Council hears testimony and withdraws public‑hearing request for Land Bank intergovernmental cooperation agreement

City council members and invited guests spent substantial time Wednesday discussing an intergovernmental cooperation agreement (ICA) to formalize working procedures between the Pittsburgh Land Bank, the city, Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Public School District. The ICA is intended to clarify steps for using sheriff’s‑sale procedures, priority‑bid authority and other workflows that help the land bank return vacant and tax‑delinquent properties to productive reuse.

What the ICA does

Under state law a land bank may use sheriff’s‑sale processes only when the taxing bodies agree on the procedure; the agreement before council lays out notices, priority‑bid processes and the flow of properties from public inventory to the land bank and then to developers or community recipients. Supporters said the ICA will allow earlier intervention on abandoned properties (before years of tax delinquency accumulate) and will let the land bank protect lots from outside speculators by using priority bids.

Public testimony and council discussion

Residents, community development leaders and developers told the committee the land bank has helped assemble parcels for affordable housing and that the ICA would accelerate that work. Representatives of Habitat for Humanity, community development corporations, and local nonprofit developers described cases where land‑bank authority prevented speculative price escalation and allowed small developers to assemble buildable lots. The Wilkinsburg Land Bank’s executive director and other regional land‑bank practitioners gave examples of how cooperation among taxing bodies shortened project timelines.

Some council members pressed for clear guardrails. Councilwoman Deb Gross and others urged transparency and public review; Councilwoman Cale Smith had earlier requested a public hearing, and during the meeting she withdrew that request after staff presented the draft agreement and the administration’s explanations. Council and administration officials said the ICA incorporates safeguards, that the land bank will continue to operate under council oversight, and that sale transactions for properties would still come to council when applicable.

Why it matters

Supporters said the ICA will let the land bank use more efficient legal mechanisms (including the priority bid at sheriff sale) to take troubled properties out of harmful cycles, reduce blight and assemble parcels for affordable housing. Critics and some council members said the city should preserve council’s role, be cautious about taking privately held residences and ensure robust community engagement before property transfers.

Clarifying details

- The ICA explains processes by which the land bank may place parcels in sheriff sale and, when appropriate, purchase them via priority bid to prevent speculative resale. - When the land bank sells rehabilitated property and it returns to the tax rolls, a portion of new tax receipts are shared as a funding mechanism (the ICA outlines the distribution and timeline referenced by staff). - The land bank and partner nonprofits described recent property transactions and pilot projects that have returned properties to service as affordable housing; examples cited included neighborhood redevelopment in Hazelwood and Wilkinsburg.

Ending

Committee discussion was extensive and largely supportive; council did not record a final vote on the ICA at the session. The committee accepted administration presentations, withdrew an earlier request to hold a public hearing on the measure, and requested staff to continue coordination with council offices and community partners before future action.