DOCSLIB.ORG

Neighborhood Stabilization & Land Banking

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Neighborhood Stabilization & Land Banking Neighborhood Stabilization & Land Banking iStockphoto by Frank S. Alexander The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of Emory University 2008, with its much-needed Neighborhood School of Law Stabilization Program, is the first federal recognition of the severe costs borne by neighborhoods and local governments when properties are vacant or abandoned.1 For the first time, Congress has appropriated funds for the acquisition, management, and dispo- sition of such properties—at the same time recognizing the important role of a tool called land banking. Today, as more communities deal with foreclosures, they are increasingly likely to make use of land banking. This Communities & Banking article is copyrighted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Bank or the Federal Reserve System. Copies of articles may be downloaded without cost at www.bos.frb. org/commdev/c&b/index.htm. Communities & Banking 3 Community Goals Land Banks and the Housing and Communities that employ land banking do not do so with the idea of holding a large Economic Recovery Act of 2008 public inventory of land. Their most com- mon goal is to convey properties to not- The statutory provision authorizing the creation of what is known today as the for-profit entities for the development of Neighborhood Stabilization Program is found in section 2301 of the Housing and affordable housing, including both rental Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-298. That statute says in section 2301(c) and homeownership programs. The second most common goal is to foster econom- (3) that “amounts made available under this section may be used to … (c) establish ic redevelopment by conveying proper- land banks for homes that have been foreclosed upon.” In February 2009, Congress ties to for-profit and not-for-profit entities enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which allocated an that will create mixed-use developments or additional $2 billion for NSP purposes. See American Recovery and Reinvestment mixed-income housing. Act, 111 Pub. L. 5 (2009).* Land bank proponents are well aware The Neighborhood Stabilization Program regulations issued by HUD on Sep- that simply holding vacant properties achieves little and that getting them reoc- tember 29, 2008, provide the following description of a land bank: “A land bank cupied and returned to the tax rolls expe- is a governmental or nongovernmental entity established, at least in part, to as- ditiously is critical. There are only two semble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabiliz- exceptions. The first occurs when there is ing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of urban property. no market at all for development or reuse For purposes of the NSP program, a land bank will operate in a specific, defined and the property must be removed from the geographic area. It will purchase properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed market indefinitely (often demolition and environmental clean-up are needed). The upon and maintain, assemble, facilitate redevelopment of, market, and dispose of the second kicks in when there are longer-term land-banked properties. If the land bank is a governmental entity, it may also maintain strategic purposes, such as future parks and abandoned or foreclosed property that it does not own, provided it charges the green spaces or affordable housing in a mar- owner of the property the full cost of the service or places a lien on the property ket where gentrification is causing concern. for the full cost of the service.” With respect to the 10-year provision, the HUD regulations state the following: Strengthening Neighborhoods “An NSP-assisted property may not be held in a land bank for more than 10 years During the last quarter of the 20th century, without obligating the property for a specific, eligible redevelopment of that prop- the cities of St. Louis, Cleveland, Louisville, erty in accordance with NSP requirements.” Atlanta, and Flint, Michigan, moved to cre- ate public authorities focusing exclusive- * Further, the ARRA amended section 2301(c)(3)(C) of HERA to read, “establish and operate land banks for homes ly on land-banking activities. Those cities’ and residential properties that have been foreclosed upon.” This expanded statutory language will allow land banks to use NSP funds for operating costs associated with the land bank as well as allowing land banks to use NSP funds land banks emphasize acquiring abandoned to purchase and maintain residential properties. tax-delinquent properties and converting them into new, productive uses. For exam- ple, the Genesee County Land Bank in Flint Land-Banking Basics abandoned properties from the market and acquires an average of 1,000 abandoned A land bank is not the same as a land trust, either convert them into new, productive properties each year and has been the cata- in which property may be held in perpetuity uses or hold them in reserve for long-term lyst for increasing property values by more for a community purpose such as conserva- strategic planning. The idea is not to replace than $100 million. It has developed hun- tion or affordable housing. It is more like or supplant either the open market or land- dreds of units of affordable housing, has a bank into which one deposits valuables use planning but to step in when there is a renovated major commercial buildings, and until they are needed. failure of market demand, acquiring aban- has remediated more than 1,000 brownfield Land banking is useful because markets doned inventory and making it available for properties. for land rarely, if ever, operate with market other land-use planning. Other local governments, whether efficiency. By definition, a parcel of land is a First proposed as a form of urban plan- large industrial cities or small, rural com- commodity fixed in location and hence not ning in the 1960s, the concept has taken munities, also face property abandon- interchangeable with similar products. As a root in several metropolitan communities ment. Some areas were once paradigms of result, when supply and demand fluctuate, in the last 25 years. As with other new thriving economic investment and hot real land prices and consumption do not adapt approaches to land use and planning, some estate markets that now suddenly have large as they would for other products. efforts have been more successful than oth- inventories of vacant and foreclosed prop- In the current economic climate, with ers. But all land-banking initiatives share the erties—with the accompanying economic demand for housing and new develop- ability to address inefficiencies in real estate and social costs. Local governments worry ment receding, some previously strong and markets and the potential to bring togeth- that they lack the power to address the new, vibrant neighborhoods are being severely er federal, state, and local policies to build multijurisdictional challenges or to access stressed. Land banking can allow regions, stronger communities. the capital necessary for acquiring, man- states, and municipalities to remove aging, and controlling a large number of 4 Summer 2009 Forty years ago, advocates urged land banking’s long-term use of the surplus properties they acquire, ensuring that they become assets adoption as part of federal housing and urban for communities and not liabilities. development policy. The need is greater than Land banking’s ultimate objective is to provide a multijurisdictional response to ever, and the opportunity is here. inefficient land markets and to reallocate land for inclusionary, sustainable purposes. properties. An added concern is the possi- Secondary Markets Forty years ago, advocates urged its adop- bility that vacant real estate will attract van- Land banking engages in the equivalent tion as part of federal housing and urban dalism and will lower property values and of property-market stabilization by creat- development policy. The need is greater create neighborhood instability. ing the functional equivalent of a publicly than ever, and the opportunity is here. Fortunately, the new Neighborhood controlled secondary market. Its ability to Stabilization Program provides funding acquire inventory when land has no read- Frank S. Alexander is a professor of law at that can be used to establish land banks for ily available private market lets it address Emory University School of Law in Atlanta homes that have been foreclosed upon— the contraction and expansion of property and director of the Project on Affordable Hous- and the resources to acquire the homes and “liquidity” relative to demand. Regulation ing and Community Development. rehabilitate or demolish them. Moreover, of private development is not affected, nor although the NSP contains an unusually are traditional zoning initiatives and land- Endnote tight time frame (18 months) for spending use planning. 1 This article is drawn from Frank S. Alexander, Land most of the funding, land banks are exempt- Banking as Metropolitan Policy (Washington, DC: ed and may hold properties for up to 10 Capital Reserves Brookings Institution, 2008): http://www.brookings. years. (See “Land Banks and the Housing Land banking also can serve the functional edu/papers/2008/1028_mortgage_crisis_alexander. and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.”) equivalent of maintaining “capital reserves.” aspx. Land-banking programs maintain real Similarity to Banks property reserves to respond to a communi- Land banks serve four functions that are ty’s future strategic needs, such as affordable directly analogous to more familiar forms of housing, green space, and the like. banking: storing assets; stabilizing secondary markets; holding capital reserves; and oper- Regulatory Aspects ating within a regulatory framework. The As part of a public agency, or as a sepa- biggest difference might be that whereas tra- rate public authority, a land-banking pro- ditional banking often focuses on national gram is, and should be, required to exercise and international markets, land banking its authority consistent with the common specializes in neighborhood and communi- good.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Involve Land Assembly and Land Banks
    Land Assembly/Land Banks Strategy description Local governments and non-profits use land assembly or land banking to acquire individual plots of tax-foreclosed or vacant property and reassemble them into larger, more marketable parcels. While land banks generally are used in older urban communities with significant inventories of abandoned property, they also are useful for safeguarding healthy communities from deterioration, for protecting land from excessive gentrification, and for assembling land for significant government or private investment. Land banks can make property redevelopment feasible in downward economic cycles as a stimulus for reinvestment and can reserve land for targeted purposes in upward economic cycles. As compared with a community land trust, land banks generally hold land only temporarily, until sufficiently large parcels can be consolidated for redevelopment. History of the strategy Land banks were originally created over 30 years ago in response to growing numbers of vacant and abandoned properties in cities across the country. The earliest major land bank, the St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority, was created in 1971. Target population Land banks benefit the community generally, as formerly vacant or unused property, often a public health risk and an eyesore, becomes part of the community’s revitalization efforts. Affordable housing built on property acquired by land banks target low- and moderate-income renters and homebuyers. How the strategy is administered • Land banks are usually enabled by state legislation. The majority of land banks are government entities, housed in one or more city or state agency; others are separate corporations with their own board of directors. • Every land bank is designed to adapt to each specific community’s needs.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Annual Information Form
    TERRA FIRMA CAPITAL CORPORATION ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM For the year ended December 31, 2019 April 2, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page MEANING OF CERTAIN REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 1 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ..................................................................................................................... 1 GLOSSARY OF TERMS .............................................................................................................................................. 2 CORPORATE STRUCTURE ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Name, Address and Incorporation .................................................................................................................. 5 Inter-corporate Relationship ........................................................................................................................... 5 GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY ................................................................ 6 Three Year History .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2017 ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 2018 ...............................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Land Bank Brownfield Plan
    The Genesee County Urban Land Initiative I. Flint and property abandonment II. Legislative reforms to deal with abandonment 1. Tax foreclosure reform ( PA 123 of 1999) 2. Land Bank Act of 2003 3. Land Bank amendments to the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act IV. Genesee County’s approach to take advantage of these reforms High costs of Abandonment Blight robs surrounding 300 feet properties of their value 150 feet -$7,600 -$6,800 Temple University Center for Public Policy and Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project. “Blight Free Philadelphia: A Public Private Strategy to Create and Enhance Neighborhood Value.” Philadelphia, 2001 Blight is Contagious 1. Foreclosure reform Former Foreclosure Law PA 123 of 1999 4-7 year process 1-2 year process No clear title Clear title judgment Hundreds of owners Property titled to county Low-end speculation Tax liens eliminated Indiscriminate foreclosure Hardship postponements – homeowners at risk Property improvements Contagious blight 2. Land Bank Act Hold property as tax exempt (land banking agreements) Bonding authority for improvements and demolition May sell property for other than monetary consideration Funding mechanism (5/50, fee revenue, equity) 3. Revision to the Brownfield Red. Financing Act Property owned or under the control of a land bank, whether or not located within a core community, is a brownfield in Michigan Eligible for Brownfield TIF capture Eligible for Michigan Business Tax Credit Land Bank Programs Tax Sold for Reverted Development Property Land Bank Demolition/
    [Show full text]
  • Tax Revenue and Opportunities Lost to Private Land Banking by Adrian Madriz Project Lead Struggle for Miami’S Affordable and Sustainable Housing
    Tax Revenue and Opportunities lost to Private Land Banking By Adrian Madriz Project Lead Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing Severe lack of affordable housing and parks 82,275,919 sq ft* of private vacant lots in City of Miami. Due to land banks and irregular lots Why we Assume value of at least $10/ sq ft, and a gap of $10/sq ft between fully developed appraised value care and current appraised value City has lost $6,291,228.15 THIS YEAR in Ad Valorem Taxes because of undeveloped land *Source: Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser Liberty City Vacant Lots *SourceUniversity of Miami – Miami Affordability Project Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh* have mitigated this problem by creating a “Land Value Tax” which levied $9.4M in 1st Year! is a levy on the unimproved value of land, and unlike Property taxes, What we disregards the value of buildings, personal property and other improvements. learned Has resulted in less land banking, more development, and MORE revenue! Pre-fab Technology allows us to develop previously undevelopable land *Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts Modified Land Value Tax, applicable after 2 years purchase (and exempt to non- What we profits) of 2 Pennies per sq ft Have these revenues go into Affordable recommend Housing Trust Fund /What we Would create $1,645,518.38 this year! will do Perfect to kickstart pre-development! SMASH can develop public parcels using modular/pre-fab technology and place the lots into a Community Land Trust Advocate for What the “Land Value Tax” and Unconventional audience Construction which will can do house people quickly and affordably! .
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT American College of Mortgage Attorneys
    The SPRING 2012 ABSTRACT American College of Mortgage Attorneys CONTENTS President’s Column by Darlene T. Marsh 1 President’s Column 2 Editor’s Notes It is quite an honor to serve as President of the College this year and I am glad to report that signs of continued economic recovery are steadily increasing. Anecdotal 3 Executive Director’s Column reports from many of our Fellows marked the 2011 year end with a flurry of deal activity that has been largely absent in recent years. Conversations with brokers, 4 Mortgage Transfers and MERS bankers and builders are also encouraging. What a wonderful change from the in California and Elsewhere recent deluge of foreclosures, bankruptcies and workouts. Last Year 10 ACMA Fellows in the News The recent announcement of a joint state and federal settlement of foreclosure fraud allegations against five of the nation’s largest lenders will hopefully accelerate 11 Enforceability of Carveouts to market improvements. The fact that no single group seems particularly satisfied Nonrecourse Loans: Recent with the terms of the settlement is an indication that it probably represents the Cases best available compromise. 15 ACMA Upcoming Meetings The College has remained strong and is well-positioned to continue its mission 16 Important Considerations while also pursuing geographic expansion. We have a new logo and a new website. Before Foreclosing on Many thanks to our Technology Committee. The meeting last fall in San Diego Condominium Units was top-notch, both in content and amenities, and the efforts of the Programs Committee are greatly appreciated. If you were not able to attend, please mark 18 Land Banking: A Sharper Tool in the Distressed Property your calendars for both the upcoming Regents Meeting at The Royal Palms in Toolkit Phoenix on April 19–21, as well as the Annual Meeting at The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin on October 11–13.
    [Show full text]
  • Land Banks and Land Banking Frank S
    Land Banks and Land Banking Frank S. Alexander June 2011 About the Author Frank S. Alexander is the Sam nunn Professor of Law at emory university School of Law and a co- founder of the Center for Community Progress. He is the author or editor of eight books and more than forty articles in real estate finance and community redevelopment, including Georgia Real Estate Finance and Foreclosure Law 2010-2011 (5th ed., 2010). Professor Alexander’s work has focused on homelessness, affordable housing and community development, serving as a Fellow of the Carter Center of emory university (1993-96), and as a Commissioner of the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless (1994-98). He has served as Interim Dean of emory university School of Law (2005-06), as Visiting Fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard university (Fall Semester, 2007), and has testified before u.S. Congress concerning the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Professor Alexander received his JD from Harvard Law School, a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and his BA from the university of north Carolina. 2 Land Banks and Land Banking Frank S. Alexander June 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS > Foreword by Dan Kildee, President, Center for Community Progress 8 > IntroductIon 10 > PART I. UNDERSTANDING ABANDONMENT > chApter 1 – understAndIng the Inventory 14 > Vacant, Abandoned, Tax-Delinquent, and Foreclosed Properties > The Significance of the Housing and economic Crises > chApter 2 – the evolutIon oF lAnd BAnks 18 > The First Generation: St. Louis, Cleveland,
    [Show full text]
  • Land Banks As Instruments of Equitable Growth: Clime’S Recommendations to the City of Newark
    Land Banks as Instruments of Equitable Growth: CLiME’s Recommendations to the City of Newark By Katharine Nelson, Senior Research Fellow, and David Troutt, Director Land banks are government-created institutions whose mission is to return vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties into productive use. Land banks are empowered to acquire land, eliminate back taxes and tax liens attached to a property in order to create a clean title, maintain the land in compliance with local and state ordinances, and convey the property back into active use. As a mechanism for expediting the disposition of city-owned and/or abandoned properties, land banks can be a significant local government tool either for equitable growth or for more conventional economic development. The land bank’s purpose follows the priorities of local decision makers, and equity is not a legislative requirement. However, land banks can be a key instrument of equitable governance because they allow cities more centralized authority to direct public resources for community planning, wealth creation, and housing stability where they are most needed. Equitable governance carries the potential to stimulate local community markets hobbled by underinvestment, spread resources to resource-poor areas, and ensure greater fairness for disadvantaged community members. Land banks used in combination with other tools of equitable development can have even greater impact. In July 2019, New Jersey created the necessary enabling legislation for New Jersey communities to create land banks. Earlier this year, the Newark City Council passed ordinances establishing the City’s land bank. Pending approval, the Newark Land Bank Corporation will be administered by Invest Newark, a non-profit development corporation that manages many of the City’s 1 development efforts, with an initial annual operating budget of $3 million dollars that is expected to rise to as much as $5 million in subsequent years.
    [Show full text]
  • By Frank S. Alexander October 2008
    LAND BANKING AS METROPOLITAN POLICY By Frank S. Alexander October 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 3 I. Introduction 5 II. Land banking is a relevant and flexible policy tool 6 III. The need for land banking is acute as worsening trends in vacant and abandoned properties threaten neighborhoods nationwide 9 IV. Most places currently face barriers to implementing an effective land banking program 12 V. Federal policy takes a first step toward land banking 16 VI. Toward more focused federal engagement 19 VII. States and localities are innovating in land banking 22 VIII. Land banking provides a robust framework for a new, federalist approach to metropolitan land policy 24 IX. Conclusion 28 2 BROOKINGS · October 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Stressed by the catastrophic mortgage foreclosure crisis and the long-run decline of older, industrial regions, communities around the country are becoming increasingly burdened with vacant and abandoned properties. In order to alleviate the pressures on national prosperity caused by these derelict properties, the federal government needs to advance policies that support regional and local land banking for the 21st century. Land banking is the process or policy by which local governments acquire surplus properties and convert them to productive use or hold them for long term strategic public purposes. By turning vacant and abandoned properties into community assets such as affordable housing, land banking fosters greater metropolitan prosperity and strengthens broader national economic well-being. America’s Challenge During the mortgage crisis of the past two years, the nation has seen the number of foreclosures double, and almost 600,000 vacant, for-sale homes added to weak real estate markets.
    [Show full text]
  • True Smart and Green City? an Introduction and Comparative Study
    Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban., C006, doi:10.3390/ifou-C006. True Smart and Green City? 8th Conference of the International Forum on Urbanism Conference Proceedings Paper An Introduction and Comparative Study of the Implementation Approaches of Beijing's Green Belts Nawei Wu Key Laboratory of Urban-Rural Eco Planning and Green Building, Chinese Ministry of Education; and Department of Urban Planning, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; Tel.: +86-10-62783328; Fax: +86-10-62783328 E-Mails: [email protected] Abstract: During China’s rapid urbanization, its megacities are facing the greatest challenge of urban growth control of both population and built-up area. As one of the most important measures of urban containment, Green Belt has been widely used worldwide for many years. Beijing’s Green Belts have been in their implementation for nearly three decades, during which different implementation approaches were used. The article looks into the evolution of Beijing’s Green Belts policies and the existing implementation approaches, in which, the government, rural collectives and property developers cooperate in different ways. The aim of the article is to provide China’s megacities with experience and lessons of urban containment policy implementation. In-depth interview, document research, remote sensing and GIS analysis are used for summarizing the detailed processes of different implementation approaches, as well as their strengths and problems. Four approaches involved include ‘government direct participation – property developer nonintervention’, ‘government direct participation – property developer intervention’, ‘government nonparticipation – property developer intervention’ and ‘government indirect participation – property developer intervention’. Typical areas in the unit of the township are selected to analyze and compare the effectiveness of Green Belts policy under different implementation approaches.
    [Show full text]
  • Opening Doors: Land Banks & Community Land Trusts Partner to Unlock Affordable Housing Opportunities
    OPENING DOORS Land Banks & Community Land Trusts Partner to Unlock Affordable Housing Opportunities 8 LAND LINES By Emma Zehner OPENING EARLIER THIS YEAR, Kizzy Jefferson closed on her first house. The newly finished three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence in Acre Homes, a histor- ically Black neighborhood in Northwest Houston, sold for $75,000, less than a third of the city’s median single-family home price of $250,000. Long considered an unusually affordable city, Houston has experienced the same soaring property values in recent years as many other Houston native Kizzy Jefferson bought her first home this year metropolitan areas in the United States. In the through a program run by the city, the local land bank, and the past decade, median home prices in the city Houston Community Land Trust. Credit: Courtesy of Kizzy Jefferson. have increased by 67 percent, while income has increased by only 20 percent. “It takes two to three incomes to afford urgency as a result of the housing insecurity most houses,” said Jefferson, a Houston native now in plain view due to COVID-19. Repre- and single parent who works in the healthcare sentatives from the Houston partnership are industry. As a veteran, Jefferson had tried for working alongside peers from Portland and years to get a VA-backed loan to buy a house in Atlanta as part of the 36-month Catalytic Land her hometown. Last fall, she was walking out of Cohort. The program is run by Grounded Solu- her local library and saw a flier for the Houston tions Network and the Center for Community Community Land Trust (HCLT).
    [Show full text]
  • Tackling the Mortgage Crisis: 10 Action Steps for State Government Alan Mallach1 “Although
    ReSToRInG PRoSPeRITy Initiative FRoM THe MeTRoPoLITAn PoLICy PRoGRAM AT BRooKInGS Tackling the Mortgage Crisis: 10 Action Steps for State Government Alan Mallach1 “Although most media The mortgage foreclosure crisis has become an issue of growing concern over the past two years, one without easy remedies. While most atten- attention has tion has focused on what the federal government should do to manage the fallout, states, too, play a vital role in the process. This paper describes how focused on the mortgage crisis came to be, and the damage it has so far inflicted. It then provides a set of concrete action steps that states can take to mitigate the role of its impact on families and neighborhoods—and prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future. the federal government Introduction in stemming During 2006, the United States saw a considerable upswing in the number of this crisis, new mortgage defaults and foreclosure filings. By 2007, that upswing had be- come a tidal wave. Today, national homeownership rates are falling, while more states have than a million American families have already lost their homes to foreclosure. Across the country, boarded houses are appearing on once stable blocks. Some the legal of the hardest hit communities are in older industrial cities, particularly Midwest- ern cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis.2 powers, Although most media attention has focused on the role of the federal government financial in stemming this crisis, states have the legal powers, financial resources, and political will to mitigate its impact. Some state governments have taken action, resources, negotiating compacts with mortgage lenders, enacting state laws regulating mortgage lending, and creating so-called “rescue funds.” Governors such as and political Schwarzenegger in California, Strickland in Ohio, and Patrick in Massachusetts have taken the lead on this issue.
    [Show full text]
  • Goal: Secure Land for Local
    Goal: Secure Land for Local, Achievable Housing Models to Consider: Community Land Trusts and Land Banks 12.5.17 Community Land Trusts (CLT) Land Banks WHAT Community land trusts are nonprofit, community- Land banks are usually governmental or quasi- based organizations designed to ensure government entities, but could be nonprofit community stewardship of land. Community land corporations, that are focused on the conversion of trusts can be used for many types of development vacant, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties (including commercial and retail), but are primarily into productive use. In addition to tax foreclosed used to ensure long-term housing affordability. parcels, land banks can acquire Real Estate Owned (REO) properties and receive private donations and public land transfers. HOW o The trust acquires land and maintains o Land Banks were created to strategically ownership of it permanently. acquire problem properties, using their o Land Trusts either develop the land special powers (see Benefits Section) and themselves or lease it to developers. convert these liabilities into assets. o Land Trusts lease the land to homeowners for o They may demolish obsolete structures; a nominal fee through a 99-year ground remediate soil; give side lots to neighboring lease instead of a traditional sale owners, donate land to nonprofits, or o Ground Lease and Deed are recorded, assemble properties for larger developers. enforceable, legally-binding o Land Banks then transfer the properties back www.mountainhousingcouncil.org 1 Community Land Trusts (CLT) Land Banks o Homeowners own home and all to responsible ownership and productive use HOW improvements in accordance with local land use goals and (continued) o When the homeowner sells, the family earns priorities, creating a more efficient and only a portion of the increased property effective system to eliminate blight.
    [Show full text]