Board approves Land Bank Authority changes to allow title transfers that can enable TIF-backed infrastructure

The board approved revisions to Land Bank Authority procedures to expand how the land bank may hold or accept property in order to facilitate public or private financing for development, including infrastructure costs that can be captured by tax increment financing (TIF) or brownfield incentives.

Cheryl (staff presenting the changes) explained the edits add explicit support for local government‑backed industrial development projects where land‑bank authority use facilitates eligibility for public or private financing. She gave a hypothetical example of commercial land lacking sewer or water that the county could take into the land bank to make infrastructure costs eligible for TIF financing.

The change also clarifies which transfers require board approval versus director authority and adds a signature page to the document. Commissioners discussed how putting land into the land bank can lower developer costs by shifting utility costs and thereby encourage investment and jobs. The board approved the amendments by voice vote (ayes) and the chair announced "Motion carried."