Our Mission: The Land Bank mission is to restore value to the community by acquiring, developing and selling vacant and abandoned properties in cooperation with stakeholders who value responsible land ownership.
Land Bank 2002-2006 Review
Land Bank Brochure
Presentation on the Land Bank
| Tax Law Comparison Chart |
Former Foreclosure Law
• 4-7 year process
• No clear title
• Hundreds of owners
• Low-end speculation
• Indiscriminate foreclosure
•• homeowners at risk • Contagious blight | New Tax Law (PA 123 of 1999)
• 1-2 year process
• Clear title judgment
• Property titled to county
• Tax liens eliminated
• Hardship postponements
• Intervention |
Michigan had a tax foreclosure process that hopelessly mired tax reverted properties in a legal limbo. This contributed to urban decline in Flint by keeping properties off of the tax roll and out of circulation for up to seven years. In 1999, the Michigan State Legislature created a new, streamlined system for returning tax-reverted properties to productive use (P.A. 123 and a subsequent P.A. 258). This changed the way foreclosed properties were handled by giving outright ownership of these properties to the local County Treasurer after only two and a half years. (See Comparison Chart)
With this
new process, Michigan opened the door for communities to reclaim, reinvest in and rebuild their neighborhoods. Thus, the Genesee County Land Reutilization Council (LRC) was created. In 2004, after the State of Michigan passed the land bank legislation, the LRC became the Genesee County Land Bank Authority (GCLBA). The GCLBA uses the new tax law as a constructive community development tool: avoiding the potential neglect or misuse that comes from selling land at auction, the County is able to acquire abandoned land through the foreclosure process and determine the best use of that land. The GCLBA assembles land for transfer to adjacent homeowners, develops long and short-term green spaces, and assembles land for new housing and commercial development. The objective is to restore the integrity of the community by removing dilapidated structures and redeveloping abandoned properties.
| Operations and Programs | Top
|
Since its inception in 2002, the Genesee County Land Bank has taken the lead in applying the economic tools created under this new system by playing an active role in stabilizing neighborhoods and revitalizing the City of Flint and the surrounding areas. The Land Bank encourages re-use of more than
4,000 residential, commercial and industrial properties that it has acquired through the tax foreclosure process. This is accomplished through partnerships with public, private and non-profit partners as well as with the proceeds from the tax foreclosure process, proceeds from GCLB sales and rental programs, grants, loans, and bonds.
The Land Bank has 10
programs, Planning and Outreach, Brownfield Redevelopment, Development, Adopt-a-Lot, Clean and Green, Demolition, Housing Renovation, Sales, Side Lot Transfer and Foreclosure Prevention.
The Foreclosure Prevention Program is a collaborative effort between the Land Bank and the Genesee County Treasurer’s Office to prevent tax foreclosure on homes. Unfortunately, before the Land Bank, the law provided no way for local officials to intervene to help a family facing the loss of their home. A family facing tax foreclosure was at the mercy of a tax lien holder, usually an out-of-state investor with a personal financial interest in the property being foreclosed. The new law allows the county treasurer to postpone foreclosure for a home owner facing a ‘substantial financial hardship.’ For More information about the Michigan Land Bank Model and/or Tax Foreclosure Reform contact the
Genesee Institute at 810-233-7315.
Download the
Land Bank Brochure.
In addition to the regular
staff, the Genesee County Land Bank is governed by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, City of Flint and Flint Township. The current board members are listed below:
| Land Bank Board of Directors |
| Position |
Member Name |
| Chairperson |
Kildee, Dan |
| Vice-Chairperson |
Clack, Brenda |
| Secretary |
Lockwood, Patricia |
| Treasurer |
Sims, Omar |
| General Member |
Ananich, Jim |
| General Member |
Gleason, Patrick |
| General Member |
Long, Paul |
