A debate over whether to start a land bank in Allen County raised more questions than answers, but in the end led to a new path forward.
County commissioners met with Jonathon Goering, economic development director for Thrive Allen County, to discuss potentially forming a land bank.
They’ve spent about a year discussing the concept, which allows a city or county to acquire properties in order to attract housing developers. The land bank would clear any tax or title disputes, and transfer the properties at little or no cost, which is an incentive to developers.
The biggest sticking point for commissioners has been their reluctance to acquire properties they would need to maintain until a developer is found.
Commissioners have long said they would not want to take on any properties unless a developer is found first. They’re interested in being more of a “pass-through” organization.
Goering has said that’s possible.
But after meeting with Commissioner David Lee and Counselor Bob Johnson, Goering said he planned to instead work with individual cities. He would meet with the Iola City Council and see if they were interested in starting a land bank, and then he would approach Humboldt.
Commissioners Jerry Daniels said he would like to see the cities get involved, but still wanted the county to play a role. He would prefer to see a more cooperative approach, rather than three individual land banks and duplicated services.
“Maybe make it a cooperative,” Daniels said. “The county might be the main sponsor but we include all the cities so there’s no infighting, because I’m really getting sick of that.”
Commissioner Bruce Symes said, “The goal of Allen County was to encompass all the communities.”
Cole Herder, Humboldt’s administrator, was at the meeting and offered an example. In Humboldt recently, a property owner died and the heirs gifted the property to the city, which sold it for $1 with the understanding it would be developed as housing within a certain timeframe.
In that case, there were no unpaid property taxes. But Humboldt has other dilapidated properties with unpaid taxes. Often, a property owner has died and there are no heirs to work with.
A land bank would give the city a mechanism to turn that property back into something viable, he said.
“We’re reluctant to take on properties and have to take on back taxes, and then have to tear down a house,” Herder said. “I don’t want to have to deal with that every time something came up. Mr. Lee is concerned about upkeep. Maybe each city can say they’ll accept the property and do the maintenance.”
That seemed to alleviate some of the commissioners’ concerns.
Goering said the county can design the land bank board to include representatives from participating cities, so they have some control over what happens.
The county can design the structure in a way that best fits its needs, but Goering cautioned them on going too far.
