LANSING, Mich., May 18, 2023 — The House passed House Bill 4375 with bipartisan support yesterday. State Rep. Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids) introduced the legislation earlier this year, which broadens qualifications for cities to form land banks. Under current Michigan law, the only cities that can form a land bank are those with a “first-class school district,” which means a school district with more than 100,000 pupils. As it stands, Detroit is the only city that falls under that category.
“We are in a housing crisis, and we need to create pathways for local entities to create affordable housing opportunities,” Grant said. “The narrow scope of current land bank laws stifles community growth and economic development across Michigan. The local policy that will come out of my bill will expand that scope, creating more economic tools for cities to redevelop urban cores, remove blight and stabilize property values for surrounding homes.”
Background: Kent County previously had a land bank, which was dissolved in December 2018. Since then, Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming have been deprived of access to creating land banks, and many other cities across Michigan have never had access to them, including St. Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Warren, Ann Arbor and others. HB 4375 would allow these cities to begin coordinating with the State Land Bank Authority to operate their own land bank without the need for their county to take action.