Cherokee regional land bank proposed as a tool for workforce housing, presenter says

Cherokee County representative Brantley Day told the Woodstock City Mayor and Council on March 17 that the county and one or more cities are exploring a Cherokee Regional Land Bank to acquire, hold and repurpose tax-delinquent or donated property for workforce and attainable housing.

Day said the tool is authorized under Georgia law and described the basic structure and powers that counties and cities have used elsewhere. He said the draft intergovernmental agreement (IGA) the county has prepared would give each participating jurisdiction one vote on the land bank board and require jurisdictional approval before a project could proceed.

Day said the land bank would act as a depository of property and could, in some cases, extinguish tax liens after the statutory waiting period to return blighted or delinquent parcels to the tax rolls. "Think of land banks as depositories of property, tax delinquent property, sometimes blighted, sometimes donated," Day said. "The land bank holds the property until it's conveyed and repurposed for a project consistent with the purpose of the land bank." He added that the board would adopt bylaws and policies and that local jurisdictions would retain zoning and land-use authority.

Why it matte…