Tricog Land Bank outlines process, costs if Crafton joins to tackle blight

Representatives from the Tricog Land Bank presented to Crafton Borough Council July 24 on how a municipal land bank could be used to acquire, clear title to and return abandoned or blighted properties to productive use.

Anne Lewis, director of the Tricog Land Bank and Steel Rivers Council of Governments, described the land bank's legal authority under Pennsylvania's Land Bank Act and explained the organization's standard operating model: acquire problem properties (by conservatorship, purchase or other legal means), clear title so the property becomes insurable, secure the exterior, remove junk, and then disposition the property to vetted buyers or developers. "We clear title such that the property will qualify for title insurance," Lewis said,…