By SETH SLABAUGH
seths@muncie.gannett.com

(Published Monday, Nov. 23, 2009) MUNCIE — The city is seeking to certify some 225 properties as abandoned structures, one of the steps being taken to transfer them to a land bank for redevelopment or demolition.

Delaware County commissioners and Muncie City Council recently adopted ordinances defining abandoned structures.

The definition includes unused public nuisances whose owners have ignored demolition orders, municipal liens, taxes and civil penalties imposed by the city’s unsafe building hearing authority.

The city has received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program to establish the land bank.

A land bank is like a non-profit real estate company. Land banks in other cities do planning and outreach, brownfield redevelopment, development, adopt-a-lot, greenspace, demolition, housing renovation, sales, side-lot transfers and foreclosure prevention.

“I don’t know that we’d want every single one of them,” said Gretchen Cheesman, administrator of the unsafe building hearing authority. “When our inspector comes on, we’ll know more about those properties that are land bankable. Those that are not will be torn down.”

The city plans to hire a land bank inspector and a land bank director. The Muncie Redevelopment Commission will oversee the land bank.

“We’re looking to have a meeting on Dec. 8 to talk about the land bank with the mayor and the director of the redevelopment commission,” Cheesman said. She anticipates a land bank director being hired after the holidays.

“County commissioners have indicated they are supportive of the land bank concept,” Cheesman said. “The county commissioners have to certify these properties as abandoned structures so they can go into a special tax sale. The properties that don’t sell in the tax sale, the commissioners can give deeds for those properties to the land bank if they choose.”

This story is part of a weekly series looking at blighted properties around Muncie. To suggest a property for the series, e-mail the address and a brief description to blightwatch@muncie.gannett.com or mail it to The Star Press, Local News Desk, P.0. Box 2408, Muncie, Ind. 47307.