City of Rockford issued the following announcement on Jan. 16.
Last night, the City Council approved two new tools to help the City in its ongoing effort to fight blight – a land bank and a vacant/foreclosed property registry. These initiatives are part of the City’s overall strategy to revitalize neighborhoods.
The land bank will focus on clearing titles to vacant, abandoned and blighted properties and will partner with neighborhood stakeholders and redevelopment efforts to return them to the tax rolls.
The vacant/foreclosed property registry will track vacant structures and properties in the process of foreclosure. The registry will help the City improve communication with property owners and banks and address issues with properties before they drag down neighborhoods or decay to the point that demolition is the only option.
“Implementing these important tools is in line with our mission to strengthen neighborhoods,” explains Mayor Tom McNamara. “For many of our residents, the largest investment in their entire lives is their home, and these new tools tell problem property owners we will no longer be held hostage to residential or commercial buildings that reduce property values and are havens for criminal activity.”
Original source can be found here.