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WARREN— The Warren Weekly reached out to the State Land Bank Authority Director Joseph Rivet for further explanation on how municipal land bank authorities work.
The State Land Bank Authority, also known as SLBA, works to create a positive economic impact on Michigan communities by facilitating productive reuse of land, according to Rivet.
“We work in a coordinated manner to foster the development of generally unwanted property in an effort to get it back on the tax rolls, benefiting local governments and communities,” Rivet said in a written statement. “SLBA also works to promote and support land bank operations at the county and the local levels.”
“It is useful to think of land banks as a tool. A resource communities can utilize as part of their development strategies,” Rivet said. “Like any tool, it can be used as often or as little as desired.”
Rivet addressed the operational costs of the land banks. The operational costs of the land banks vary because the size and scope of the land banks can vary.
“Some land banks have multi-million-dollar budgets and many staff,” Rivet said. “Many have no operational budget or staff and have just a handful of properties.”
Currently, there is no state funding stream to support the operation of local land bank partners, according to Rivet. Funding from the state comes in the form of grant programs.
“There are many configurations of land banks and Warren can determine what their land bank will look like and how much or how little they want to invest in it,” Rivet said.
In Michigan, 51 of the 83 counties have land banks. With the newly created Warren Land Bank, there are three municipal land banks.
Land banks are often used in specific circumstances to address a particular property in need of redevelopment by county treasurers or economic development staff, said the director.
“Originally, land banks were created at the county level as they often were tied to foreclosed properties and nearly all counties are the foreclosing governmental unit,” Rivet said when asked about land banks at the state or municipal level. “Land banks are becoming true development partners in many communities and municipalities are seeing their value.”
To form a land bank, a new state law requires a minimum population of 50,000 for a municipality in a county that does not already have a land bank, Rivet explained. This now allows many cities and townships to establish one.
As for how much state funding, on average, a city the size of Warren could expect to receive during the first year for the land bank authority?
“Over the last 18 months, the State Land Bank Authority has administered Governor Whitmer’s $150 million Blight Elimination Program. That program provided every land bank in Michigan funds to address property concerns most pressing in their areas. Every land bank in Michigan was allocated a minimum of $700,000, communities the size of Warren (received) a minimum of $2.7 million,” Rivet said. “Although nearly all the Blight Elimination Program funds have been allocated (for this year). (The) State Land Bank is optimistic there remains opportunity for local land banks to receive additional funds over the next several months to be allocated on a competitive grant program basis. With the creation of the Land Bank in Warren, they would be eligible for future funding.”
It has been reported that in some municipalities, manufactured housing has been placed on land bank authority property and that buyers purchased the house and leased the land for a nominal amount.
Rivet was asked if that could happen in Warren.
“Land banks can and do take many forms based on the needs of a community,” Rivet said.
“It is the goal of land banks to transfer ownership of property, most commonly through a sale. At SLBA we refer to the process as disposition as we work to ensure the new owners of the property utilize it in a way that benefits the community,” Rivet said.
Applicants for land bank properties are required to demonstrate the land will meet the SLBA’s criteria for productive use and benefit the community.
Call Staff Writer Gena Johnson at (586) 498-1069.
