About Us
About The Land Bank
Our mission is to acquire vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and make them productive again.
On July 10, 2015, the County established the Licking County Land Reutilization Corporation (LCLRC), more commonly known as the Land Bank. The purpose of the LCLRC is to serve as an agent of the County for the reclamation, rehabilitation, and reutilization of vacant, abandoned, tax-foreclosed or other real property within Licking County. The LCLRC is organized under chapters 5722 and 1724 of the Ohio Revised Code and is governed by an appointed Board of Directors. Our goal is to stabilize property values, reduce blight, return property to productive use, and improve the quality of life in our community.
As a non-profit, government-purposed corporation, the Land Bank is empowered to help local governments foster effective land re-use. Put simply, the Land Bank has many of the same powers as a traditional government land bank so it can be extremely effective, but it is not hindered by as many of the traditional bureaucratic impediments. The net result of the structure is that it not only will be effective, but also efficient and strategic.
Through maximum collaboration with local governments, property owners, non-profit organizations, and other community organizations, the Land Bank is positioned to promote and lift the profile of individual community priorities. This ability to cut through political boundaries helps the collective community leverage and focus its precious resources on this important land re-use challenge rather than diluting them by spreading them too thin.
The state statute that created the Land Bank also established its board as separate and distinct in order to promote mission focus, purpose and independence. That board consists of five members: the Licking County Treasurer, Roy Van Atta; Two County Commissioners, Tim Bubb & Rick Black; A representative from the largest city (Newark), Mayor Jeff Hall; and Granville township trustee, Rob Schaadt.
The Licking County Land Bank is an open and transparent organization. Its meetings are open to the public and its meeting agendas, resolutions, mission, organizational documents and list of properties are a matter of public record. The Land Bank adheres to a board-adopted ethics policy and files an annual report and audit with the State.