Moving the Land Bank Forward

In preparation for the inaugural land bank board meeting on Monday, July 6 (from 1-3PM in City Council Chambers - 414 Grant Street #510, Pittsburgh, PA 15219), we felt it was important to remind everyone of the important work done by PCRG’s members and partners in the creation of a responsible and equitable Land Bank. You listened and advocated on behalf of your communities, provided input and feedback to your government representatives, and dedicated a significant amount of time to ensure that the Land Bank would positively impact ALL communities, especially those with significant populations of low-income and African American residents. Please review the core principles below that we worked hard to ensure was incorporated in the Land Bank ordinance and to remind us of the focus of our work going forward.You can click here for Monday's meeting agenda or you can go online to the City of Pittsburgh Land Banking webpage (see the Agenda link at the bottom of the left hand menu).Also, please review the legislation (City Council Bill# 2014-0025) to understand the structure of the land bank.We welcome continued input you may have on this process as we work to reconvene with you as land banking is implemented in the region in support of your vision.Please stay tuned for more information on upcoming meetings and discussions and enjoy your holiday weekend. Empowering neighborhoods, acknowledging plans, ensuring engagementIt is important to empower communities through land banking, and this should be reflected through a significant public participation processes with the crafting of the land bank’s policies and procedures, alignment with community plans, and ongoing input around the acquisition and disposition of land in each respective neighborhood.It is important to address what happens in communities where there is no community plan, no community group (or duplicitous groups) or both. This is particularly important in communities which do not have the organizational capacity or resources to have developed and/or implement their own community plans.Protection of those in Land Bank-acquired propertiesNon-displacement should be of the highest priority for the Land Bank, with a further eye towards homeownership preservation. The language in the state and local ordinance addresses the need for occupant – both tenant and owner-occupant – protections. Understanding that there is already a system in place for hardship payment plans (the City’s Federally-mandated Foley settlement), that same system should be honored and adhered to by the Land Bank to provide enough of a safety net for those who have fallen on hard times.Equitable, community-sensitive land dispositionAfter preventing displacement, the improper or self-serving disposition of land is of utmost concern. This could have serious adverse consequences for our communities – especially our most fragile ones. While it is important for the Land Bank to be flexible and nimble, it must also be thoughtful, measured and careful. Without clearly articulated controls and checks and balances, the opportunity exists for the Land Bank to dispose of land in a manner inconsistent with the goals of the community, and potentially do more harm than good such as selling to the highest bidder or disposing in a manner that is contrary to community wishes either due to a clear community plan/consultation process or other reasons.Additionally, the currently existing Property Reserve has been a valuable tool for land assembly in many of our neighborhoods. CDCs have historically utilized the existing Land Reserve system to leverage their own preferred access with private developers on projects that are important to the communities they serve. While it is acknowledged that the overall process itself will – and, indeed, must – change, it is important to preserve a system whereby CDCs can continue to tag and assemble land to engage in revitalization and redevelopment projects in line with neighborhood-identified priorities.Post-disposition accountabilityMany of our communities are plagued with unfinished projects or properties bought by speculators who never complete projects or invest in the properties that they have purchased through the City’s existing processes. If the volume of land which will be made available to the private market increases, there must be simultaneous increases in enforcement, ensuring that end-uses are implemented and land is improved upon, not further speculated on.Board of DirectorsThe Land Bank ordinance creates a governing board of directors comprised of nine members. Three appointed by the Mayor, three appointed by the three members of City Council representing the districts with the most distressed and vacant parcels, and three community members elected by majority vote of the other Board Members.Members of the Board should be representative of the diversity of our communities, include community representation, and have expertise in the basic functions of a land bank.Policies and ProceduresSince the Land Bank’s Policies and Procedures direct its day-to-day functionality, the framework for additional levels and methods of community engagement and inclusion into the crafting of these Policies and Procedures was provided for in the ordinance. There are to be no less than five community information sessions held to review the proposed policies and procedures, followed by a thirty day public comment period to allow residents to formally submit comments to the Board of Directors for consideration.Adhering to this process will ensure that the Land Bank is provided with a foundation built upon and supportive of the priorities of the communities and residents it is meant to serve.