A conceptual draft rendering of Chimacum Commons.
After more than a decade of land protection, creek restoration, farming, and community conversations, the Chimacum Commons project is entering an exciting new phase. With design work advancing and permitting preparations underway, Jefferson Land Trust and Olympic Housing Trust (OLT) are taking concrete steps toward realizing a long-held community vision: permanently affordable housing for local farm and food-system workers.
Chimacum Commons design team meeting at the Chimacum Cafe. Photo by Kellen Lynch.
In 2014, the Land Trust acquired the 16-acre Chimacum Commons property with a clear, threefold purpose: to protect productive farmland, restore the salmon-bearing stretch of Chimacum Creek that runs along the property, and reserve a 4-acre corner of the site for affordable housing that could support the local agricultural workforce.
Located at the crossroads of the Chimacum farming community, housing for people who work the land has always made sense for a portion of this site. Recognizing the limits of our expertise, we took the time needed to identify the right partner that could advance the housing component of our community’s original vision. Following a feasibility study that confirmed the proposed 4-acre building envelope as suitable for affordable housing, we entered into a formal partnership with Olympic Housing Trust in 2023, with OLT serving as lead on the development work.
“I really appreciate this is happening. So many people have had very poor living conditions, high rent, no security in housing. Many young people have come with vital skills and had to leave due to nothing in their price range.” – Community Survey Respondent
From the outset, the Chimacum Commons project has been rooted in Jefferson Land Trust’s focus on protecting and supporting local working farms and farmers. Clustering permanently affordable farm and food-system worker housing on a property in the heart of Chimacum to help bolster the agricultural productivity of the area became a clear priority early on.
Kellen Lynch of Olympic Housing Trust (L) and Erik Kingfisher of Jefferson Land Trust giving a tour at the Chimacum Commons property during the 2025 Interdependence Day Celebration in Chimacum. Photo by Liz Revord.
For the past decade, the Land Trust’s role has been to protect and care for the agricultural and habitat values of the property — and to work with the community to create a lasting vision that will result in the greatest benefit for current and future generations. This has included stream-side habitat restoration; partnering with a local farmer to lease and care for the agricultural soils and infrastructure; and engaging with other farmers, neighbors, community leaders, and housing partners to understand local food-system needs.
Olympic Housing Trust brings complementary expertise to the partnership. As a local nonprofit focused on permanently affordable housing, OHT is leading the design, permitting, and development work — drawing on their knowledge of how to create durable, community-centered homes that will remain affordable over time. Together, our two organizations are ensuring that habitat, agricultural production, and affordable housing are planned and managed as an integrated whole.
Jefferson Land Trust will transfer ownership of Chimacum Commons to Olympic Housing Trust once the project breaks ground. The Land Trust will retain a permanent conservation easement that protects the site’s agricultural and ecological values forever.
Olympic Housing Trust will retain permanent ownership of the land on which the new housing is built to keep its units permanently affordable. Learn more about ownership plans and site management here.
“This project is a standout example of collaboration between local nonprofits and of how the county can support innovative housing projects that secure workforce housing for local residents.” – Board of Jefferson County Commissioners
Conceptual draft rendering of Chimacum Commons (in lower right). Many local protected farms are shown in the middle of drawing and Chimacum Ridge Community Forest is pictured in the upper left. Illustration by Kristina Hestenes-Stimson.
Since receiving a Department of Commerce predevelopment planning grant last winter, the project has made significant progress. A final site plan has been prepared, including utility layouts and a defined development footprint that clusters housing on the eastern portion of the property, near Chimacum Corner Farmstand and well away from Chimacum Creek. The owners of the Chimacum Corner Farmstand have been generous partners throughout, offering ongoing collaboration and support as the project continues to move forward.
According to Kellen Lynch, OHT’s Director of Communications and staff lead for Chimacum Commons, “What’s desired and needed by the community comes down to this: dignified and durable housing. Too many locals are living in substandard housing that’s falling apart as they’re living in it. We’re looking to change that.”
Dignity and durability are central to all development considerations, reflecting both sustainability goals and the lived experience of prospective residents. Feedback from the food production and farming community has shaped practical design elements, including layouts that help manage mud and gear, housing clustered in ways that support community while preserving privacy, and designs that will help reduce long-term energy and maintenance costs.
Structural engineering for the Phase 1 buildings has been completed, and construction drawings are now in hand. Phase 1 will include 16 affordable rental units, and the project team intends to submit land use permits in the spring of this year.
“We’re evolving the model of affordable housing, and what we can do to reinforce our agrarian economy and local food system,” explains Kellen. “We’re doing it in a way that we can be proud of and that can serve as a model for generations to come. It’s a permanent investment, and we’re just lucky enough to put it in motion.”
When complete, Chimacum Commons will include homeownership and rental opportunities in a variety of housing types. Ranging from private studios to single-family homes, the design reflects the real-world needs of future residents. Across all phases, development will remain limited to a defined building area. The majority of the property will continue to function as working farmland and protected habitat, forever.
In the months ahead, Olympic Housing Trust will focus on completing permitting, advancing detailed design, and raising the funds needed to break ground in 2027. Their team is especially excited to involve volunteers, including local high school students, during the project’s construction.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Olympic Housing Trust and to see that the seeds of our community’s vision for Chimacum Commons — planted more than a decade ago — are beginning to come to fruition,” says Erik Kingfisher, Jefferson Land Trust’s Director of Stewardship and Resilience.
Chimacum Commons is a project that sits squarely at the nexus of land protection and affordable housing. It demonstrates what’s possible when two nonprofits with very different missions collaborate to amplify their impact. It represents an investment in our food system, which urgently needs affordable housing for its workers. It’s about promoting and supporting small-scale farming opportunities that are within reach for farmers. It’s about protecting the habitat that salmon need to return to our creeks and streams. And it’s about living our values, ensuring that the people who tend our food system have a welcoming place to call home.
As the project advances, the Land Trust and OLT remain committed to stewarding this place in ways that support both ecological health and a thriving, resilient community.
