Politics & Government

Watch: LaTourette On Land Banks

The congressman says demolishing foreclosed houses could improve neighboring properties' values

The Lake County Development Council held its annual legislative breakfast Monday at .

U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, Ohio State Sen. John Eklund, Ohio Reps. Ron Young and Lorraine Fende, Lake County Commissioner Dan Troy and Max Blachman, a representative for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, spoke at the breakfast and answered questions from the audience.

LaTourette discussed his support for land banks, which is when a public entity can hold and manage a foreclosed property. This means the public entity would also have the power to demolish a foreclosed house if it was unsalvageable.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Demolishing unwanted houses causes surrounding properties to increase in value, he explained.

The congressman said land banks have already produced great results in Flint, MI, and he thought they could also improve property values in more affluent areas, as well.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Other videos from the legislative breakfast:


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Mentor