In May the Pittsburgh Land Bank sold its first property on Mount Washington’s Boggs Avenue. (Photo by Alexis Wary/PublicSource)
The clock is ticking for the Pittsburgh Land Bank to spend federal dollars, even as a new law and a cooperative agreement expand its abilities.
by and
Update (8/1/23): Pittsburgh City Council approved a long-awaited tri-party agreement with the city’s Land Bank and the URA on Tuesday and, in doing so, backed off its plans to secure a high level of council oversight over the land bank’s transactions.
Legislation preliminarily approved last week would have required a council member to sign off whenever the land bank wanted to transfer property to the URA. That language was removed from the bill in a Tuesday amendment, replaced by a requirement that the land bank simply notify the city council clerk of any transfers.
Tuesday’s amendment, approved by an 8-0 vote, also removed a requirement that city council reauthorize the tri-party agreement in two years. That requirement drew objections from several council members at last week’s meeting, including senior members Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess.
Council President Theresa Kail-Smith was absent from Tuesday’s vote.
The final version of the agreement set a goal that 80% of properties disposed of by the land bank go toward the development of affordable housing. Council also required the land bank to give quarterly updates on its finances, how many properties it holds and transfers and how many housing units are created.
—Charlie Wolfson
Reported 6/20/23:
Pittsburgh’s go-slow land bank getting more tools, but less funds
The Pittsburgh Land Bank’s ability to take ownership of vacant property is the subject of a July 20 public hearing before city council, in one of a series of moves that could strengthen the nine-year-old institution — even as it may see its allocation cut.
The public hearing regarding a new agreement between the city, the land bank and the Urban Redevelopment Authority [URA] comes the week after the Gainey administration proposed to split in half the land bank’s $7 million allocation of federal funds. It comes less than two months after the land bank bought its first property and weeks after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed legislation that could make it easier to assemble more property.
Like other so-called Rust Belt cities, Pittsburgh’s population plummeted after the decline of the steel industry, leaving more than 20,000 properties fallow and incurring tax debt. In 2014, Pittsburgh formed a land bank to clear debt and taxes from abandoned properties that can then be sold.
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