Safeguard Properties

Danville Joins Vermilion County Land Bank

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
June 8, 2016

DANVILLE, Ill. (WCCU) — Danville’s City Council voted Tuesday night to approve joining the Vermilion County land bank.

So far, Rossville, Georgetown, and Westville have joined the county land bank.

Hoopeston and Catlin are still considering it.

Officials say the land bank is a good way of bringing areas around the county to more profitable use by ridding them of accrued property taxes on sitting lands.

The first land bank summit meeting with all towns involved will take place on June 15.

Source: WRSP/WCCU

County OKs Plans to Alleviate Blight

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
June 27, 2016

Lancaster County approved plans Wednesday to create a land bank authority to help breathe life back into blighted properties.

Once set up, the authority will be able to directly purchase condemned properties and help develop them so they can be put back on the tax rolls.

“It’s been a long journey, but we’re finally here,” Commissioner Dennis Stuckey said. He and other commissioners lauded the proposal as a way to help rejuvenate struggling properties and neighborhoods.

Municipalities — the county has 60 — can choose to be part of the authority, but participation is voluntary.

“This tool in the workbench is going to allow for another avenue of financing, another avenue of assistance that many of the boroughs can’t afford, or just quite frankly don’t have the experience to take it on,” said Ed Arnold, manager of Millersville Borough and president of the Lancaster County Boroughs Association, which includes 18 municipalities.

Under the ordinance, member municipalities have to agree to let the land bank authority acquire a property. They also give up their right to collect back taxes on properties, many of which are delinquent. Members also agree that the authority will receive half of the property taxes for the first five years after a property goes back on the tax rolls, according to Matthew Sternberg, executive director of the Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities.

“The financing is going to have to get pieced together project by project, community by community as we get going,” Sternberg said.

Asked how many properties across the county could be aided by the authority, Sternberg didn’t provide an estimate, saying compiling it would be “difficult” and would require getting figures from each municipality.

County officials will now focus on getting municipalities and school districts to join the authority through i ntergovernmental agreements.

The land bank authority will hold the power to acquire properties in a variety of ways, including through donations, tax sales, judicial tax sales and negotiations with developers. It will not have the power of eminent domain.

Properties considered blighted under state law could be sought as potential development ground for the authority, Sternberg said.

The authority will be able to acquire property throughout the county, except in Lancaster city, which is looking at establishing its own land bank.

Leo Lutz, mayor of Columbia Borough — once a booming river town that now struggles with vacant downtown buildings — is hopeful the new authority can help turn around at least 20 blighted properties.

“The land bank will offer us another tool in the tool box to get these blighted properties fixed up and get them into the system,” he said.

The land bank authority will have a seven-member board. Its first meeting is July 28, Sternberg said. It includes the five current members of the board of Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities and two other members appointed by the board of commissioners.

The five members of the redevelopment authority board are Edward C. Fisher, Gerald S. Robinson, James Williams, Jim Eby and Mary Glazier. Members appointed by the commissioners are Dennis R. Groff and Frank A. Christoffel III.

Source: LancasterOnline

Community Initiatives Department and the Code Enforcement Association of Texas (CEAT) Partner for Industry Education Classes

Posted on by Safeguard

Community Initiatives
June 30, 2016

Community Initiatives Team Busy Educating the Lone Star State

The past few weeks have been very busy for both Safeguard’s Community Initiatives department and the Code Enforcement Association of Texas (CEAT). Safeguard has been a longtime partner of the statewide organization and that collaboration was recently demonstrated in Lancaster, San Antonio and Austin. More than 110 code enforcement professionals gathered for three, half-day presentations, which included topics related to the mortgage servicing industry and the foreclosure process.

Code enforcement officers from more than 20 jurisdictions attended a class in Lancaster in mid-May. The class was coordinated by CEAT’s Second Vice President Christylla Miles, senior code compliance officer with the City of Lancaster. She arranges and oversees all of the training opportunities facilitated by CEAT. Community Relations Liaison Heather Lazar was joined by Compliance Connections’ Senior Compliance Specialist Josh Ned. While Lazar walked the audience through the industry’s best practices for field preservation services and the intricacies of the pre- and post-sale phases of foreclosure, Ned, a local Texan, provided a hands-on demonstration of Compliance Connections. The combination of information and resources, which are both provided at no-cost to a municipality, can help code enforcement officers in being efficient and successful in their day-to-day operations.

The class was so well-received that Safeguard was asked by a code enforcement officer if another class could be offered in San Antonio.  Because sharing information about the foreclosure process and effective methods for addressing abandonment is critical to creating and fostering partnerships between the mortgage servicing industry and cities, Safeguard quickly worked with CEAT to meet this demand and hosted a class the following month. Safeguard shared the presentation with code enforcement officers in the state’s second most-populous city in early June.

The request for a class did not end in San Antonio. The need for information and no-cost resources resounded in Austin, as well. A few days later, a similar presentation was offered in the capital city to the Austin code enforcement team. The request for continuing education about vacancy and abandonment reinforces the desire of cities to work with the industry to preserve and protect properties.

State credits and certificates were distributed following all three of Safeguard’s presentations. The Community Initiatives department is grateful for its partnership with CEAT and commends the organization on its solid reputation of providing members and non-members, alike, with classes that offer critical and timely information. Safeguard was honored to help build the skill sets of those code enforcement professionals who joined us in Lancaster, San Antonio and Austin. 

Allegheny County Council OKs Participation in Land Bank

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
June 21, 2016

A land bank that could cover much of Allegheny County took a huge step forward Tuesday when county council members voted 14-0 to approve the county’s participation.

Council members said the Tri-COG Land Bank provides another tool to combat blight while limiting the county’s financial stake in the process.

“I give my whole support behind this,” said Councilman Ed Kress, R-Shaler, adding that he hopes communities within his district join.

The county and every other taxing body that joins the land bank commits to contributing 5 percent of delinquent taxes collected from properties in the bank’s jurisdiction and 50 percent of the property taxes collected for the first five years that a land bank property returns to the tax rolls.

Based on the current footprint of the land bank — four school districts and 11 municipalities have joined — the county would have paid $9,000 to the land bank based on delinquent taxes for 2014 collected in 2015.

All school districts and municipalities that wish to join the land bank as founding members must ratify the agreement by the end of the July, said An Lewis, executive director of the Steel Rivers Council of Governments and driving force behind the land bank. The McKeesport Area School District will meet on Wednesday to discuss the land bank, and the Shaler Area School District will meet this month. The South Allegheny School District also might hold meetings to join, Lewis said.

The land bank needed the county’s approval to exist.

“Tonight’s council vote was hugely important, very exciting and very rewarding,” Lewis said.

The land bank’s next step is to begin finalizing its policies and procedures and start selecting a board of directors, Lewis said. The land bank has a goal of raising $1.5 million during its first three years from area foundations for startup funds to begin acquiring property.

Source: Trib Live

Lawrence County to Consider Establishing a Land Bank

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
May 11, 2016

IRONTON – Lawrence County could establish a land bank program that would buy up residential and commercial abandoned and dilapidated properties with the goal of getting them back on the tax rolls.

County Treasurer Steve Burcham proposed the land bank program at last week’s Board of Commissioners meeting, and it could be adopted at Thursday’s meeting in Ironton.

Thirty-one of Ohio’s 88 counties now have a land bank program, which first started in the state in Cuyahoga County about a decade ago, Burcham said. The land bank would have to be incorporated through the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, he said.

“It can benefit the county,” Burcham said Tuesday. “We could have it up and running by the end of the year.”

Commissioner Bill Pratt supports the land bank proposal and expects the board to adopt a resolution establishing it during the board’s meeting later this week.

“I think it will give us the tools we need to clear up dilapidated or abandoned properties,” Pratt said. “There is $180 million in state funds we could tap into. It could provide more money for local schools when properties are back on the tax rolls.”

The county tries to set aside funds to tear down abandoned properties, but those funds are drying up, Pratt said. Five years ago, the county annually received about $250,000 in community development block grant funds, but that federal money has been cut to about $140,000 per year, he said.

The program would be called the Lawrence County Land Revitalization Corporation, Pratt said.

The state legislature changed the law to allow smaller counties to start land bank programs, Burcham said. Initially, only the state’s largest counties could start such programs, he said.

“They found it helped revitalize some neighborhoods,” Burcham said.

Under state law, the county treasurer, two county commissioners or their designees, a representative from Ironton and a representative from Upper Township would make up the five-member board to oversee the land bank, he said.

The board would have to hire an administrator to do title searches, evaluate properties and apply for grants, Burcham said.

The county has about 1,000 parcels on delinquent tax rolls and that could represent hundreds of thousands of dollars if the properties are improved and put back on the tax rolls, he said.

Mortgaged properties that have been foreclosed on and owned by banks also could be donated to the land bank, he said.

Some counties just use the land bank program to tear down fire-damaged or abandoned properties, Burcham said.

“I would want us to move beyond that,” he said. “I would want us to make that property available for development.”

Source: The Herald-Dispatch

Ashland Joins County Land Bank

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
April 11, 2016

MAHANOY CITY — The Borough of Ashland recently decided to become part of the Schuylkill County Land Bank, Keith Karlavage, the land bank’s chairman, said Thursday.

The other eight taxing bodies that have signed on to date are Schuylkill County, Delano Township, Mahanoy Area School District, Mahanoy City borough, Minersville Area School District, Minersville borough, Shenandoah borough and Shenandoah Valley School District, according to Clyde C. “Champ” Holman, chairman of the Northern Schuylkill Council of Governments.

“We’re hoping the Borough of Frackville and North Schuylkill School District also sign on,” Holman said Thursday.

The land bank is still in the process of setting up shop.

At its April meeting Wednesday, held at Mahanoy City Borough Hall, 239 E. Pine St., Mahanoy City, the land bank’s board of directors voted to open a checking account at M&T Bank, Karlavage said.

At its next meeting, slated for 7 p.m. May 4 at borough hall, the board will review the organization’s strategic plan.

A land bank is a public or community-owned entity established to acquire, manage, maintain and repurpose vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties, according to the website for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Schuylkill County Land Bank is the first land bank established in the county since the state House and Senate approved Act 153 of 2012, which enabled municipalities in Pennsylvania to create them.

The land bank held its first meeting in February.

At its second meeting in March, the group appointed its first board of directors. Its members include chairman, Karlavage, who is also chairman of the board of supervisors at Delano Township; vice chairman, Carl McBreen, who is superintendent at Minersville Area School District; and secretary/treasurer, Ian Mahal, who is a member of Minersville Borough Council.

Other members of the board include Joe Brady, Daniel L. Lynch, Jeffrey A. Feeser, Gary Bender, Sean Macleary, Jack J. Hurst, Eileen Burke and Ray Jones, according to Holman.

The land bank’s solicitor is Chris Riedlinger, an attorney from Pottsville who works with the Northern Schuylkill COG and numerous municipalities, according to Holman.

The land bank’s consultant is Chris Gulotta, a blight consultant with the Gulotta Group, Carlisle, Holman said.

Source: republicanherald.com

Crawford County Forms Land Bank

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
January 20, 2016

Courtesy of The Crestline Advocate

Crawford County has a new bank, but it is somewhat different than a traditional bank or even savings and loan company.

Crawford County Commissioners approved on Jan. 12 the establishment of The Crawford County Land Reutilization Corporation which will act as the county’s land bank. Currently, only 27 of Ohio’s 88 counties have county land banks.

The purpose of a land bank is to make it easier to acquire vacant, abandoned and tax-foreclosed properties, then return them to productive use or demolish them. County land banks are not government agencies, but independent corporations.

Those who wish to see a formal presentation may contact Crawford County Treasurer Gary Cole.

More on this story is available in the latest edition of The Crestline Advocate.

Source: Crawford County Now (The Crestline Advocate)

No Fly Zone for Drones on Land Bank Properties

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
December 28, 2015

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission voted to ban drones from its nearly 3,100 acres of conservation property on the Island, according to a news release issued just before Christmas.

The commission said it added drones specifically in its regulations prohibiting sound or vibration generating nuisances “such as unmanned aircraft (e.g. drones) or music-amplification devices and other intensive uses.”

The purpose is to prevent disturbance of people or wildlife on the conservation lands. The ban reflects the same policy that governs all land bank regulations, according to conservation lands foreman Matthew Dix.

“All of our management plans are based on passive use,” Mr. Dix said. “We’re not encouraging people to bring devices.”

Mr. Dix said the land bank commission might consider special permission to use a drone on its properties if there is some public benefit.

“The land bank would evaluate those on a case by case basis,” he said.

Several other states and some cities are considering laws that would prohibit or limit the use of drone technology. The National Park Service banned drones at all national parks in 2014.

Mr. Dix said there was no incident that prompted the land bank commission’s action, but the commissioners wanted to address the issue proactively, in light of the exponential growth in recreational and commercial drone technology.

Recreational or hobby users do not need approval from the FAA to fly drones, but effective Dec. 21, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed new requirements, including a mandate for individual recreational or hobby users to register drones in an FAA database. There are also laws in place which can result in large fines and prison sentences for unsafe operation of a drone that causes damage or endangers people. Under the current guidelines, drone operators should fly below 400 feet, keep the aircraft in sight, and take care not to interfere with manned aircraft.

David Welch, a Vineyard based visual artist who makes his living as a photographer for weddings and other events, said he is a bit leery of the growing regulatory environment. He owns one of the small aircrafts and uses it to photograph Island landmarks and events, with prior permission and within FAA guidelines. He said he fears the land bank policy will set a precedent.

“Once the land bank does it, then the Trustees of the Reservations do it, then the town of Edgartown does it,” Mr. Welch said. “I don’t want people left and right trying to ban them before they understand them.”

Source: Vineyard Gazette

Land Bank Developing Tool to Track Problem Properties

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
December 17, 2015

Richland County Land Bank officials hope a new tool they are developing will improve communications between county and city agencies and allow them to provide better progress reports to the public on problem properties.

Land Bank administrator Amy Hamrick told the board during its meeting Wednesday that she and Mansfield codes and permits director J.R. Rice are working to develop a shared document file that will allow officials to share information such as foreclosures, and repair and demolition orders.

Hamrick said the system should allow officials to avoid working towards opposite ends on the same property.

“I talked with J.R. and he said he has demo orders on 50 properties that I didn’t even know about,” she explained.  “There are times when they’re working on the same properties we’re looking to take ownership of.”

Initially, the documents will be available to personnel in the city’s community development and codes and permits offices, as well as the county treasurer’s and land bank offices.  Treasurer and Land Bank board chairman Bart Hamilton said information sharing will help avoid problems that often happen when a neighbor calls multiple agencies about a problem property and those agencies begin working independently to resolve the problem.

“We’re hoping that by having this one resource that everyone starts working off of we can catch this stuff earlier,” Hamilton said. “We’ve tried this over the years in different, other ways and it didn’t work out well but we’ve never had this computerization before with Google Docs that everyone can look at.”

Chief deputy treasurer Matt Finfgeld said document sharing will help avoid problems with trying to dispose of a property at a sheriff’s sale when the property has a demolition order on it. It also could keep properties that could be renovated from going to a sheriff’s sale.

“This will allow us to be more efficient, react quicker, get things done quicker and get bills paid faster,” Hamilton added.

Officials reported that the recent unseasonably warm weather is allowing contractors to continue demolition projects under the federally-funded Neighborhood Improvement Program, including four on Glessner Ave. The land bank board also agreed to let the rehab committee recommend options for four vacant properties the land bank holds, instead of waiting for the formation of a greening committee, in order to receive federal reimbursement for demolition costs.

Source: Mansfield News Journal

Groups Cultivating Local Land Bank

Posted on by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
December 28, 2015

“Many of our communities struggle with abandoned and derelict properties where the taxes are unpaid and often the owners can’t even be found,” says Cecile LaCombe Petro, Highland Redevelopment director and co-chair of the Lake County Task Force.

To keep these properties from blighting the surrounding neighborhoods and to return them to productive use, the Northwest Indiana Reinvestment Alliance is working with the Lake County Community Economic Development Department to cultivate a land bank. It would acquire vacant and abandoned properties for repurposing and redevelopment.

Still in the initial stages, Petro says they’re studying successful models, such as the Genesee County Land Bank, which includes the city of Flint, Mich., to help in the creation of the Lake County Indiana Land Bank Authority.

The mission of land banks such as the one in Genesee County, is “to restore value to the community by acquiring, developing and selling vacant and abandoned properties in cooperation with stakeholders who value responsible land ownership. It’s something very much needed in our area.”

Land banks have the authority to accumulate vacant and abandon properties and hold them “tax free,” until they can be redeveloped. In Michigan, prior to a change in the tax foreclosure process, abandoned properties were in a legal limbo. In Flint, this contributed to urban decline by keeping properties off of the tax roll and out of circulation for up to seven years.

The concept in Lake County, says Joe Wszolek, chief operating officer of the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors, is to work with local governments to move abandoned properties into the hands of home owners.

Currently, says Wszolek, the system is very cumbersome and legalistic. Often, when properties come up for bids at tax sales, bidders, sight unseen, can obtain a swath of homes and choose just the ones they want and let the others languish, still accumulating unpaid taxes.

“One of the biggest problems with abandoned properties is who maintains them,” says Wszolek, noting that a land bank can move a property from a tax liability to a private property owner.

“We can no longer afford to abandon properties and move on as our communities age,” says Robert Fulton, assistant to the mayor for the city of Hobart. “We must view all the properties as assets have some value whether it be great or small. Just as when we were children we were taught the value of putting our money away in the bank we must now save up the parcels that in days past formed the successful communities of our past until we can find a way to restore their vitality.”

Fulton believes that a Lake County Land Bank will give a city another tool in addressing issues of abandoned homes and properties.

“It provides a framework for cooperative efforts between towns, cities, the county, businesses and community organizations,” he says. “It will allow for countywide effort to address issues that to a greater or lesser extent every community is or will face.”

On Jan. 7, the Lake County Housing Task Force is holding a training workshop to discuss the Lake County Land Bank. Petro says that the workshop is trying to target people wo are, will be or have been responsible in the region’s municipalities with vacant and abandoned properties.

So far, she says, there’s been a lot of interest.

Also invited to attend are those who would like to learn more about the subject.

“The workshop will give examples of what has worked and what to stay away from as well,” says Petro.

“Hobart is a city that has been around for 140 years,” says Fulton, emphasizing the municipality’s enthusiasm for developing a land bank. “We are proud of that fact. We are working to insure that we are able to continue to make Hobart a community that has an equally long future. This will require that we find avenues to build on all the work that has gone on in the past. We believe that land banking is one of the tools that can facilitate this.”

For Petro, land banking is all about making these parcels productive again.

“They can be turned around again,” she says. “We can extinguish blight and abandonment and turn them from non-producing tax status to properties that generate revenues and achieve tax paying status.”

Source: nwitimes.com