HARRISBURG, March 25 – All municipalities, regardless of population size, would be able to establish land banks, under legislation that passed the state House of Representatives today, according to the bill’s author Rep. Robert Freeman.

Land banks are governmental entities that specialize in the conversion of vacant, abandoned and deteriorated properties into productive use.

“Land banks help affected neighborhoods and business districts to be revitalized. We should be doing everything we can at the state level to encourage economic development, transform communities and improve quality of life in municipalities of all sizes,” said Freeman, D-Northampton.

Current state law only allows municipalities with 10,000 residents or more to create landbanks, leaving smaller municipalities without access to resources that are critical for addressing blight. Freeman said the PA General Assembly passed a law a few years ago that allows municipalities of all population sizes to establish redevelopment authorities and doing the same for land banks is the logical next step.

“In many respects, it is our commonwealth’s smaller communities that are most in need of the land bank tool. Many of our smaller communities have seen a loss of population over the years, resulting in a hollowing out of their stability and vitality. Oftentimes their Main Street business districts have atrophied as local businesses have closed. Vacant, blighted, and dilapidated housing can become prevalent in the wake of such hollowing out of small towns, spreading like a cancer that undermines the cohesiveness of a community, pulling down the property values of adjacent properties, and robbing a community of the ability to regenerate. Land banks can be a transformative tool to address blight, repair and revitalize deteriorated buildings, and set a community on a path to a more successful future,” Freeman said.

The bill is supported by the County Commissioners Association of PA, PA Municipal League, PA State Association of Boroughs, PA State Association of Township Supervisors, PA State Association of Township Commissioners and the PA Municipal Authorities Association.

House Bill 369, which passed 162-40, moves to the state Senate for consideration.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Tom Andrews