Local land Bank Support

For decades, West Virginia has experienced a significant increase in vacant, abandoned, dilapidated, and tax delinquent properties due to population loss and economic downturn. These properties impose a significant burden to municipalities and counties by increasing the cost of fire and police protection, removal of overgrown weeds and brush, and demolition of unsafe or dilapidated structures, while simultaneously lowering property values. These properties also undermine community cohesion and directly impede development and community investment.

In 2014, to combat this growing challenge, the West Virginia Legislature enacted W. Va. Code § 31-18E-1 et seq. authorizing the creation of Land Reuse Agencies (LRAs) by individual public bodies - either municipal or county - and Land Reuse Jurisdictions (LRJs) by combinations of municipalities and/or counties. The purpose of these Land Reuse entities is to provide a flexible tool for the purchase, rehabilitation, improvement, and/or sale of vacant, abandoned, and tax delinquent real property resulting in the elimination of blight and the return of these properties to productive use.

Today, West Virginia’s LRAs embody this legislative history by tackling abandonment and supporting productive redevelopment in their jurisdictions. LRAs across the state have been responsible for new and rehabilitated housing for West Virginia’s workforce, new business development, park expansion, and floodplain mitigation - all contributing to the increased cohesion and success of their communities.

West Virginia boasts 19 local land Reuse Agencies (LRAs) and several active Urban Renewal Authorities (URAS).

These entities are the workhorses of the land reuse landscape, addressing hundreds of vacant, abandoned and dilapidated properties each year. WVLSC provides coordination and support to land bank staff members.

WVLSC has provided direct support in the creation of over 14 local land banks, more than doubling the number of local LRAs in the state in just three years.

Through the hard work of the local LRAs in the state, over 300 vacant, abandoned, and dilapidated properties have been addressed. More than 175 properties have been put back into productive use as business or housing locations.

Local land banks participating in this program also report safer neighborhoods, stabilization and increase in property values, and access to new economic opportunities.

Local Land Banks in West Virginia

The following municipalities and counties have established active land reuse agencies and are highlighted in yellow on the map below: