Aragon looking at Land Bank too

♦ Cities, county all dabbling with idea for controlling, selling blighted property

The pros and cons of establishing a Polk County land bank have been discussed at nearly every local government meeting, and Aragon is no exception. Not only did the council draft up a land bank ordinance, they approved its first reading.

Abandoned, unwanted properties can be sold through the land bank-helping to remove market stagnation. While each municipality in Polk would be free to use the tool, it can’t be created at all without the county’s approval.

Rockmart council member Sherman Ross, who instigated much of the land bank discussion, explained the concept at an earlier Rethink Rockmart meeting.

“It will take in properties, abandoned properties, primarily where people owe back-taxes,” Ross said. “Those can be foreclosed on and put into the land bank authority, and the land bank authority can offer those for sale. Primarily, what we like to do is get developers involved. Get them interested in acquiring these properties, and if its an abandoned home, either renovate it, tear it down, or build something new. It’s going be a great tool that will benefit the whole community.”

Mayor Garry Baldwin seemed interested in the land bank’s power to affect properties that were out of even the council’s power.

“They have powers we don’t,” Baldwin said. “They can take those (properties) give them fair market value, put money into them, refurbish it, and put them back on the market, and start collecting taxes on them again- where we possibly can’t.”

The land bank can even give blighted properties more market value by sinking resources into them or making them available for developers. The properties won’t be in ownership limbo, more living space will be available, and the unkempt houses won’t be an eyesore on the city any longer.

“There’s a property right at the edge of city limit -- it’s under a power line,” Baldwin said. “It’s just sitting there its in bankruptcy by this company. Nobody is going to want to buy it. I don’t want to turn it into a park- it’s under a power line. What do we do? This land bank can take that property off of tax row, and

maybe somewhere down the line we can bundle it with something else and put it back on.”

The ordinance still has various readings to go through before it can be approved, and there still must be other entities willing to co-create the land bank alongside Aragon.

The group approved the reading unanimously and pledged to work out the postlaunch details in the event it passes.

The other Polk entities had their own discussion on the

matter, but the reception of the land bank seems mostly positive. The county commission promised to keep looking into the matter, but commissioner Jose Iglesias mentioned that land banks often derive funds form line items in government budgets, and he demonstrated concern that cost would fall on the county.

Ross, when giving a presentation about land banks to the county, mentioned that the cost would be nominal. He believes the county and any other entity that offers money to the land bank will find it worth it in the long run.

“That’s what I would see as seed money,” Ross replied.

“Once it gets established -there’s a nearby land bank that generated $100,000 recently. In the beginning, it could be an expense to the county, but I think it would be nominal.”

Cedartown’s commissioners seem even more accepting of the idea, and city manager Bill Fann mentioned the success of other local land banks, particularly the development generated by Atlanta around Turner Field during the 1990s in part with Fulton County, are a positive sign. He admitted it still has cons, however.

“The most important thing for the land bank is that all the entities can put properties in the land bank,” Fann said.

In fact, Cedartown toyed

with the idea in the past when working with GICH, but it wasn’t a tool they were particularly interested in at the time. That perception has perhaps changed with the increased discussion of the land bank.

Municipalities don’t have to take part in the land bank, so if Rockmart were to wash their hands of the idea, the remaining Polk entities could still use it.

No matter who wants to create it, the county is pivotal in establishing the land bank.

Whether or not the cities can participate at all will largely depend on what the county commissioners decide to do.