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Commission hears update on Topeka land bank pilot and questions funding, acquisitions and incentives
Summary
Senior management analyst Quinn Cole briefed the Planning Commission on the city’s three-year land bank pilot (launched June 2024), fund balance ($498,630), eight lots in inventory and acquisition methods; commissioners pressed staff on pilot goals, acquisition criteria, auction strategy and developer incentives.
Quinn Cole, senior management analyst with planning and development, gave an in-depth briefing on Topeka’s land bank pilot, which was adopted in May 2023 following recommendations in the 2020 housing study.
Cole said the land bank launched publicly in June 2024 as a three-year pilot designed to test how a land bank can work in Topeka. He said the program began with $500,000 and the current fund balance is $498,630. Cole described four acquisition paths — intergovernmental transfer (how the current inventory was acquired), tax sale, private donation and private market purchase — and said parcels in the land bank are cleared of back due taxes and lot-level code violations and are maintained (for lots, mowing and trash removal) before being offered for sale with development agreements and timelines.
Staff reported two lots have sold (one closing this week) and eight vacant lots remain in inventory with one additional parcel in acquisition. The land bank is governed by a five-member board of trustees appointed by the mayor; that board approves all land transactions and will be reconstituted in January 2026 after current terms expire.
Commissioners pressed staff on multiple operational issues. Questions included what the three-year pilot is intended to measure, whether the program accepts commercial properties (staff: currently residential only), how properties enter the land bank (the current inventory came from city-owned parcels), whether donations or private-market purchases have been used (none yet), and whether tax sales and county partnerships would be pursued. Staff said the pilot will be used to recalibrate acquisition and marketing strategy and to explore new acquisition avenues, including tax sales and private-market purchases.
Several commissioners raised feasibility concerns. One commissioner noted construction costs can prevent affordable housing projects from 'penciling out' even when land is provided at low or no cost; staff and commissioners discussed the Affordable Housing Trust Fund — which staff said would be capped at no more than 20% of project cost — as potential gap financing to make development more viable. Commissioners recommended formalizing measurable goals for the pilot, staggering trustee terms to retain institutional knowledge, and increasing neighborhood outreach to identify possible donations.
Cole said the land bank meets monthly and that staff will evaluate meeting timing with the incoming trustees. He also provided a contact for the land bank (landbank@topeka.org) and offered to help commissioners and residents learn more about public meetings and acquisition opportunities.
The briefing closed with an invitation for commissioners to offer suggestions on goals, metrics and community outreach strategies.
