City Council President Greg Anderson wants action and he wants it now.
“We’ve been debating this for two years and it’s a two-year program. It’s not going to be perfect. It’s intended to be a trial,” he said, referring to bill 2015-519, which was introduced to council in July.
Anderson wants a vote on the bill at today’s council meeting.
He issued the deadline Monday at a special meeting of the Finance and Recreation, Community Development, Public Health and Safety committees.
The legislation is the result of discussion and debate that began about two years ago in the Special Ad Hoc Committee on Neighborhood Blight.
The committee explored options for so-called “zombie” property, ownership of which the city assumed due to liens from municipal code compliance fines or unpaid ad valorem taxes.
The bill would increase from $25,000 to $50,000 the value of property the city may donate.
It also would allow private entities to develop affordable housing on the properties, increasing housing opportunities and getting the property back on the tax rolls.
About 400 such properties have been placed on the Affordable Housing Inventory List.
The plan is to donate or auction the properties to developers for the purpose of building affordable housing.
Auction proceeds would be placed into an affordable housing fund to be used to develop projects.
After the city determines it has no use for a particular parcel, established nonprofits that develop affordable housing would have first right of refusal for the properties.
If none are interested in a parcel, it would be made available to the public, either through a city-issued request for proposals, or the city could consider a proposal from a potential developer.
The nonprofit must complete the project within 18 months of receiving the property.
Committee members expressed concerns over the fine points of the plan, which will be clarified by amending the bill before 5 p.m. today when council convenes at City Hall.
Council Vice President Lori Boyer said recipients of the parcels, whether through donation or auction, should not have code compliance or tax liens against other properties they own.
“I don’t want us donating more things to an entity that’s non-compliant,” she said.
Boyer also said people who live in their homes on property adjacent to the available properties should be allowed to purchase the parcel at auction and not be required to build affordable housing if the purpose of the purchase is to enlarge their property.
“If a property owner purchases a lot to make it part of their yard, that’s good, too,” she said.
Committee member Reggie Brown said the bill should include design requirements for new affordable housing construction that would prevent a project from decreasing property values in the neighborhood.
“We don’t want a concrete block house with a flat roof surrounded by Victorian-style homes,” he said. “We have to consider the impact of a sale on the neighborhood more than the revenue.”
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