Land Bank board members need to show up and do their job | Editorial

After years of struggling with blighted and abandoned housing stock, Philadelphia finally seemed to have found a solution in the city’s Land Bank, the agency that was empowered a decade ago to repurpose vacant and tax-delinquent properties.

Empowered, that is, at least when enough of its board members show up.

Given the lack of compensation that comes with serving on the Land Bank’s board, it’s hardly surprising that some of its members may miss a meeting or two. But over the last year, consistent absences have made it hard for the Land Bank to operate as designed. This is inexcusable.

It is also a broader problem for a city that is struggling to improve public safety. Research has repeatedly shown that vacant and blighted properties correlate with high crime rates. Empty properties also pose health hazards for residents, fail to produce revenue for Philadelphia’s tax rolls, and require constant maintenance, which the city often fails to adequately provide.

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The Land Bank board is meant to have 11 members. A majority vote is required to approve a sale. However, unlike some other boards, where a majority vote can proceed if there is a quorum, the Land Bank requires six votes even if some members are missing.

So far this year, at least one board member has been absent from each of the eight monthly meetings that have been held. Often, two or more board members fail to appear. Per the rules of the board, an absence or abstention is essentially a no vote. That can make approvals difficult, especially when a sale is controversial.

The September meeting provided a clear example of the board’s dysfunction.

The board was set to consider the sale of 75 lots in the Norris Square section of North Philadelphia through the city’s Turn the Key program, which provides affordable and workforce housing by subsidizing land sales.

The most affordable properties in the proposal would sell for just over $200,000 — hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the typical cost of a newly built home. City employees, who are often required to live within Philadelphia, would be prioritized, earning the enthusiastic support of AFSCME District Council 33, the city’s union for blue-collar workers.

The Norris Square proposal brought out its share of opponents, many of whom have their own proposed plans for the land. Part of the reason the city has accumulated roughly 10,000 vacant lots is because selling city-owned land can be contentious.

Some residents sought the space for their personal use, such as for a new side yard or a driveway next to their homes. Others claimed to have not been given enough notice that a sale was imminent, although Land Bank Executive Director Angel Rodriguez denied that was the case. One group of neighbors felt the project’s rowhouses were too tall and too dense. Another said that taller apartment complexes would be a better fit.

During the September meeting, one board member, Maria Gonzales, was absent, while another, Andrew Goodman, left before a vote could take place. Lacking a quorum, Chair Anne Fadullon was forced to end the proceedings.

An incomplete board is not just an impediment to efficient land management, it also has the effect of keeping city-owned properties in limbo.

After all, providing affordable housing at the income levels advocates have demanded (and which key Land Bank board members ostensibly agree with) requires not just a one-time subsidy, but ongoing support — support that the Land Bank simply doesn’t have the resources to provide.

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The most effective way to address affordable housing needs in the city would involve expanding housing choice vouchers — the program formerly known as Section 8, through which the Philadelphia Housing Authority provides subsidies for low-income renters. Earlier this year, the housing authority added 10,000 vouchers. That’s far from sufficient, but it is a start.

Building new low-income housing is an important goal. It is also prohibitively expensive, as inflation has continued to boost the cost of materials, labor, and debt service.

So the Land Bank has a vital role to play in Philadelphia, but without the required resources and a vetted plan of action, far too many parcels of city-owned land will likely remain empty, unoccupied, and unused.

Land Bank board members must remember that their charge is to help the city address the problem of blighted and fallow properties. But they must start with something that’s fairly simple: showing up regularly to meetings and doing their jobs.