Land bank would enable city to deal with vacant properties

PHILADELPHIA HAS struggled for years to address its vacant-property problem, but a solution may be at hand.

Last week, state lawmakers approved legislation sponsored by state Rep. John Taylor that would allow municipalities to create a land bank, an entity that would have the power to acquire and dispose of land. Taylor said he expects Gov. Corbett to sign off on the measure Wednesday.

This gives City Council the OK to proceed on a similar measure introduced in February by Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and cosponsored by several members that would establish a land bank for city-owned vacant lots and properties. The land bank also would have the authority to acquire vacant tax-delinquent properties.

"It's a wonderful tool for Philadelphia," said Taylor. "If you don't pay your taxes [now], nothing much happens. This will incentivize the city to move on properties quicker and ... dispose of them in a timely manner. You can change entire blocks at once now."

The city has more than 40,000 vacant properties, 10,000 of which are city-owned and spread among four public agencies with different rules for property sales, which makes it challenging for buyers to quickly purchase properties. Maintenance of the properties costs the city $20 million annually, according to a 2010 report by the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.

Under the bill sponsored by Sanchez and Councilmen Bill Green, Curtis Jones Jr. and Bobby Henon, the land bank would consist of a seven-member board appointed by the mayor and approved by Council that would be responsible for acquiring vacant lots and properties from public agencies. Three of the board members would be representatives of nonprofit housing and development organizations or civic associations in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods most impacted.

"It's really an opportunity for us to put together a long-term redevelopment strategy," said Sanchez. "It's about putting [the properties] into productive use with someone paying taxes."

Private owners of vacant properties owe $70 million in back taxes, the report says. Vacant land and properties often have been blamed for driving down the city's property values and are hot spots for crime.

Some argue that the city owns too many vacant properties, but Sanchez said a land bank would speed up the process of acquiring and disposing of vacant land. She said that a majority of Council members support the measure and that she hopes to convene a hearing on the bill by the end of November.

"We're examining how we may be able to use the tools in this legislation to our advantage as we move toward land-banking," said mayoral spokesman Mark McDonald.

"What's critically important is getting stakeholders on the same page," said Rick Sauer, executive director of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations. A land bank "would streamline the process and help facilitate reuse of the properties."

* In other news: Council is working with the administration to explore adding professional-services contracts to a bill sponsored by Green that would require businesses with nonprofessional-services contracts with the city to hire Philadelphians. The administration has concerns about the legality of such an amendment. Preliminary approval of the bill was delayed last week.

A second bill that establishes a registry of potential employees for new entry-level jobs was approved Monday by the Committee on Finance.