Iola’s newly established land bank is open for business.
This bank is not a financial institution in a traditional sense.
You can’t go in and ask for a loan, or even make a deposit.
In fact, its only “assets” will be vacant lots, with the intention of filling them with new homes or businesses.
The City of Iola Land Bank announced last week it is now accepting residential properties for donation.
THERE ARE a few notable stipulations, said Matt Rehder, city administrator.
For one, the land must be vacant with no structures, and at least 50 feet by 100 feet. The current owners must have a clear title, and must be up to date on property taxes.
Secondly, the land must be donated. The city has no such thing as a “land bank” budget, Rehder noted, and thus will not be able to pay for any pieces of land.
Similarly, the city would donate the property to prospective developers.
“If properties get donated to us, and we find a legitimate person to develop it, we’ll deed the property over to them for free,” Rehder said. “The plan would be to get the property into the hands of developers who could put up a house.”
There may come a time when the city becomes more proactive, Rehder added, and could use it as a tool to help rid Iola of nuisance or abandoned properties.
“But right now, it’s just a way to get infill development,” he said.
THE CONCEPT of landbanking has been around for decades in the United States, most notably in and around St. Louis, Detroit and Cleveland in the early 1970s as those cities looked for ways to reclaim vacant industrial properties, converting what had been blighted areas into growing suburban neighborhoods.
Kansas lawmakers established land bank legislation in 2016.
Locally, Allen County commissioners considered a countywide land bank around 2021, but backed off in large part because once a governmental entity takes ownership of a property, it then is responsible for maintaining it.
“It’s easier for a city to maintain a small amount of property than a county,” Rehder said.
