Recommendations for the Hopkinsville and Christian County Landbank Authority

The Hopkinsville and Christian County Landbank Authority (LBA) seeks to define and communicate its role in helping the City of Hopkinsville, Kentucky transform vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties in underinvested neighborhoods. The City and Community & Development Services (CDS) are particularly interested in how the LBA could leverage a new code lien foreclosure legal tool to facilitate faster transformation of the roughly 1,000 vacant lots and numerous vacant houses in Hopkinsville. Through a multi-month engagement, the Center for Community Progress explored VAD property challenges and opportunities in Hopkinsville, reviewed state and local law related to the City’s and LBA’s ability to address VAD property, and examined how the LBA could play a more active role in reactivating VAD property to improve neighborhoods.

This memorandum summarizes our observations and offers recommendations for the LBA to consider as it seeks to expand its programming to transform VAD properties. We begin by providing our observations as to the state of vacancy in Hopkinsville, illustrating the need for the LBA’s services, an overview of the current structure and programming of the LBA, and a brief summary of the legal tools the LBA and City can leverage to address VAD properties. Next, we present our recommendations in two primary sections: (1) foundational elements the LBA needs to achieve its goals, and (2) key areas for LBA activities and programming.

For the LBA to evolve into a more proactive land bank, it requires a community of partners who are aligned in the pursuit of common goals, committed to funding both operations and programming, dedicated to open and routine communication, and willing to play their own roles in achieving shared goals. Therefore, we offer these recommendations to the LBA, CDS, the City, and to the residents, community leaders, business owners, and others—all of whom are committed to making “Hoptown” a place everyone is proud to call home.

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