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22 <br /> Orange CounEy AFFORDABLE HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN 2016 -2020 <br /> BOCC Work _ n September 8, 2016 <br /> 2. Land Banking <br /> What is Land Banking? <br /> Land banking is the process or policy by which local governments acquire/purchase properties and convert them <br /> to productive use or hold them for long-term strategic public purposes. Land banks are public authorities or <br /> special purpose not-for-profit corporations that specialize in land banking activities. Primary barriers to reuse <br /> vacant and abandoned property by the open market are tax liens and foreclosure processes. <br /> Land Banks as Depositories <br /> A land bank can acquire properties and re-convey them to qualified transferees for reuse and redevelopment. For <br /> a Land Bank Depository Program the goals are fourfold: <br /> a. Permit advance acquisition of potential development sites in anticipation of rapidly rising land prices; <br /> b. Facilitate pre-development planning, financing and structuring; <br /> c. Minimize or eliminate violations of housing and building codes and public nuisances on properties to be <br /> developed for affordable housing; <br /> d. Hold parcels of land for future strategic governmental purposes such as affordable housing and open spaces <br /> and greenways <br /> When a community lacks existing development or redevelopment capacity, it may indeed become possible and <br /> appropriate for a land bank to serve a catalytic role in stimulating the redevelopment of a specific tract of land. <br /> Precisely because of its ability to acquire and hold vacant land, the land bank possesses a key potential asset that <br /> it can contribute to a redevelopment joint venture or limited partnership. To the extent that the land bank <br /> possesses broad authority to borrow funds and secure its own interests by taking back subordinate construction <br /> financing or long term debt or equity positions, it possesses a strong set of partnership tools. <br /> Land Bank Example: Northside Land Bank, Chapel Hill <br /> The Northside Neighborhood Initiative (NNI) is a partnership among UNC-Chapel Hill, Self-Help, the Jackson <br /> Center, and the Town of Chapel Hill that pursues a shared vision for the historic Northside Neighborhood: a <br /> family-friendly, multi-generational community that balances the needs of long-term residents, new owners, renters <br /> 20 <br />