Pittsburgh City Council Advances Bill to Help the Land Bank with New Conditions
Industry Update
July 26, 2023
Source: wesa.fm
After months of debate and public input, Pittsburgh City Council advanced an agreement Wednesday designed to make it easier for the city’s land bank to return more vacant and distressed property to active use. The agreement governs how the city, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and the land bank work together to transfer and sell blighted properties.
But the version of the agreement that members approved Wednesday comes with several new conditions.
The agreement is designed to even the property-buying playing field among the city, the URA and the land bank — each of which may be more or less suited to handle a given transaction depending on the circumstances. Supporters of the proposal, including Councilor Bobby Wilson, argue the current process has too much red tape, in part because council must currently approve any transfer of land between the government entities. Wilson had proposed a new version of the agreement that allowed the land bank to buy property without council’s permission.
But some members of council have expressed concern that the agreement diminishes their role in development, potentially leading to large amounts of land being sold without their input.
In an effort to strike a balance, members debated several amendments to the agreement Wednesday. They included provisions that will keep council involved in transfers to varying extents, depending on which government body is seeking to transfer the land.
In cases where property owned by the city is to be shifted to the land bank or the URA, the new language requires approval from a majority of the full council. But in cases where the property is being transferred from the land bank itself, all that is needed is the approval of the council member in whose district the property lies.
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