’t hate short-term rentals in principle. I hate how they’re abused,” Dan said. This prompted him to ask the question: “Is there a way for us to actually leverage the system everyone else is abusing? But to do it in a way that’s benefiting a greater portion of the community?”
This is why the idea of a community land trust provides a creative solution for those looking to own a home simply to live their lives in. While participants in the land trust do not technically own the land their homes are on, they do own the home itself and are free to sell that asset whenever they see fit.
Security is another reason many people aim to buy rather than rent, and this is not something lost on Dan, but he claims this is not something you have to give up to be part of a land trust. “You have your own half-acre, whatever that you pay a monthly lease on, and you can do whatever you want on that given section of property,” Dan explained. The property would operate on a “99-year” lease system, meaning “you’re guaranteed that space for 99 years.” The land remains accessible for as long as desired because it is not at risk of being sold. “In this system, we separate the cost of land from the cost of housing. And so in that sense, the land is going to be guaranteed, and is perpetually affordable.”
Removing the value of the land itself is a key aspect of the system that makes something like a land trust more affordable. According to Dan, the value of land is tied to much more than just real estate. It comes from the local businesses and people that make Golden as appealing as it is, which in turn attracts tourism. “It’s everything to do with what everybody else contributes around it as a community. And so because we have so many amazing small shops, because we have so many amazing small independent tourism businesses, because we have all of us, now you can put a B&B on that property.”
The order in which priorities are placed is something Dan repeatedly highlighted. He explained how investing in a healthy community naturally creates a place worth visiting. Dan argues that towns often place tourism and marketing to visitors above the needs of residents. “That’s totally backwards. If you focus on promoting the health of your own small economy and you promote the health and the wellness of the residents of the place that you live, then it’s a no-brainer to go visit because it’s just so good to visit.”
Questioning the traditional real estate model does not mean the Homing Inc. model is anti-capitalist in nature. The value of exchanging goods and services for financial gain was a recurring theme throughout my conversation with Dan. It became clear that starting a community land trust is not about abandoning traditional financial ideas but about viewing land as a community resource and a means of generating wealth locally.
The community land trust model works for people who would rather direct their money toward things other than housing, while still having the stability of a permanent home, rather than treating a house as the ultimate financial investment of their lives.
“I’m not against people creating a value-added thing and receiving the value that they’ve added. You are taking raw materials, you’re building something that wasn’t there before, and you’re selling that at a profit. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.” On a community land trust, any investment people put into building their home is retained, despite them not owning the land. “If you were to lease that property and you built your own housing asset, you can sell that home and maintain 100% of the value of that home.”
For Dan, a large part of what gives him faith in the land trust system is the faith he has in other people. “I believe highly in people’s individual motivations and abilities. And if they’re allowed to have access to a given piece of land, they will invest and develop that themselves in a way that actually suits their lifestyle.”
For a community land trust to work, the trust itself becomes a major component. There has to be trust that participants will care for the land, improve it, and respect their neighbours. While this may seem like a significant challenge, Dan argues that these concerns exist in any community. “It’s so crazy to me that it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re all going to be on one property. How’s that going to work?’ But the town is ‘one property’. It’s all just the way you perceive it.”
While Dan acknowledged that there is no way this plan will be executed perfectly or without conflict, it provides people with another option. The idea may seem unconventional, but as he explained, “For me in my own life, I don’t see a next step unless I build something like this, quite frankly.”
At a time when housing conversations often feel trapped between rising costs and limited solutions, Homing Inc. represents a different way of thinking about land, ownership, and community.
Whether or not the project succeeds exactly as envisioned, the conversation itself reflects a growing desire in Golden to imagine alternatives. If the town hopes to remain a place where ordinary people can continue to live, work, and build a future, those alternatives may become increasingly necessary.
