Government Operations Committee recommends reactivating land bank authority, asks mayor and commission to consider $275,000 designation

The Government Operations Committee on March 17 voted to send the mayor and commission a recommendation to reactivate the Athens-Clarke County Land Bank Authority and requested staff return with an operations and staffing plan, including a proposal to designate $275,000 from the county's affordable housing special revenue fund for up to 18 months.

Andrew, a county staff member who presented the item, said the land bank's chief advantage is speed in acquiring and disposing of property. "The most benefits that it offers is maybe more nimble acquisition and disposition of property than you get out of just the unified government," he said, describing how an authority might be used for blight remediation, infill housing and heirs-property issues.

The committee heard that the county's recent tax-commission records show seven distinct parcels offered at tax sale over the past decade that did not sell, and the land bank currently holds title to five parcels. Andrew said of the 40-odd county-owned lots reviewed, roughly 20 "have decent potential for being returned to housing; the remainder are predominantly remnants and unusable." He cautioned that many unsold tax-sale lots lack road frontage, are subject to utility easements or…