Kim Morisaki runs the Northwest Montana Community Land Trust. She's also a sixth-generation Montanan out of three generations of Flathead builders, and she was my first boss.
We get into how the land trust model actually works, why the organization was built in 2009 to solve a problem that no longer exists, and the argument I most wanted to have on tape: whether subsidized housing and zoning reform are competing strategies or the same one.
Kim's line is that we regulated ourselves into this, so we can probably regulate ourselves out. Her dad bought a lot and built a house for about three years of his income when he was 24. Nobody is doing that now.
Guest and organization
- Kim Morisaki, Executive Director, Northwest Montana Community Land Trust
- Applications, current listings, and donations: nwmtclt.org
Give during the Great Fish Community Challenge
The Great Fish Community Challenge runs August 11 through September 11, 2026. The Whitefish Community Foundation awards a percentage match on the first $25,000 each organization raises. A record 89 Flathead Valley nonprofits are participating this year.
The free launch party is Tuesday, August 11, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Glacier Bank Park in Kalispell, home of the Glacier Range Riders. Food, ice cream, booths from all 89 organizations, and a drawing for five $1,000 grants to the nonprofit of your choice.
ShelterWF is a 501(c)(4), so we can't participate in Great Fish. If you want to support the advocacy side of this work, give to us directly.
Links
- Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the HUD program that capitalized the land trust in 2009. Program background
- Trailview, Whitefish. Developer Jerry Dunker took additional density in exchange for deed-restricting the homes. The council later released 10 of the 58 to market rate, leaving 48 restricted, and the land trust bought several down further. Whitefish Pilot coverage
- Montana's 2023 housing reforms, which Kim credits with finally changing what you're allowed to build: SB 323 on duplexes, SB 528 on ADUs, and SB 382, the Montana Land Use Planning Act. Montana Free Press overview
00:00 Coming home to a valley you can't afford, and how a land trust works
07:17 Starter homes, small lots, and the neighborhoods we already love
12:14 From foreclosure crisis to frozen market
19:59 Does subsidized housing compete with supply?
26:54 $14,000 and three years of income
36:09 Japan, Cambridge, and what sprawl costs a city
46:04 The Great Fish Community Challenge
