Warren is one step closer to creating an authority that would work to rehabilitate or sell hundreds of blighted properties in the city, but the city's mayor has to sign off on it and she said she is "doing her homework" first on the matter.
In a 7-0 vote earlier this week, the Warren City Council approved an agreement with the State Land Bank Authority, paving the way for creation of a Warren land bank authority.
Land banks take tax-foreclosed homes and other blighted properties and work to rehabilitate and resell them to help revitalize neighborhoods, said City Council attorney Jeffrey Schroder. Stone estimates there are about 200 parcels in Warren that could become part of a land bank.
The City Council approved an interlocal agreement with the State Land Bank Authority on Tuesday. Schroder said he hopes the authority will be formed within two months or sooner.
But Stone said Friday the City Council had created a draft agreement and gave her permission to enter into it, which is different from what normally happens with interlocal agreements. Typically, the mayor's administration would initiate the agreement and then bring it to council for approval.
The mayor, city clerk and state land bank director will have to sign the agreement, Schroder said. But Stone said her administration doesn't "have enough information" to make a decision about whether to sign it yet.
She said she and her team are looking into whether the land bank would be an economic advantage for Warren, among other issues. She said one of the drawbacks is that they are an "additional layer of bureaucracy."
"I'm doing my homework," Stone said. "I'm doing my due diligence. None of that information was provided by council to my office, so now I have to do it myself."
Fifty Michigan counties have land bank authorities; Detroit is the only city in the state with one. Detroit has an intergovernmental agreement with the State Land Bank Authority, as required under law, said Joseph Rivet, State Land Bank Authority executive director. As of 2022, the Detroit Land Bank Authority had demolished 23,000 vacant houses and sold 13,000 structures and 22,000 vacant lots over the past decade.
Rivet said the state authority is currently in talks with another Michigan city as well as two counties about creating local land banks. Grand Rapids is considering making one. On Tuesday, city Economic Development Director Sarah Rainero provided the Grand Rapids City Commission with a presentation and overview of the proposed authority, according to a city newsletter.
Stone said properties turned over to Macomb County for failure to pay taxes go up for auction. The properties left over after the public auction are offered back to cities. She said Warren adds about 10 to 15 tax-reverted parcels to its inventory a year.
She said some council members have said that the land bank would address blighted properties, but she noted that land banks actually manage tax-reverted properties, which aren't necessarily blighted. And not all blighted properties are tax-reverted.
When asked how long it will take her to come to a decision on the land bank agreement, she said she "can't put a timeline on it" and her administration still has to schedule a meeting with Rivet of the State Land Bank Authority.
Warren is able to create a land bank because the Macomb County Board of Commissioners decided this year not to form a county land bank authority, Schroder said. Under the council's plan, Warren's land bank authority will be governed by a board consisting of the city treasurer, controller, two council members and a resident appointed by the mayor.
City Council President Angela Rogensues supports creating the city's own land bank.
"I think this is a really good opportunity for the city, a really good opportunity for residents who have property in their neighborhood or would be interested in purchasing additional property," she said.
State grant money is available to local land bank authorities, said City Council Secretary Mindy Moore. In February, Gov. Gretchen Whitmerannounced recipients of grants from the State Land Bank Authorityto support projects that convert underutilized land into affordable housing opportunities and "build safer, more prosperous communities," a news release from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity said.
Rivet, the executive director of the Michigan State Land Bank Authority, said in a statement that he has been in contact with the Warren City Council for several months, including discussing details of the intergovernmental agreement.
"We are pleased the City of Warren is joining the 51 other local land banks across Michigan," he said. "Land Banks have proven to be a useful tool in revitalizing communities, sparking housing development and providing incentives for economic growth. We know the residents of Warren benefit from having a land bank."
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