Blight Mitigation

Land banking is part of a regional initiative that transitions blighted properties into usable spaces for beneficial reuse in the community. We believe code enforcement is our first line of defense.

The central goal of the land bank is to mitigate blight and stimulate economic development by transferring properties that are vacant, abandoned, and tax delinquent back to productive use that benefits communities. Strategic decisions can be made to ensure the highest impact properties are pursued and placed into productive use and taxpaying status. The following are some benefits attributable to a land bank.

• Land Banks work in unison with community priorities and plans and alongside local community development corporations, community-minded groups and individuals to ensure the most desirable development outcomes are achieved.
• Properties are available to current residents, to-be homeowners, non-profits, investors, and development agencies with countless development opportunities, along with a clear title and a fresh start.
• Blight is not bound by geographic or political borders.  A regional approach allows for a diverse real estate portfolio and increases opportunities for success.
• Land Banks focus on the data: tax delinquencies, market types, parcel conditions, trends in development. We have a way to track it – and to map it!
• Landbanks focus on the data: tax delinquencies, market types, parcel conditions, trends in development. We have a way to track it – and to map it!
• Addressing blight takes money – acquisition and maintenance of properties can be extremely expensive. Land Banks can accept financial resources from various sources – including membership contributions, grants, revenue from sales, and foundation support.
• Neighborhood revitalization can be tricky, and oftentimes creative approaches are needed.   Land Banks are flexible for communities’ plans and responsive enough for new opportunities.
• As a quasi-public entity Land Banks adhere to the same reporting standards and audits, making it a transparent and accountable organization.

Visit the Tri-COG Land Bank for more information on the process, progress, and goals of land banking.

The Cost of Blight

In the summer of 2013, a collaborative made up of the Steel Valley, Turtle Creek and Twin River Council of Governments (Tri-COG) in conjunction with Delta Development Group, developed a study to figure out just how much blighted households costs homeowners and taxing jurisdictions throughout the Tri-COG’s 41 municipalities. The results were staggering and reveal the magnitude of the problem related to blight in our region.

Download a copy of the Full Report or Executive Summary

In the summer of 2013, a collaborative made up of the Steel Valley, Turtle Creek and Twin River Council of Governments (Tri-COG) in conjunction with Delta Development Group, developed a study to figure out just how much blighted households costs homeowners and taxing jurisdictions throughout the Tri-COG’s 41 municipalities. The results were staggering and reveal the magnitude of the problem related to blight in our region.

Download a copy of the Full Report or Executive Summary

Highlights

The study looks at both the direct and indirect costs of blight in our neighborhoods.

Direct Costs

The direct cost of blight is composed of three different costs:

• Additional Municipal Services – The first cost only affects municipal budgets and reflects the situation when municipalities deploy additional services in order to maintain blighted and abandoned households. While blight only makes up a portion of the housing stock, we found that they get a disproportionate amount of attention from our municipalities in terms of of code enforcement, police, fire, public work and demolition services from the municipalities.
• Direct Loss of Real Estate Tax Revenue –  Many of the blighted and abandoned households throughout the Tri-COG were also found to be tax delinquent. In fact 56% of blighted households were found to be delinquent on their county taxes, reinforcing the correlation between a blight and tax delinquency.
• Direct Loss of Earned Income Tax (EIT) – The EIT levy is the second largest source of revenue for most municipalities in Pennsylvania. EIT is collected based on where a person lives and is therefore dramatically affected by loss of population. Our study looked at the loss of EIT resulting from both demolitions and abandoned households throughout the Tri-COG footprint.

Direct Costs

The direct cost of blight is composed of three different costs:

• Additional Municipal Services – The first cost only affects municipal budgets and reflects the situation when municipalities deploy additional services in order to maintain blighted and abandoned households. While blight only makes up a portion of the housing stock, we found that they get a disproportionate amount of attention from our municipalities in terms of of code enforcement, police, fire, public work and demolition services from the municipalities.
• Direct Loss of Real Estate Tax Revenue –  Many of the blighted and abandoned households throughout the Tri-COG were also found to be tax delinquent. In fact 56% of blighted households were found to be delinquent on their county taxes, reinforcing the correlation between a blight and tax delinquency.
• Direct Loss of Earned Income Tax (EIT) – The EIT levy is the second largest source of revenue for most municipalities in Pennsylvania. EIT is collected based on where a person lives and is therefore dramatically affected by loss of population. Our study looked at the loss of EIT resulting from both demolitions and abandoned households throughout the Tri-COG footprint.

Annual Cost of Additional Municipal Services

Annual Loss of Real Estate Tax Revenue

Housing Statistics

Housing Statistics