OPAL Community Land Trust invites community members to lace up their walking shoes and join longtime OPAL homeowner, historian, and storyteller Rusty Diggs for a guided tour of OPAL neighborhoods this summer.
OPAL will soon begin its first new single-family home construction since 2010 — five three-bedroom, two-bath houses on five lots purchased in 2020 on Lydia Lane near Rosario.
Most of the funding is already in place, thanks to state and county grants totaling $1,875,000. The modular, eco-friendly residences, designed to serve larger island families, will be built in Lynden by West Coast Homes.
“By using modular construction, we can deliver a quality product, speed up delivery, lessen disruption to the existing neighborhood and reduce demands on OPAL staff time,” explained Lisa Byers, executive director.
When it’s completed, the Lydia Lane neighborhood, originally developed by Homes for Islanders, will have nine OPAL homes and five homes built/owned under HFI’s self-build program.
There are currently 49 households in OPAL’s applicant pool with 11 prequalified to buy.
“We’re more than 90% of the way there,” said Lisa. A final $250,000 is needed for work to begin in July. For more information or to contribute to this effort, contact lisa@opalclt.org.
OPAL’s Bartel Road property is home to an “ecologically valuable” forest with many old growth trees born one or two centuries ago. The trees provide “habitat for birds, small mammals and insects”, filter the air and absorb carbon emissions.
To guide stewardship activities and future housing development on the property, OPAL engaged Rain Shadow Consulting to conduct a forest health assessment.
Trees presenting potential hazards for adjacent properties were identified and those rated high risk were immediately removed.
Alternative scenarios were created, suggesting ways to develop housing while preserving as many old growth trees as possible. Rain Shadow also calculated the amount of carbon the forest currently captures, with an eye toward maintaining that level as housing is built.
This information will help shape plans for Bartel Road as OPAL balances the values of affordable housing and forest resilience.
Stewardship – caring for people and land – is OPAL’s legacy for the future.
With the buds and blooms of Spring, Pea Patch Community Campus is also coming alive! Site work has begun and construction of the 20 new rental townhomes is scheduled for late summer. The campaign to build Pea Patch is gaining momentum with more than $32M raised to date and just shy of $8M remaining to complete the whole 11-acre campus.
On January 24, more than 140 people of all ages walked onto Pea Patch campus to turn the ground and mark our transition into construction.
Rep. Debra Lekanoff was there to share her support:
“This campus is for the community and you, the community, are creating it beautifully. I’ve championed this project – made it my top priority last session and again this year. I believe in you and how Pea Patch will help your community to thrive for generations.”
SUMMARY:
The Director of Finance and Operations (DFO) is responsible for overseeing the business operations of OPAL Community Land Trust. The DFO manages Finance (processes, controls and reporting), and Operations (internal procedures, information technology, human resources, and compliance with grantors). The DFO oversees performance of financial analysis, budgeting, reporting, makes improvements to mitigate risk, determines the most effective blend of out-sourced services with in-house staff and develops cross-trained staff.
This position is year-round full-time based in the Eastsound, WA office. The work schedule is flexible based on maximizing the Finance Team’s productivity and could include the option of up to two days per week work from home. The position is at-will, supervised by the Executive Director (ED). The DFO communicates with OPAL’s bankers, vendors, customers, insurance agents, and auditors, and is, initially, co-staff liaison with the Executive Director to the Board Finance Committee.
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE:
OPAL Community Land Trust helps to sustain Orcas Island as a healthy, economically diverse community by providing permanently affordable homes and related education and support for islanders—families, seniors and singles—whose housing needs are not met by the traditional market.
To accomplish its mission OPAL: (1) acquires land and buildings; (2) develops land in an environmentally and socially responsible manner; (3) constructs or renovates buildings to be healthy, durable and energy efficient; (4) educates and counsels homebuyers and rental tenants; (5) facilitates financing for mortgages and home repairs, and (6) stewards what it creates for current and future generations.
As of April 2026, OPAL stewards 120 ownership homes, 104 rental homes, four commercial spaces and more than 100 acres of land. There are eleven employees working 9.2 FTE and regularly contracted professional services for I.T. management, payroll processing, accounting system management, website hosting and graphic design. In addition, OPAL has relationships with an H.R. consultant and attorneys for different needs.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
FINANCE:
Accounting Management
Financial Management
OPERATIONS:
Internal Procedures
Human Resources (HR) Management
Information Technology (IT)
Compliance with Grants and Funders:
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE:
LOCATION: The DFO will ideally reside on Orcas Island. The place of work is OPAL’s office in Eastsound, with the option for regular remote work.
WORK CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Work is performed indoors. Sitting for one or more hours at a time. Occasional standing and walking on level surfaces. Occasional lifting and carrying of 10 pounds maximum. Seeing, reaching, handling and fingering to use PC, printer/copier/scanner and calculator, and file documents. Hearing and talking to use telephone and for electronic meetings.
SALARY and BENEFITS: Annual Salary is $125,000 – $135,000 depending on experience. Benefits include health insurance, retirement matching, holidays, PTO, sabbatical and other leave options.
Review of applications will begin in late May 2026 and the position will remain open until filled.
Interested individuals can contact Lisa Byers at Lisa@opalclt.org
OPAL Community Land Trust warmly welcomes four new members of the Board of Trustees, who were elected by unanimous vote of the members in attendance at OPAL’s 36th Annual Meeting on April 23. The newest additions to the OPAL Board include: Timi Most, Karimah Salaam, Carla Shanks Morales, and Brett Lensing. Incumbent Board Member Bob Morris was re-elected. Retiring board members were celebrated at the meeting with gifts and a standing ovation: Margaret Mills after 9 years of service, and Minor Lile with seven years of service. Board member Mallory Hagel left the board to move off-island.
More than 50 people attended the annual meeting on a sunny afternoon at the Emmanuel Episcopal Parish Hall. Executive Director Lisa Byers provided a “state of OPAL” address that began:
I believe that OPAL and other community land trusts nationwide are, in fact, revolutionary approaches within a capitalistic system to re-organize our relationship to land. They are one of the models that are breathing within the current broken system. A system that results in a few people having exclusive rights to vast property while many people lack any or adequate shelter. Community land trusts put into action the value that we borrow the land from our ancestors and that each human being deserves a home.”
El full address is available online. The annual report is also online
Attendees heard from Raymond Faber of Faber Construction and West Coast Homes of Lynden, WA, who are contracted to build five new modular homes for the Lydia Lane neighborhood in Rosario. Raymond explained how modular construction works, and answered questions about the benefits and efficiencies of stick-built homes in a factory setting. “Each of the five homes bound for Lydia Lane,” Faber explained, “will arrive in two modules – or ‘mods.’ Once on site, it will take the West Coast crew approximately three weeks to complete the homes.”
Staff gave an update on the Pea Patch Community Campus, drawing applause for the progress to date: having started the site work and raised $32.4M (toward a goal of $40M). Gratitude for Representative Debra Lekanoff’s advocacy in Olympia brought a standing ovation: Lekanoff, with the support of her District 40 peers Representative Alex Ramel and Senator Liz Lovelett, helped the project to secure $5,824,000 in funding over the past two sessions. Senator Patty Murray was celebrated for her advocacy in Washington DC, which secured another $4M in federal funding.
Former Pea Patch Project Lead Suzanne Olson introduced Heather Stansbury, who stepped back into the project this past January as the Food Bank’s Capital Campaign Fundraising Director. Suzanne announced that she has transitioned into a new position at OPAL, serving as Director of Advocacy and Fund Development, and will still serve on the Pea Patch capital campaign committee.
Board President Rusty Diggs presided over the the business meeting and election, answering member questions from the floor. Retiring board members Margaret Mills and Minor Lile reflected on their years of board service and expressed gratitude for the ways in which OPAL levels the playing field for islanders to stay rooted in their home community.
Fideicomiso de tierras comunitarias OPAL
36th Annual Meeting – April 23, 2026
Emmanual Episcopal Parish Hall
I’m currently reading Vu Le’s book Reimagining Non-Profits and Philanthropy; I want to frame my comments today with quote from an author in Le’s book:
Arundhati Roy wrote: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
Part of Le’s message is that if we truly wish to re-dress the deep injustices in society, we need to organize… and take bold, revolutionary action. Centuries of white privilege and people in power corrupting unchecked capitalism have created extreme income inequality and racial injustice. We need approaches that are community-centric, cooperative and recognize that we all benefit when more of us engage and use our voice.
I believe that OPAL and other community land trusts nationwide are, in fact, revolutionary approaches within a capitalistic system to re-organize our relationship to land. They are one of the models that are breathing within the current broken system. A system that results in a few people having exclusive rights to vast property while many people lack any or adequate shelter. Community land trusts put into action the value that we borrow the land from our ancestors and that each human being deserves a home.
While the need for housing through OPAL continues to far out pace our ability to address that need, with over 100 households actively seeking to rent or purchase an OPAL home today, we can be proud of the fact that more than 8% of the islands’ year-round population—nearly 500 people—live in an OPAL home. And that Orcas is a healthier and more resilient place because of it. Last year you all supported OPAL to:
In my annual report message, I wrote about a paradox: On the one hand being part of a seasoned team who accomplishes a lot, and yet, also being beginners in the journey of how to hand the reins to the next generation. The change in staff will occur in waves between now and 2030 and we’re striving to be thoughtful to pass along OPAL’s core values and guiding principles. Having a strong, engaged and thoughtful board of trustees will be critical.
For the staff, we believe the apprenticeship model is a good fit: bringing on new staff to overlap with long-time staff so that we can pass along the lessons learned. Future staff roles will be different than they are now. Their jobs will be more specialized and there will be more of them, because maintaining what we’ve built, is, in fact, harder than building it in the first place. By apprenticing, new staff and board members can integrate the past with the future they will create.
Two important first steps for new staffing occurred in 2025:
Holding paradox can generate creativity. We will do our best over the coming years to balance the best of what we’ve nurtured at OPAL with the fresh ideas that come from newcomers. Thank you for your support. We will keep you informed as the journey unfolds over the next four years.
For Rylee Heppe, housing has never simply meant four walls and roof. It has meant uncertainty.
It has meant packing up and wondering how long “home” would last.
Growing up in Arizona, Rylee’s family moved often. When her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and couldn’t work, they were evicted from their childhood home. From there, it was rental to rental—never fully settled, never fully secure. Even when Rylee came to Orcas Island as a child with her grandparents during her mom’s treatment, stability felt temporary. She learned early that housing could change without warning.
As an adult, that pattern followed her.
After high school, Rylee returned to Orcas Island determined to build a life. Many recognize her as the friendly face behind the counter at Island Hardware where she helps neighbors and contractors find what they need.
Before finding her current rental, she lived in a travel trailer near North Beach. “It was fine at first,” she said. “But after I had Theo, it kept getting smaller and smaller.” Cold winters, tight quarters and limited amenities made daily life especially challenging as a new mother.
Even in her rental, there were compromises: no oven, no full stove, minimal storage. And always, the quiet anxiety that the landlord might sell. “You never really relax,” she explained. “You’re always thinking—how long can we stay?”
That constant question is the weight of housing insecurity. And it is exactly what Kidder Way will resolve.
Rylee’s Kidder Way condominium opens a bright new chapter.
For the first time, she and her young family will have stable, affordable homeownership. Her mortgage will be comparable to her rent—but instead of uncertainty, she will build equity. Instead of fearing displacement, she can plan for the next decade.
“I won’t have to worry about someone selling the house and telling us to get out, that fear goes away.”
Housing stability also reshapes childhood. Theo will have his own room. He’ll live near school, near friends, near the rhythms of island life. Rylee can hang art, plant in the yard, and settle in without hesitation.
Without her Kidder Way home, Rylee believes she may have been forced to leave the island and give up raising her child in her home community. That’s the power of housing stability. It doesn’t just house a family. It keeps a worker in the workforce, a child in the school and a neighbor in the community.
For Rylee and Theo, Kidder Way means something beautifully simple: they can stay as long as they want.
When Governor Ferguson signed the capital budget last week, it included $824,000 for completion of the first phase of site work for the Pea Patch Community Campus! This means that site preparation work, installation of utilities, stormwater detention, a new entrance road, signs and the first phase of landscaping – everything needed to complete sub-division of the property — can be accomplished this year. Site preparation and utlity installation work has already begun on the property.
“Strong communities are built by people who know who they are, where they come from, and what their community truly needs,” said Lekanoff. “As a Native American who has lived through generations of paternal decision-making—where institutions came in to build for us rather than with us—I understand the difference. The Pea Patch stands apart because it was shaped by the community itself—rooted in their knowledge, their responsibility to the land, their stewardship of resources, and their commitment to the people who call the San Juan Islands home—not just for today, but for generations to come.
This work reflects the values of the community, and I am deeply grateful. I also want to recognize that I could not have focused on this project without the generosity and leadership of my colleagues, Rep Alex Ramel and Senator Liz Lovelett. As I carried this effort forward, they carried so many capital projects across the 40th District. This is what it means to be a team—the 40th District dream team—and they deserve our heartfelt appreciation.”
Construction on the new OPAL rental neighborhood on the Pea Patch is expected to begin in September. Food Bank construction will follow after sufficient funds are raised to build the Food Bank’s building.
The fundraising campaign to build the Pea Patch is making progress this spring with a series of major gifts and matching challenge grants. To date, more than 80% of the estimated $40M has been committed. Please reach out to Suzanne Olson at suzanne@opalclt.org if you’d like to learn more about the campaign and ways to support the project.
The Pea Patch Community Campus is under development at 55 Pea Patch Lane, on the historic Lavender Farm, north of Eastsound Village. The unified social services campus will include a new permanent building for our Orcas Island Food Bank with greater capacity to meet the growing needs of the community and twenty new long-term townhome rentals with supportive services to serve households with very low incomes. The Pea Patch Community Campus is a collaboration of OPAL Community Land Trust, the Orcas Island Food Bank, the Orcas Island Community Foundation and the Orcas community. Learn more at https://peapatchcommunitycampus-campaign.org.
We warmly invite you to join us for OPAL’s 2026 Annual Meeting, an opportunity to hear updates, celebrate milestones, and connect with the community that makes affordable housing possible on Orcas Island.
Thursday, April 23 · 5:00–6:30 PM · Emmanual Episcopal Parish Hall
During the meeting, we’ll share highlights from the past year, introduce new initiatives, and talk about the work ahead to ensure that Orcas Island remains a place where people of all backgrounds can live, work, and thrive.
Whether you’re an OPAL homeowner, renter, donor, volunteer, or simply someone who cares about the future of our island community, we hope you’ll join us.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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