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Regional land bank director outlines review of roughly 17 county properties in Lithonia
Summary
Tamika Churchill, executive director of the regional land bank, told the Lithonia City Council she has identified about 17 county-owned properties in the city for evaluation and said transfers into the land bank would require approval by the county Board of Commissioners; she invited city staff to propose additional parcels for inclusion.
Tamika Churchill, the new executive director of the regional land bank authority, introduced herself to the Lithonia City Council during the Dec. 16 work session and urged partnership between the authority and the city to advance affordable-housing and redevelopment projects.
"I am the new executive director and . . . we are looking forward to the partnership that we have with the city of Lithonia," Churchill said, describing work she began in July to "evaluate and acquire and work on our mission and our goal for affordable housing renovation and economic development." She told council staff the land bank is evaluating a county-owned inventory and has identified about 17 properties inside the city for potential transfer into the land bank.
Why it matters: A property transfer into a land bank allows government-held, vacant or dilapidated parcels to be maintained and turned over for redevelopment, but Churchill said transfers are a multistep process. She said the authority must evaluate parcels against its guidelines and then ask the Board of Commissioners to approve a transfer if the property meets the criteria.
Churchill described the land bank's current work as largely evaluative: it is compiling an inventory of vacants and dilapidated properties (what she called the VAD inventory), checking title and liens and looking for community partners and developers who could carry projects through to reuse. "If it's something that you are that's specific, you can reach out to me and let me know what it is and I can take a look," she said, inviting council members and staff to flag city-owned parcels that might be appropriate for the land bank to hold and rehabilitate.
Council members asked for clarification on timelines and ownership questions. Churchill said county-owned properties are not automatically in the land bank; the authority must request transfers from the Board of Commissioners after an evaluation. She said partnership agreements can be renewed and noted that the current partnership term will come up for renewal in December 2025.
What's next: Churchill offered to meet with city staff and review particular properties and suggested the council and city real-estate contacts provide candidate parcels for evaluation. The land bank also said it will return to the council with program details and potential project proposals once evaluations are further along.
The council then moved on to other agenda items.
