Wellington Council taking serious look into adopting a ‘Land Bank’ system to help with urban blight
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington City Council could soon be voting on an ordinance that would establish “land banks” – a practice in which the city of Wellington could purchase property, redevelop it, and then sell/donate it to prospective developers.
Land banks are used to address development issues as well as urban blight. They are set up through city ordinances and give the city leverage as to what is done with the properties while also reducing the number of absentee landowners.
The City would be obligated to mow and maintain the land bank property until sold or developed. Land Banks could define the standards for the property and abate the back taxes. Also, land banks can be funded through community block grant money.
The overall hope is to not only address blight but contribute to a specific strategic plan.
This is not a novel concept. Several municipalities are already using land banks, including municipalities like Oxford, Winfield, and Arkansas City.
The land bank idea was discussed in Wellington in March 2016. John Sweet, a former Lyons city administrator who retired in 2018, was asked to address the then city council during a work session.
He said the best way to improve the state of housing in Wellington was to create an incentive-based ‘land bank’ system, in which the city could clean up old property no longer in use and get them back on the Wellington tax roll (see story here).
He said in 2016:
“When there are abandoned properties that end up at the sheriff’s sale for back taxes, the properties like these often have abandoned houses on them which are eyesores and create problems.
In Lyons, we work to get those properties into the land bank. They bid out the demolition of the houses to contractors all over the state to get good prices. Then the city can do what it wants with the land. In many cases, the city will give it to someone wanting to build a house or a business. There are stipulations such as them having to actually build what they planned in a certain amount of time or they have to give the land back.”
The council has been discussing the establishment of a Land Bank at two of its recent work sessions. At the Aug. 9 work session, city planner Rachelle Thompson brought up a proposed ordinance that would have established the Land Bank while also appointing a board.
The council did not move forward with the ordinance then because there was some disagreement on who could serve on the Land Bank board. Council member Rick Roitman suggested a hybrid board of city council members and community citizens at large. However, council member Kevin Dodds said having a council member on the board might be a conflict of interest. The council agreed to revisit the issue with City Attorney Shawn DeJarnett, who was not in attendance at the Aug. 9 meeting.
Wellington Interim City Manager Jason Newberry said the city owns 101 properties, but this number includes city-owned facilities such as buildings, parks, the lake, and the airport. Roitman suggested the council use existing city-owned lots and donate them to the Land Bank before finding a developer to build on those lots.
There was also a discussion considering the insurance cost, the ownership transfer expenses, and the legal implications of the municipality being temporary property owners. Wellington City Clerk Heidi Theurer said a separate account needs to be established for the Land Banks.
The Council discussed non-conforming lots and properties, and the city may need to consider revising the codes to accommodate these properties. It was brought up at a recent council meeting a citizen offered to donate their condemned property, which is defined as non-standard, to the city. A discussion was held regarding the possibility of tiny homes or bungalows as a solution on smaller-sized lots. Fire codes and structures proximity was also discussed.
