Law Would Create Land Banks for Easy Sales

The bill would create land banks and authorities that would allow land to flow to one central holding board of directors, which would be able to market and sell the land. The bills would allow quicker access to property that is on the delinquent tax bills in a community.

"There are more than 40,000 tax delinquent properties within the city of Detroit," says Kendra Howard, a spokeswoman for the House of Representatives. "This would provide a way for the municipality to put the property back on the tax rolls. If it's not being used, it's not providing tax revenue."

She tells GlobeSt.com that now, dilapidated urban areas are targets of crime, and discourage nearby residents from cleaning up their properties. This bill, and a couple adjoining bills that discuss the technicalities of property seizure, would give cities such as Detroit a tool to fix the problem.

The property would be acquired by the municipality through delinquency or other means, then routed to the land authority, which would be set up to sell properties in large enough parcels for marketable developments.

Under the proposed law, municipalities with more than 500 parcels of tax-reverted property can create a land bank, which would be made up of a board of directors appointed by the municipality.

The bill also includes language that would allow the land bank to operate independently, as a private corporation, ignoring restrictions imposed by charter, ordinances or resolutions of the municipality.

Currently, the bills are awaiting a hearing before the a committee. Until then, Howard tells GlobeSt.com communities such as Wayne County, Detroit, Oakland County and Macomb County are discussing and negotiating the proposed law.

"Everyone agrees it's a good concept, they're just hammering out the best deals," she says.