Evansville Land Bank adopts license agreement for short-term uses; approves several parcel sales and committee update

The Evansville Land Bank Corporation adopted a standardized license agreement on April 11 that will allow individuals or entities to use land-bank parcels for limited purposes such as community gardens or temporary parking, and the board approved several routine property transactions and an investment-committee membership update.

The action matters because the license agreement creates a formal, repeatable process for permitting temporary uses of city-owned lots while preserving the land bank’s ability to terminate or set conditions, including insurance, maintenance and restrictions on improvements. Board members also approved sales of four small parcels and unanimously replaced a departing city finance officer on the investment committee.

At the start of the discussion, the presiding officer for the Evansville Land Bank Corporation said the office had recently received an inquiry from an applicant who wanted to build a dog run on a land-bank parcel and that staff had sought counsel on a licensing approach. Land bank counsel Marco D'Alessio presented a draft form license agreement, saying it would be “a form only” that could be varied for particular uses. He summarized its core terms: the agreement grants the right to use a parcel for a stated purpose, can include a defined term or automatic renewal, includes “as is, where is” language and indemnification, requires insurance with the land bank named on the certificate, and prohibits…