Pittsburgh City Council will hold a post-agenda session and a committee hearing this week to deliberate on the policies and procedures manual (manual) for the Pittsburgh Land Bank.  The mission of the Land Bank, as outlined in the manual, is to “…return unproductive real property to beneficial reuse…” under the terms of the state Land Bank law (Act 153 of 2012) and the ordinance passed by the City of Pittsburgh.

The manual, which is currently in draft form, notes that in the “organizational context” (section 1.03) the Land Bank is one of several entities and agencies involved in the overall mission and will enter into a three party cooperation agreement with the City and the Urban Redevelopment Authority to spell out the “…ongoing interaction” between the parties.

The manual spells out how the Land Bank is to acquire property and the factors it is to consider (section 4.01) and how to dispose of its holdings (section 5.01).  The Land Bank is to be funded by a combination of levies it places on the real property it may come to hold or by grants or loans from other levels of government (section 13.03).  It can also receive a portion of the property taxes it holds if the taxing bodies agree.