|
The General Assembly of Pennsylvania yesterday enacted the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship (HB2188 - Walko, D, Pittsburgh). Conservatorship provides for court-appointed conservators to bring residential, commercial and industrial buildings into municipal code compliance when owners fail to comply. This is a very significant victory for the Housing Alliance.
What the Law Does
Essentially the law gives communities and organizations the power to petition the court to appoint a conservator to temporarily take over a blighted and abandoned property. Designed as a surgical tool rather than a wholesale redevelopment mechanism, conservatorship provides a powerful way for communities – neighbors – to take action to get problem properties fixed up and back onto market when all else fails. This model has been used quite successfully in Baltimore and Cleveland. To read the text of the bill please see the link below.
Background
The Housing Alliance initiated work on this bill 2½ years ago. At that time, we had been successful in gaining passage of several more modest bills, while building support for and comfort with the agenda to eliminate state regulatory barriers to the acquisition and disposition of blighted, abandoned property.
With the support of House and Senate Urban Affairs leadership and staff, we began first by reaching out and engaging past opponents of the legislation. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Treasury Department under Secretary Casey convened representatives of the banking lobby to understand and address their concerns about lien priority that had lead to their prior opposition to the bill. Additionally, we brought in national experts to educate property rights advocates and forge mutually acceptable language to enable the appointment of a temporary conservator in cases where it is appropriate while preserving important property rights.
Consequently, the bill had many amendments before passing in its final form, but ultimately, it passes with broad-based, bi-partisan support. The Housing Alliance feels that the final product is workable and fulfills the ultimate goal of giving communities a powerful new revitalization tool.
What’s Next?
The next step will be to provide training to municipal officials, judges and community groups on the new law and how to use it. Qualified conservators will need to be identified and made available for court appointment once properties enter the system. The Housing Alliance will seek the financial support needed to see get the new law fully operational over the next 1-2 years.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Cindy Daley - Policy Director, Housing Alliance of PA
Representative Walko - Legislative sponsor
Representatives John Taylor and Tom Petrone - Chairs, House Urban Affairs
Senators Shirley Kitchen and John Pippy - Chairs Senate Urban Affairs
Senator Dominic Pileggi - Senate Majority Leader and former Chair, Senate Urban Affairs
Jon Castelli and Christine Goldbeck - Executive Directors of House Urban Affairs Committee
Greg Mahon, - Executive Director, Senate Urban Affairs
Keith Welks - PA Treasury
Dede Meyers - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Karen Black - Original researcher to identify conservatorship as a needed tool
Diane Warriner - Past Executive Director, House Urban Affairs, who came up with the name Conservatorship and the initial legislative strategy
|
