Samantha Sheehan and Josh Hanford testified Feb. 21 that while a statewide land bank could support redevelopment of vacant or abandoned properties, municipalities already rely on regional development corporations (RDCs), regional planning commissions (RPCs) and the state Brownfield Program to accomplish similar goals.

“I'm not saying there isn’t another tool needed,” Hanford said, but he warned that how a land bank is structured would determine whether it helps or harms municipal budgets and tax bases. He noted municipalities sometimes must wait longer under the tax-sale process and that if a land bank were given money and then acquired tax-delinquent properties, municipalities could lose tax revenue if back taxes or charges are waived.

Why it matters: committee members are considering a mandate for further study and potential legislation to address vacant and abandoned housing. Testimony urged caution in moving directly to statutory land-bank authority without clearer funding and implementation design.

Specific points from testimony:

- The league participated on a recent state report about vacant and abandoned housing and supports tools that promote redevelopment, but said a statewide land bank requires further study and clear funding strategies.

- The league highlighted the effectiveness of the Brownfield Program for enabling redevelopment and quoted developers who would not pursue downtown reuse without brownfield funding.

- The witnesses supported H.132 (as referenced in testimony) that would allow municipalities to recover cleanup costs in tax-sale processes; they said cleanup costs currently deter municipalities from initiating tax sales.

Questions and follow-up: committee members asked whether the league supported the recent extension of the tax-sale redemption period; the league said it supported protecting vulnerable property owners but suggested targeted funds might better address hardship without shifting costs to other taxpayers.

Ending: The committee and witnesses agreed further study could be productive; the league offered to share detailed survey data and referenced external analysis by an attorney who reviewed tax-sale records.