Source: By Hanna Snyder Gambini Republican-American

Date: December 12, 2021

WATERBURY - The public can share their views or ask questions on a proposed ordinance to establish a city land bank during a virtual hearing tonight at 6:45 p.m.

The regular Board of Aldermen meeting will take place, also remotely via Zoom, at 7 p.m.

A land bank would allow appointed board members to work on behalf of the city to acquire and rehabilitate abandoned or blighted properties.

City officials have long been looking to establish a land bank, as it fits in with the city's development and aggressive anti-blight strategies dating back more than 15 years.

State legislation that went into effect in 2020 authorized cities to create land banks as stand-alone, nonstock corporations. Mayor Neil M. O'Leary at the last aldermen meeting said "blighted, vacant, abandoned and distressed properties are costly and present a danger to the health and safety of residents and contribute to the decline of neighborhoods and adversely affect the prosperity of the city." He said a land bank will help "remedy and reverse urban decay within the city."

The land bank will have a seven-member board of directors appointed by the mayor and Board of Aldermen.

The city has identified dozens of properties that could be revamped through the efforts of the land bank, which would have legal authority to acquire, design, demolish and construct property, and finance its activities by borrowing, seeking grants, and issuing limited obligation bonds.

Representatives from the mayor's office and the law offices of Carmody, Torrance, Sendak & Hennessey will be available at the hearing to share more information on and answer questions about the land bank.