Ohio land banking bill passes House, moves to Senate

Ohio House Bill 313, which could give 28 counties land banking powers, has been passed out of the Ohio House and will now move on to the Ohio Senate.

Senate Bill 188, a companion bill sponsored by state senators Mark Wagoner (R-2nd) and Teresa Fedor (D-11th), already has had two public hearings and is believed to have bipartisan support.

If passed, counties with populations of more than 100,000 – or between 78,000 and 81,000 – could organize County Land Use Revitalization Corporations to deal with a glut of abandoned and vacant properties resulting from foreclosure and population loss.

The counties of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren would be included. Currently, countywide land banking powers are only available in Cuyahoga County.

Land banking was one of 26 recommendations released last April in a Brookings Institution/Greater Ohio report (PDF) outlining specific action items to help reduce Ohio's problems with abandoned and vacant properties.

Previous reading on BC:
Ohio county land banking passes House committee (12/14/09)
28 Ohio counties could acquire land banking powers (10/29/09)