COLUMBIA, Pa. — The Lancaster County Land Bank wants to buy the homes on South Fourth Street that were damaged by fire a few months ago and redevelop the site into new single-family homes for first-time buyers, Columbia Borough Council heard Tuesday.
The properties are on the west side of South Fourth Street between Cherry and Locust streets.
Councilperson Byers, who serves on the Land Bank board, said the Land Bank has a tentative agreement with the property owners and is talking with a developer. It needs approval from both the borough and the Columbia Borough School District before it can move forward, and hoped to close in December. Development could start in about six months, he said, with homes possibly for sale by early 2028.
Why no vote yet
Byers asked council to vote on the request Tuesday, so the Land Bank wouldn’t have to delay the closing by a month. Some council members objected to adding it at the last minute. One said doing so would be “a disservice to the taxpayers.” Council instead added it to the agenda for discussion only and plans to vote at its Nov. 24 meeting.
Council members raised several questions to answer before then:
- Whether the properties owe back taxes, and whether the Land Bank will ask the borough to forgive them
- Which funding source the Land Bank is using, since that can limit how the land is used
- Whether single-family homes are allowed in that zone, and whether off-street parking would be required
A council member asked that any approval require the new homes to be sold to homebuyers. Byers agreed.
The borough solicitor said state borough law requires the final decision to be made by resolution.