Pittsburgh Land Bank Policies and Procedures Draft Coming Soon

PCRG has been an active participant in the drive to implement a land bank in Pittsburgh since the passage of the state legislation enabling the creation of land banks in Pennsylvania (HB 1682), and the passage of the Pittsburgh Land Bank Ordinance. Over the past few months, the Land Bank Board of Directors, consultants, and staff from the Urban Redevelopment Authority have been doing preliminary work to determine the key elements of how the Pittsburgh Land Bank will operate.At the last Land Bank Board of Directors meeting, a timeline for the development of the Policies and Procedures was outlined. At the end of the month of September, the Board of Directors will be attending the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference to learn more about best practices for Policies and Procedures.  By the next board meeting, the board hopes to have developed a draft Policies and Procedures document. Within the next month, that document will be released for public comment. As required by the legislation, five community meetings will be held to gather community input. Following the final meeting, public comment will be accepted for 30 days. By the end of the year, the board of directors hopes to have a final draft of the Policies and Procedures.In 2014, when the Pittsburgh Land Bank Ordinance was up for debate at City Council, we took the time to gather feedback from our members regarding their priorities for an equitable land bank. PCRG members hope to see an entity that will empower neighborhoods, avoid the displacement of community residents, dispose of land in a thoughtful and equitable way, and be accountable to the citizens of Pittsburgh.  The PCRG Member Community Land Bank Principles document expands on those priorities, and is available here.While not a panacea for all the land-use related problems faced by Pittsburgh, PCRG remains hopeful that the implementation of a land bank can have a positive impact on vacancy and blight in the region.  In order to ensure that outcome, we encourage all interested parties to engage with the development of the structural framework that will guide the operation of the Pittsburgh Land Bank.For more information about the Pittsburgh Land Bank, see the following resources:

• The Land Bank Board of Directors Meeting is open to the public, and occurs on the second Friday of each month at 1:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The Pittsburgh Land Bank website contains more information, including minutes and agendas.
• The state legislation enabling the creation of land banks is HB 1682, available here.
• The Pittsburgh Land Bank Ordinance (File #2014-0025)  is available at the City website here.
• The Pittsburgh Land Bank By-Laws are available here.
• Two infographics that explain the scope of the problem faced by Pittsburgh and the ways a land bank could potentially help address those needs are available here and here.