Iola City Council members expressed a willingness Monday to see the city set up a land bank program.
A land bank is essentially a collection of community-owned abandoned, vacant or otherwise foreclosed properties that could be repurposed for housing or business development.
“A land bank has been talked about in Allen County for as long as I’ve been here,” Iola City Administrator Matt Rehder said, kicking off Monday’s discussion. “But it’s never gotten off the ground. If it won’t be at the county level, can we start talking about doing one here?”
The impetus was a recent conversation with a developer who asked about vacant properties on which he could build single-family homes.
His problem was he could not locate their owners.
The request caught Rehder and others off guard.
Likewise, the city has been asked by owners of condemned properties on occasion if they could simply deed their ownership to the city, Rehder noted.
“All that leads us here,” he said. “It’s time to start this discussion.”
Rehder has met consistently with Jared Wheeler, Thrive’s economic development director, and Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock about the basics of a land bank.
Wheeler said the aforementioned developer likely would have made offers on multiple properties had they been available.
Rehder explained, “We’d bring in properties, potentially to sell to developers.”
“It’s a way to leverage assets that other folks might not see value in,” Wheeler added.
But there are catches, he noted.
“I’ve heard horror stories about trying to get clear titles to deeds,” Rehder said.
Additionally, a full-scale land bank may require additional staffing at City Hall.
“Corey has enough to do,” Rehder said. “It’s probably something I would handle” before determining if additional staffing was needed.
He provided the framework for a possible land bank policy, but noted it could be as particular as Council members desired.
