The DeKalb County Committee of the Whole hosted a presentation on a potential Regional Land Bank on May 17th. A land bank was recommended by a DeKalb County comprehensive study on workforce housing in 2010 sponsored by CEO Ellis and District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson. The recommendation is based on the fact that DeKalb County continues to have a large stock of vacant, abandoned and derelict property due to the housing and economic crises. Land banks are non-profit public organizations created by local governments to strategically intervene when publicly or privately owned land is not reclaimed or redeveloped into productive use by regular market forces. Land banks typically acquire properties from tax foreclosure proceedings and holds, manages and/or facilitates their reuse through sales and transfers to government agencies, community development corporations, private developers and adjacent property owners. The Livable Communities Coalition will present information about land banks on Thursday, May 19th at Conference Room A in the Clark – Harrison Building on 330 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur. You can learn more about the DeKalb Regional Land Bank at the link below.