How Affordable Housing Trust Funds Actually Work | Alexandra Ladd & Jenn Lopez

In the fourth session of its speaker series, Taos Housing Partnership hosts Alexandra Ladd, director of Santa Fe County Land Use and former director of affordable housing for the City of Santa Fe, and Jenn Lopez of Project Moxie for a deep dive into affordable housing trust funds and how they get built and used. Alexandra walks through New Mexico's anti-donation clause and the legal requirements a community must meet to use public funds for affordable housing, including a strategic housing plan and a local ordinance, and shares real examples from her time running Santa Fe's trust fund program: standing up a non-congregate shelter during the pandemic, balancing homeownership versus rental funding priorities, and the politics of keeping elected officials informed and invested. Jenn brings a statewide view, covering funding gaps between federal programs and local need, why communities need a track record before bigger funding follows, mixed-income development models, and the case for a real statewide housing coalition to help align policy. The conversation closes with an audience Q&A on lodger's taxes, home rule limitations facing the Town of Taos, and how programs can outlast changes in local government. Taos Housing Partnership director Lisa O'Brien also shares updates on Taos County's participation in Homegrown Housing learning cohort and an upcoming staff book club. TAOS HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Website: https://www.taoshousingpartnership.org Facebook:   / taoshousingpartnership   Instagram:   / taos_housing_partnership   CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome & introductions 2:58 Introducing tonight's speakers 4:30 Alexandra Ladd's background 6:43 New Mexico's anti-donation clause explained 8:54 Housing New Mexico's oversight role 13:06 Expanding capacity to serve housing needs 17:32 Homeownership vs. rental funding priorities 22:00 Case study: a pandemic-era non-congregate shelter 26:22 Sustaining partnerships after you leave 31:04 Keeping elected officials informed & invested 35:33 State infrastructure & funding gaps 40:01 Mixed-income development models 44:16 Colorado's lodger's tax example 48:27 Building a funding track record 52:54 Protecting public resources & building leverage 57:10 Why the first projects are the hardest 1:01:32 The case for a statewide housing coalition 1:05:55 Where federal programs stop & gaps begin 1:10:31 How committee capacity grew over time 1:15:00 Q&A: home rule limitations for the Town of Taos 1:16:18 A 30-year history lesson from Santa Fe 1:17:32 Book club & community updates 1:18:19 Homegrown Housing cohort announcement 1:20:12 Closing thanks & raffle Video produced by True Kids 1 | truekids1.org #TaosHousingPartnership #AffordableHousing #Taos #NewMexico #HousingTrustFund #HousingPolicy #SantaFe #CommunityDevelopment