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Land Bank Commission presents 2024 annual report; councilors discuss land-banking for development uses
Summary
Simon Rucker, district 1 commissioner and secretary to the Land Bank Commission, presented the commission's annual report, highlighting conservation acquisitions and trail work; councilors suggested exploring broader land-bank roles for economic development and tax-acquired properties in coordination with a new state land bank entity.
Simon Rucker, District 1 commissioner and secretary of the Land Bank Commission, presented the commission's annual report and told the City Council the Land Bank focuses on protecting open space in Portland and on site improvements such as trails and boat-launch work.
"The land bank is dedicated to the protection of open space in the city of Portland," Rucker said, describing 2024 work including initial work on a hand-carry boat launch at Stroud Water Park, trail maintenance at North Park and improvements at Riverton Trolley Park and the Presumpscot River Preserve. He noted the commission has added three new commissioners with expertise in land conservation and real estate.
Councilors thanked the commission and asked whether the land bank's remit could be broadened to include catalytic land for community or economic development. Councilor Bullock noted many land banks nationwide acquire distressed or vacant lots for redevelopment and asked whether Portland has a mechanism to route those properties to economic uses. Rucker and staff said many small tax-acquired lots are unsuitable for development and are routed to appropriate departments, but they acknowledged that the newly created Maine Land Bank Redevelopment Authority (which the council discussed by name) could be a useful partner.
City staff and councilors explained the city's tax-acquired property process and noted recent state changes that make it more difficult for municipalities to retain tax-acquired parcels without compensating former owners or listing properties for sale. "Recent changes to Maine's tax acquired property law make it much more difficult for municipalities to retain tax acquired properties," staff said, noting municipal retention now includes compensation or extended realtor listing requirements.
Councilors suggested the housing and economic development committee could explore whether a municipal mechanism should be created to work in parallel with conservation goals and to identify lots suitable for community development. Rucker said the Land Bank Commission continues to evaluate projects for conservation and to coordinate with parks, stormwater, housing and economic development staff.
