By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A bill that passed the legislative session just before adjournment should help St. Joseph address its housing shortage.
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President, Natalie Hawn, says changes to state Land Bank regulations hampered the city’s effort to use its Land Bank to encourage redevelopment of older, dilapidated homes.
“Things like you could only purchase homes that were adjacent to homes that you already purchased,” Hawn explains to KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “We had just started our Land Bank, so we had only 12 homes in the Land Bank. So, that was going to pretty much cripple us.”
She says the Land Bank is designed to give run-down, vacant homes new life.
“So, the idea behind that is that you’re purchasing homes or getting homes that are vacant, that are going on the tax sale,” Hawn says. “So, they’re back due on taxes and getting them into a Land Bank so that you can get them ready for redevelopment.”
The changes made in state regulations, though, hurt the St. Joseph Land Bank just as it started to get off the ground. Changes made in the last bill approved this past legislative session removed the obstacles to local development.
Hawn expects the governor to sign it.
Hawn says that wording change and broadening eligibility for the Nuisance Act should help St. Joseph.
“As we’ve been researching housing and some of the things that really could help us as we look at dilapidated or vacant housing and not just housing, but commercial properties as well, we looked at what they were doing in Kansas City,” Hawn says.
Hawn adds Kansas City had been using the nuisance act and the Chamber discovered St. Joseph wasn’t eligible. The legislation approved this session makes the city eligible.
Hawn says providing tax breaks and other incentives have to be a part of creating housing in the city.
“Line up incentives that will attract people to do what we need,” Hawn says. “You have to have a plan. You have to have a focus and then you have to incentivize the developers. It just is what it is. If you don’t incentivize them and bring them to the table then they’re going to do the housing that they want versus the housing that your community needs.”
Hawn says St. Joseph has more than 1,000 vacant homes. The Land Bank provides a way for developers to acquire older, vacant homes for renovation.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.