Fighting blight

Our communities are living, breathing organisms that take on unique lives of their own. As residents, we play our own part, perform our own specific functions, which help to make each community unique. As many Erie County residents understand, there is an ebb and flow to our communities, proverbial years of famine, as well as the years of plenty, so to speak. As a result, our communities are left with the need to renew and rejuvenate themselves. Understandably, areas with as long and rich a history as ours will be left with side effects of that longevity. Oftentimes communities like ours deal with blight and underutilization of property, and when this blight begins to have adverse effects on the surrounding neighborhoods, there is a need for coordinated efforts to strengthen our communities through blight removal. It is here we find the need for a Land Bank. The Erie County Land Reutilization Corporation, or County Land Bank for short, is dedicated to the betterment of our communities through transforming blighted, vacant, tax-delinquent or underutilized properties into properties that are tax-productive or better serving the needs of our communities. Over the last decade, our organization has helped to clear over 100 blighted properties throughout Erie County, in large part thanks to funding obtained from outside sources. The vast majorities of the projects the Land Bank has worked on has been the removal of blighted residential properties. Upon completion of the demolition and greening work, many of these properties were sold back to adjoining property owners. These projects result in less dense neighborhoods with more attractive greenspace. Removal of these blighted properties removes opportunities for crime, and will ultimately result in safer neighborhoods as well. Greener, safer neighborhoods result in higher property values for surrounding homeowners, and result in a larger tax base to fund the services that support the community. This is not where the Land Bank stops, however. We also believe that our mission is to find ways to assist on projects that have a benefit in the community. Take Genesis on the Lake, for example: A tax-delinquent condo development that the County Land Bank was able to transform into a sober living community. This project is an example of the ability our organization can have in helping meet community needs. As we look ahead to 2022, we realize that there is still work to be done across our county. Blight still exists, and neighborhoods can still benefit from the transformation of blighted properties. The State of Ohio has allocated $500 million dollars state-wide over the next two years for the demolition of blighted residential, commercial, industrial and institutional properties, as well as for the assessment, clean-up and remediation of environmentally hazardous properties, otherwise known as brownfield sites. The County Land Bank is dedicated to ensuring that we utilize this funding in Erie County to make sure that communities all throughout Erie County see the benefit of this funding. We know that the opportunity to benefit our communities here in Erie County has never been better, and we are dedicated to using this funding to do just that. Those interested to learn more about the County Land Bank can contact Alex Jones at 419-627-7703 or by emailing AlexJ@ErieCounty.OH.gov. Alex Jones,Erie County Land Bank executive director If you want to submit a Local Voices column, please email it to brandonaddeo@tandemnetwork.com. Columns should be 500-750 words and include the writer's headshot, or other photo.