Relating to the creation of land redevelopment trusts

This bill provides for the establishment of land redevelopment trusts. Division I of the bill authorizes one or more municipalities to establish a land redevelopment trust as a method to return dilapidated, abandoned, blighted, and tax-delinquent properties in their communities to economically productive status. An established land redevelopment trust is a public agency for the purpose of joint exercise of governmental powers, a governmental body for purposes of public meetings requirements of Code chapter 21, and a government body for purposes of public records requirements of Code chapter 22. Land redevelopment trusts are subject to periodic examination by the auditor of state under Code chapter 11. The bill requires the board of directors of a land redevelopment trust to establish bylaws addressing matters necessary to govern the conduct of the land redevelopment trust. Division I of the bill also grants a land redevelopment trust various powers and duties, including the authority to acquire properties through certain procedures, including the purchase of tax sale certificates and the foreclosure of properties acquired at a tax sale if not redeemed. However, the bill explicitly prohibits a land redevelopment trust from possessing or exercising the power of eminent domain. The bill establishes financing procedures that govern land redevelopment trusts, including allowing to be remitted to the land redevelopment trust up to 75 percent of real property taxes collected on a real property conveyed or leased by a land redevelopment trust that remains after the division of taxes for an urban renewal area and exclusive of any amount levied by a school district for five consecutive years after the property is again put on the tax rolls. The bill requires a land redevelopment trust to submit annual reports to the governing body that created the land redevelopment trust. The bill provides procedures for disposing of property that is acquired by the land redevelopment trust. The bill also provides procedures for dissolving a land redevelopment trust. Division II of the bill creates a land redevelopment trust tax sale procedure, which allows a land redevelopment trust to acquire abandoned, blighted, or dilapidated properties through an exclusive tax sale. In order to acquire property through a land redevelopment trust tax sale, the land redevelopment trust shall file a verified statement identifying the parcels for which the land redevelopment trust intends to purchase the tax sale certificates and shall pay the delinquent total amounts due on each parcel before May 15. Upon timely receipt of the land redevelopment trust’s verified statement and payment, the county treasurer shall remove the identified parcels from the regular annual tax sale and place those parcels in the land redevelopment trust tax sale. The land redevelopment trust tax sale shall occur before a public nuisance tax sale. Division III of the bill makes changes throughout the Code to conform with land redevelopment trust procedures established in division I of the bill.