Metro Council - meeting_joint_regular

yeah there should be a camera camera yeah there's two cameras yeah Yeah, that's great.

I think I've logged in twice.

I think I've logged in twice. I think I've logged in twice. I think I've logged in twice.

Thank you.

Can you hear me? I can. Yes, we can hear you. Miss Adderley, we just need you to open your camera. We're hoping that that will be working. Why is the video not showing? There we go.

Thank you. Thank you.

Sorry, Connie. Okay.

Okay, so we will get started. I just want to say, thank you to everyone for attending today's meeting. It's August 10th, 2026. I'll turn it over to our chairperson Dr Ferguson to kick us off.

Welcome to the August 10th, 2026 monthly meeting of the Louisville and Jefferson County Land Bank Authority, Inc. I'm Dr. James Ferguson, chairperson of the authority. The Land Bank Authority is a nonprofit corporation created by the Louisville Jefferson County Metro government, the Board of Education of Jefferson County, Kentucky, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky pursuant to KRS Chapter 273, and KRS 65.350-65.375, which grants the authority the power to acquire and dispose of real property to facilitate the public purpose of providing housing, new industry, and jobs to the citizens of Louisville Metro. This meeting is being held as a video teleconference pursuant to KRS 61.826. If we experience a disruption of any of our virtual attendees, we will suspend the meeting to make a reasonable attempt to fix the issue while the meeting is suspended. All discussion will cease and no action will be taken. If after 5 minutes, the issue continues, we will resume the meeting as long as we still have a quorum of board members. If after 5 minutes, we do not have a quorum of board members are if the meeting as a whole experiences, technical difficulties, and the public cannot see the meeting, we will attempt to resolve the issue for 15 minutes. If we cannot resolve the issue, the meeting will be adjourned and any remaining items on the agenda will be continued to the next meeting. Since we have a quorum, the meeting will proceed as follows. There will be a brief presentation of the requests that will be given by staff board members may ask questions. The board will then go into deliberation and the resolution pertaining to the request will be voted on. By the board, anyone viewing the meeting may ask questions by entering their question through the Q and a chat box at the bottom left hand corner of the event. The 1st, order of business on today's agenda is the approval of the minutes of the July 272026 special meeting. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? for July 27, 2026. I motion to approve the minutes. Is there a second? I second. I call for the question. All those in favor of the approval of the minutes of July 27, 2026, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. The minutes have been approved. I'll now turn it back over to the land bank team.

Thank you. So we'll get started with our back success.

Let's get that pulled up.

Okay, so we wanted to highlight our land and roots workshop series. So this is a partnership with K, say, in the land bank, it's going to be a 5 week series held every Tuesday, starting August 25th and ending September 29th. There'll be five topics covered each week. Sorry, one topic per week, five total. And it's going to be from 530 to 730 at the Baxter Community Center. So this is a free workshop. Participants must attend at least three of the workshops and complete all assignments to receive a free will at the end of the series. So we encourage everyone to sign up. Spots are limited. Okay, moving on to new business, I will start with a summary of the my new side yard disposition program. She's not seeing the PowerPoint.

No, I can't see it. I can pull it up on my computer. Connie sent it to me, but it's nice to follow along.

Are you able to see it now?

Let me. No, and I'm just trying to make sure that it's not something that. Is in my settings, but I can't see.

Is anyone else on the call able to see the presentation?

I can see it. OK. Maybe it's just user error today.

I haven't pulled up on my computer, so.

OK.

All right, so my new side yard eligible parcels are vacant lots up to 4000 square feet with no existing structures. They'll be sold for 1 dollar per parcel for the application process. They are reviewed in the order received. Applicants must be adjacent property owners, churches, businesses and nonprofit organizations who occupy or rent out the adjacent property intended use must be in line with the program goals and submitted with the application owner occupants are prioritized. The restrictions for this program, the end use of the property has to be a side yard. If the buyer wishes to build new construction, they must get approval from the land bank and the land bank at its discretion can assert the right of 1st refusal for any parcel sold. So, moving on to resolution, 45 series, 2026, this is going to be at 353 North 28th street for 212 and 120 South 25th street for 212 applicants are David and Rosina. Well, to Gabriel and the disposition programs in my new side yard. So, for 353 North, 28th street, you can see an aerial view as well as a front view here. So the applicant again is David. It's in the Portland neighborhood zone. Do you in council district is 5 and the square footage is 3,010. it'll be sold for a dollar in the applicant's property is highlighted in blue. The land bank lot is highlighted in yellow. Uh, for the next 1, 120 South 25th street. Um, so if you see on the aerial view here, the building that the applicant owns is kind of the white building in the front and they're applying for the lot in the rear of the building. Um, so this applicant is Rosina well, it's in the Portland neighborhood zoned C1 council district is 5. the square footage is 1,440 sales price is a dollar. And again, I've already pointed out the aerial view there. Okay, so our recommendations are to approve resolution 45 series 2026 with these terms sales price of a dollar per parcel. Each property is to be restricted to side yard use and maintain in accordance with Louisville Metro codes and ordinances applicants must comply with the terms of their program agreement and applicant shall return the property back to the land make authority. Should they fail to meet the requirements of the deed restrictions placed on the property?

Can you go back to the picture? Yes. Okay. So the 3501 is facing market this on the front of market street and the property is in the back.

Correct.

So my question is, is the, the property looks boarded up.

They just opened it's a convenience store. Correct? So I think this picture was taken when they were still under construction. They have opened the store. So there's a convenience store at the bottom and I believe they're renting out the top. Is that correct? Dana? Okay. So the applicants are renters of the space at the bottom and they have opened a convenience store. So it is open to business.

Okay.

If they're, if they're renters, if they no longer rent the property.

So the owners are the ones submitting, sorry, this is, I did not process this application. So sorry if I don't have.

The owners are the actual applicants, but they are leasing the bottom of the property out to someone who is using it as a convenience store currently. So the owners of 2501 have applied for the lot in the rear.

Perfect. And the lot in the rear is going to be? an attachment or just a vacant space, or do they plan to build?

I believe what was submitted was just for it to be used as a side yard currently.

All right.

Is there a motion to approve Resolution 45 Series 2026?

I motion to approve Resolution 45 Series 2026.

Is there a second? I second. Is there any further discussion in person or online? Hearing none, I call for the question. All those in favor of approval of Resolution 45 Series 26 indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. The motion is carried. Thank you.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Lot on my block summary of disposition program program goal is to create opportunities for nearby owner occupants and long term renters to gain property ownership and build wealth by acquiring a vacant lot on their block. Eligible parcels vacant lots up to 5000 square feet with no existing structures and the sale price is 250 dollars per parcel. Application process applications are reviewed in the order received. Applicants are as follows. Individuals whose occupied property is on the same block as the land bank lot. Long-term renters who have legally and verifiably occupied the same rental unit for at least five years and their rental unit is on the same block as the land bank lot. For-profit or non-profit organizations whose occupied property is adjacent to the land bank lot. Children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren of a previous owner or renter with documented family ownership or rental history of the land bank lot. The program restrictions are applicants are restricted from selling the property for 3 years from the date of purchase. If applicant chooses to build on the property restrictions will be released. If construction is completed within 3 years of date of purchase. the land bank at its discretion can assert the right of first refusal for any parcel sold under this program. Resolution 46, series 2026. The locations are 2307 West Madison Street, 40211, 116 South 25th Street, 40212, and 332 North 23rd Street, 40212. The applicants are Veda Bonner, Rosina Werdegubro, And Denise DeWitt. This position program is light on my block. For the first one for 2307 West Madison Street, the property summary is applicant Veta Bonner, parcel square footage is 4,508. The PVA assessed value is $5,000. And this is in the neighborhood of Russell. It is zoned R6 multifamily, council district five, The land bank parcel is highlighted here in blue in the aerial view. And the applicant's qualifying property is highlighted in orange, which is 2305 West Madison Street, which is the adjacent lot. An applicant intends to fence in and maintain the lot. The next 1, we just seen this 1 previously on the side your program. They are also applying for. 116 staff 25th street, which is also in the rear of their. Property their commercial property at 2501 West market street. Again, the applicant is Rosina. Well, the Gabriel, the neighborhood is Portland and. The property is zoned commercial. The council district is 5 and the parcel square footage is 1,600. The sales price for this parcel is $250. The land bank parcel at 116 South 25th Street is outlined in the aqua blue color in the aerial photo. And again, the applicant's qualifying property is the commercial property that they own at 2501 West Market Street. The next applicant, the property summary is as follows, excuse me, is as follows. The applicant is Denise Dewitt. in the portland neighborhood this property is zoned urban neighborhood district and the council district is five the parcel square footage is 4796 and the sales price is 250 dollars the land bank parcel is three 332 North 23rd street, and it is outlined in the aqua blue color in the aerial photo. The applicants qualifying property is outlined in yellow in the aerial photo. Their property is 336 North 23rd street. Staff recommendations is to approve resolution forty forty six series twenty twenty six with the following terms sales price two hundred and fifty dollars per parcel. The applicants shall maintain their respective parcel in a manner consistent with codes and ordinances of the Louisville in Jefferson County Metro government. Program restrictions are the applicants are restricted from selling their respective parcel for 3 years from the date of purchase. Applicants who choose to build on the property will have the restrictions released contingent on completing construction within 3 years of purchase. The parcels shall be returned to the land bank authority should the applicants fail to meet the requirements of the deed restrictions placed on their respective property. Yes, that's it. Okay. I'm sorry.

I'm just curious, um, on the property. On the 2501 West Market Street.

Yes.

Why? What was on that on those two lots that those lots were?

divided at some point i'm not quite sure at some point they were divided but they are very small parcels like i said they're only about 1600 square feet and they're right in the rear of their commercial property so it only makes sense that they would be the ones to apply for this property because they would Be the ones for the best use for this property. For those 2 properties.

Okay, so 1 parcel is 1600 and the other parcel is, I believe the other 1 is about the same as the applicant here.

Are they?

Yeah, they're online. Yes, seeing them when they, uh, when Sarah, uh. Brought her in. The other one is 1,400 square feet.

I guess my question is, I know they're two separate lots, so we had to do them separately. But why didn't we do them under the same program separately?

Because in the policy, an applicant can only apply for one side yard at a time and then one lot on my block. So that's the reason why they're under two different programs and

Parcels are trying to accommodate.

Yeah, I think when we looked at this slide, and I don't know how long this lot has been in inventory, but, you know, portal is a street. It's a smaller street and what we commonly have issues within the land bank is dumping, especially through these alley streets or whatever may happen. And so sometimes when we, especially with an entity that is acquiring the front parcel, and then. And if we have something in the back parcel, we would much rather like combine them all because then they can take care of that whole lot. And otherwise we will be getting phone calls about that last, that back lot and they would maintain everything else. So we really like to keep them together, especially when it goes all the way to the rear. So then, you know, they're keeping that block, that whole corner, you know.

Yeah, they've already been maintaining it.

I would like to know if we can speak with the applicant.

I don't want to butcher her.

My question is, I'm wondering, are you planning anything else with these lots? Do you plan to gravel them or blacktop them? I'm wondering what you're doing with the . I'm sorry, what did you say?

Sorry, may I speak on the behalf of Rosina? I am her husband. My name is Alamayo Haile. Okay. Hi. All right. Yes, hi. So, yes, since this is a business open now and the tenant is asking us, like, you know, to have a little bit of space for some parking spot, we do not have a plan to do it, but, like, you know, to have a gravel for now. Then we'll go through the process just, you know, to like, you know, to make it maybe in the future, like, maybe a parking lot or something like that.

Okay, that's what I was wondering.

Okay. Thank you.

There's a motion we need a motion to have a question.

Okay. I'm sorry. I would like to know at 332 North 23rd Street, who owns the lot at 334?

You want to step forward?

Because I don't think that someone can hear you. They can't hear you outside of the microphone.

You're fine. We are recently right now buying it.

Okay. so what's your name okay i'm sorry mr witt so you are currently have a contract for deed on the neighboring property yeah the one that she's asking about yes okay and then we actually own the one next to it okay and we've been there six years so thank you you found that on 23rd street yes okay because i was wondering why but they would have that property in the middle of them

All right.

Are there any other questions?

Is there a motion to approve Resolution 46? Am I on the right one? Yes. Series 2026?

I motion to approve Resolution 46, Series 2026.

Is there a second? I second. Is there any further discussion in person or online?

Okay.

Hearing none, I call for the question. All those in favor of approval of resolution 46 series 2026 please indicate by saying aye. Aye. The motion has been approved.

And the next program is our Growing Your Neighborhood. And the summary disposition of the program is as follows. Program goal is to provide opportunities for vacant land to be reused for urban agriculture. Intended uses, agricultural use, a community garden, a market garden, Annual license fee is $1 per lease for vacant lots under 7,000 square feet with no existing structures. Lessee can submit a request to purchase for $250 after the three years of successful operation. Eligible applicants establish individuals or organizations with the capacity to complete and maintain the proposed land use project for a minimum of three years. Application prerequisites applicant must obtain a soil test report and liability insurance policy to cover the risks of operating the proposed project. Application process applicants must provide their project plan budget timeline community notice results. Maintenance plan and proof of funds for 3 years of operating costs. Program restrictions use of the vacant lot is limited to the applicants proposed agricultural project. Monitoring projects will be regularly monitored via on-site inspections and desk reviews from the date of lease throughout the completion of the proposed project. The lease will be reviewed annually for renewal. Resolution 47 series 2026. The location is 309 East Burnett Avenue. The applicants are Anthony R and Shannon A Sherma shine and the disposition program is grow in your neighborhood. Again, resolution 47 series 2026 for 309 East Burnett Avenue. The neighborhood is Old Louisville. It is zoned Traditional Neighborhood Zoning District, TNZD, Council District 6. Parcel square footage is $1,900. The license fee is $1. Projected timeline is three years and proposed end use is a community garden. You have an aerial view and then you have a front view of the garden. The name that they've chosen for this garden is the Whistle Pig Patch. They have provided us their liability insurance. They've done soil testing. They've provided us their plan. Here you have a diagram of the garden. what vegetables are planted. And then they provided us their budget.

Go to the next page.

This is their estimated three-year budget for the Whistlepig Patch Project is $1,260. And then their proof of funds was for $5,770. Their annual expense, the water is supplied by Tony Shermisham's property that's located in the rear at 1453 Marie Street. At a cost of twenty dollars per month for the water for the four months of growing season, that's eighty dollars and then the straw is a hundred dollars per year and then for the soil and fertilizer it's two hundred dollars per year. I'm sorry for the source 200 dollars a year and fertilizer is 40 dollars a year and then the seeds they get donated from the neighbors and local garden centers. So their annual cost is 420 dollars. And, um, so their 3 year budget is 1260 dollars. Staff recommendations is to approve Resolution 47 Series 2026 with the following terms. Annual license fee of $1. Applicants Anthony R. and Shannon A. Shermershine must develop, operate, and use the property at 309 East Burnett Avenue as a community garden for the benefit of the public and the citizens living in the surrounding neighborhood. for calendar years 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029. I wanna stop there and also mention that they did do a petition throughout the neighborhood that they had signed by the neighbors. Okay. Applicants shall maintain the property in a manner consistent with codes and ordinances of the Louisville and Jefferson County Metro government. Applicants must adhere to all the terms and conditions outlined in the lease agreement and shall return the property back to the land bank authority should they fail to meet those terms and conditions. And they are here with us today.

All right. Just a couple of questions. I get hyped about Gordon, so I'm good. But I wanted to find out, did we do a push? Because the last meeting we approved the community garden. So did we do a push for community garden?

Yeah, it's so funny because I just mentioned that today to them. I was like, we need to take account of how many community gardens we've recently, because it's definitely been better than the previous years. Yes. So earlier this year, February, remember that SNAP benefit kind of? And so a lot of nonprofits reached out to us. I mean, they came to us in a group and was like, hey, We want to get your growing your neighborhood program out. And so originally we were looking at doing our development workshops earlier this year. That was the goal. But because that need was so huge, we said, yeah. And so we developed a whole packet full of just like how to's. We set up workshops. We went to Catholic charities and spoke with many immigrant families. And I mean, it just seems like that.

some of that's coming into fruition uh with some of you know the applicants that we're receiving now so but yes it's yeah we did a two-day workshop in locals yeah down on broadway the second question that i have and that is for you all um are you uh will you be selling the vegetables or will no no selling okay we just uh

Harvested the weeds out and harvested the and you all come up.

I'm sorry. Yeah, it's recorded. And so, like, you have to speak into that speaker. Thank you.

Yeah, just introduce yourself and then I go on my Tony or Anthony summer sham. And just recently, 1 of the neighbors went through weeding and such and filled a full. You know, the big full-size fold-out table, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds. And we are under the shadow of that 65 Burnett construction and laid it out there for the workers. And the table was empty by lunchtime. The guys for lunch were eating tomatoes up there on the highway. But, no, definitely not selling. Giving to the neighbors that are interested. We have some elderly on the street too that we share with, and then there's some canning going on with some of the neighbors.

You all do the planning? Are they planned as well, the neighbors? Do they plan it?

Oh, yeah. I do the big initial turnover of the garden. We've been doing this prior to the land bank taking 307 and 309 are together. They were owned by the same family, so we've been kind of gardening on that for almost well, the house there was a house taken down by the city. So, 3 or 4 years though, and so we've been doing all of the work and then I got a lot of there's 1 particular family, the condos that do almost the really heavy workload of. Of getting everything in the ground for us, but yeah, it's all free. You want some sick of tomatoes, but, you know.

all right thank you uh can i mention one thing i think just from uh what sorry i forgot your name i don't even know if i can pronounce it but okay show me something okay yes um we were contacted about code um by individual that lived over there and i don't think i spoke with you but it might have been another yeah mr condit and so what i will say is that community came out and they were like look we already utilized this lot for you know this for this because they knew this family so what i will say is you know in tight neighborhoods, usually you know everybody. So they knew when that house, you know, when the people passed and then when the house got demoed and so they started utilizing that land. And so one of the code officials told Mr. Cundiff about this program. And then luckily they reached out. And then as soon as they reached out, they were game on. So, I mean, this was kind of a really fast, you know, actually bringing it to the board because they had already done a whole lot of the work. All right.

So, is there a motion to approve resolution 47 series 2026.

A motion to approve resolution 47 series 2026.

Is there a 2nd I 2nd, is there any further discussion in person are online. Hearing none, I call for the question. All those in favor of Resolution 47, Series 2026, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. The resolution is approved.

Okay, so I'm going to give a summary of the built back our blocks program. The program goal is to create affordable home ownership opportunities for neighborhood residents to build wealth through new construction. The sales price is 500 dollars for properties under 5000 square feet and 1000 dollars for properties between 5000 and 1 square feet and 9999. The application process applicants must attach to their application a detailed project plan budget timeline proof of funds and their intended in use the restrictions. It's restricted to the projects in use the timeline for project completion. And occupancy required to release the deed restrictions permitted in uses our owner occupy a residential or commercial structure, sell a residential structure as affordable housing, rent a residential structure as affordable housing, or sell a residential or commercial structure at market rate. Um, so again, this is resolution 48 series, 2026. this is 3, 2, 2, 5, Greenwood Avenue 4 to 11. the applicant is new directions housing corporation and the program spelled backer box. Um, so here you can see a front view as well as an aerial view of 3225 Greenwood Ave. Um, again, the applicants new directions, housing corporation, it's in the parkland neighborhood zoned are 5. the council district is 5 and the parcel square footage is 5000. the sales price will be 500 dollars with a projected timeline of 12 months. The end use proposed by the applicant is to build a single family residence that will be sold to qualify buyers at or below fair market rate. So, the next slide will show their elevation plans. So it's a 2 story home. You can see front rear left and right elevations here. The next slide shows their floor plan, so they are planning to construct a 2 story 3 bed 2 and a half bath home on the lot. You can see their site plan as well. Just showing how the home will sit and they're also planning to do a parking pad in the back that you can see there. Uh, so their budget is 294,705 dollars exterior and interior. I do want to note that this was not broken down by the applicant. This was me trying to piece together their budget for exterior versus interior. So the cost could differ a little bit, but 67,905 for the exterior and then 226,800 for interior their proof of funds reflects 300,000. All right, so we are recommending the board to approve resolution 48 series 2026 with the following terms a sales price of 500 dollars applicant new directions housing corporation must obtain all necessary permits and approvals required by Louisville Metro to construct their proposed project of a single family residents 3 bed, 2 and a half bath within 12 months on the property located at 3225 Greenwood Avenue. Applicant shall maintain the property in a manner consistent with codes and ordinances of the Louisville and Jefferson County Metro government. Applicant shall comply with the terms of its program agreement and applicant shall return the property back to the land bank authority should it fail to meet the requirements of the deed restrictions placed on the property.

Okay, my question is, are properties on Greenwood Avenue going for $300,000 now?

No. Well, there have been a couple, but I believe this is going to be sold as affordable. Is that correct? Market rate. Oh, this one's going to be sold at market rate. So, of course, it's going to be dependent on whatever the market will sell at 32nd and Greenwood.

What are they selling for around there right now?

We, I don't know.

Yeah, we would have to pull up the part of the market. What'd you say? So, Dana is saying around 180, and that is based on her experience in real estate. So she is an agent on the side. So Dana saying around 180, but I have not looked at the market statistics in that neighborhood, at least within the last six months. But what I will say is through the West End, if we're looking at anything from, especially south of Broadway within the more Western part of, they are going from anywhere from 150 all the way up. We've seen them to 250 and 260. There are a couple that have been listed for 300 and we have been kind of watching those.

And if I could say something, this is Max Monahan with new directions, housing corporation. And I just want to say that we, the funder of this property, it's more of a philanthropic endeavor for them. So, the people providing the funds understand that the house will be sold probably about 180, maybe 200, but they understand that it's a philanthropic endeavor for them.

Okay.

So their funds are coming from the Nolte Meyer group, which, oh, sorry.

Yeah, so this is a project that is being brought forward and funding has been provided and they are trying to work through this model to get it perfected because this is a philanthropy type of development.

All right.

Well, I know of new directions.

I don't have any.

My concern is having a house that is going to sit vacant because of the cost and

So, Max, can you speak to that? I think 1 of the main things that, um, you know, we have looked at, especially with new directions and other nonprofits is that 1 thing is that we don't want the properties to sit vacant. And so, um. 1 thing that, uh. this group did was to reach out to experience nonprofit developers to see how they work through developments and what their requirements are, because sometimes it really takes a holistic approach to it. You know, getting buyers ready, you know, that's 1 part of it. So credit, You know, worthy, and then also looking at the type, you know, who the applicants are, they do they know the areas is the area that they want to be in and so new directions and also other nonprofits take that to work through their programs. So that these properties do not sit. Um, that was the main goal with, you know, with with this type of project and Max, do you want to add anything on to that? Because, I mean, I think that is 1 of you all's. Things too, is that you all don't want that property to be sitting vacant once it's complete.

oh yeah no absolutely yeah no we uh we want to be able to move the home and sell it to its in owner occupy user and we understand that you know in that part of town and obviously with that development budget but like i said it is a philanthropic endeavor and the funder understands that you know this house will not be sold for 400 000 or anything crazy like that And we are committed to working with potential buyers to go through that HUD first-time home buyer counseling through the Urban League, or I know HBI also offers that service. So yeah, we're very much aware of it. And New Directions, we do a lot of different homes that we buy and sell and rehab in all different neighborhoods in the city. So we have the experience with it. We understand. And like I said, it really is because this property is right across from the Boys and the funder is very committed to that boys and girls club and you know it's frankly just tired of seeing some of the vacant abandoned properties around it and so they're putting their money where their mouth is right well let's build one and sell it to a family that they can live in that community and they are aware of once again that i mean i think the market study we did or you know uh there was two new construction homes sold in that area that went for around 200 one of them was an mmy house which is the manufactured home but we when we sent our performa to the funder we said it more than likely will sell at about 180 000. is this a one-off or is is this another opportunity to have other I certainly hope not. So this is kind of our first endeavor with them. And they've said, you know, they want to see what it is. It's their way of giving back. Obviously, they're real estate people, so they love real estate. So they are willing to put the money up on a home that, you know, there will be a, you know, a loss. And if it goes well, that they would be willing to potentially do others. Maybe they're around the Boys and Girls Club there in Parkland or potentially other areas. So it's our first kind of go around and we're hoping it works out. And they basically brought us in as New Directions as a nonprofit developer because they don't have the experience going through things like getting property from the land bank or working with contractors who build homes in those types of neighborhoods and things like that, who are familiar with the neighborhoods and all those different dynamics, the real estate agents who work in those neighborhoods. So that's why they have brought us in to help them.

So what I'm hearing is there's going to be a really lucky family who gets a $300,000 home for $180,000 in the West.

Yeah, I wanted to say that the land bank has actually met with the note of my group and they've explained. I'm sorry with the finder and they want to do a lot of development and provide affordable housing and they have stated to us that they're not in it for the money they're in it because they want to try to provide housing to the community. So, sorry.

Yeah, we're very lucky here. It's, it's people who work in real estate who want to put their philanthropic dollars in affordable housing, real estate development at 32nd and Greenwood. So we were happy to help them.

Okay. You've heard the

Recommendation for Resolution 48 Series 2026. Is there a motion to approve this resolution?

I motion to approve Resolution 48 Series 2026.

Is there a second? I'm going to abstain.

A second it's been moved and seconded that. Um, we approve resolutions, uh, 48 series 2026. um, are there any further, uh, discussion in person are online. Hearing none, I call for the question. All those in favor of approval of resolution 48 series 2026, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

All those that are not in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. All those who abstain, please indicate.

Aye. The resolution has not been approved.

Okay, I believe the next item is a discussion item from Russell, a place of promise.

Hello, everyone. It's so nice to be here today. I'm Teresa Zawacki. I'm Interim Co-Executive Director for Russell, A Place of Promise. And I have some slides. And I know it's almost 4 o'clock and this meeting is scheduled to go for an hour more, but we will not take that long. So, I'm here today to give an update on the properties that the land bank transferred to on the 2400 and 2500 blocks of Elliot Avenue. And to talk a little bit more about the status of the construction and where Russell, a place of promise is planning to go as far as next steps. But I want to start by giving a little bit of an overview of us. So, just in case, or as a refresher Russell, a place of promise is a nonprofit community land trust. And our mission is to build black wealth through investments without displacement in the Russell neighborhood. We were established. You can go on to the next slide. We were established in 2018 as an incubated initiative with support from the community foundation of Louisville, which was our fiscal sponsor, Louisville, Metro government and cities United, which is a national nonprofit that focuses on gun violence prevention. That's based here in Louisville. Um, our vision, I'm not going to read all of this, but the way that we work is we pair investments in the people of the Russell neighborhood with investments in the place of the neighborhood. And my work is focused on our place based investments. So, since 2018, we've really been working to build authentic, lasting, trusting relationships with Russell residents to help us identify how we want to invest in the place of the neighborhood. And so the evolution of our pop from an incubated initiative to a 501 C3 community land trust is really based on what we've heard from residents over the 8 years that we've been around. Um, and so I want to talk just briefly again, I think folks probably know this information, but just in case, or as a refresher, I want to talk a little bit about what a community land trust is and why it's different from other community development models that you've seen. So, 1 of the biggest and most important parts of a community land trust from our perspective, and based on that history of engaging with residents along with our place based investments is this idea of community control and decision making. So, right now we have a board of 15 members. About 65% of them come from the Russell neighborhood and the other 45 have connections to Russell either because they work in Russell, they own a business in Russell, they worship in Russell, they have family in Russell, or they've been through our resident leadership development programs. Once we have our 1st homes built and occupied by families, our board composition will shift and a 3rd of our members will represent families who live in those homes. A 3rd of our members will represent the neighborhood and a 3rd of our members will be at large folks. You have a skill or a special interest in supporting the success of the land trust and Russell. So what this board composition does is it really roots decision making in the people who are most impacted by the work that we're doing. And that's residents of the neighborhood and residents of the homes that we build and steward. I know I have 3 more points on that slide. I'm sorry. So the next really important key element of a community land trust is this idea of shared ownership and I'm not going to hit on this too hard. But essentially, when the homes on Elliot are built, Russell, a place of promise will own the land and we'll give a 99 year automatically renewing ground lease to the family that purchases the house. And what that does is it creates certainty around your property tax burden. You will only be paying property taxes on the improvements and not on the land. I'm sorry to come to a taxing body and say that, but that's the way it works. It also creates certainty around how that property appreciates in value. So, as part of the ground lease, and as part of the relationship with all of this, there is a defined appreciation rate on an annual basis. The value of these homes will go up by 2% a year. And so that sounds like, maybe not the best thing, because you think about, like, the market can sometimes bump your property value up by 15% in an assessment period. But if you are a family living in a land trust property, and your property value goes up by 15%, your taxes are going up by 15%. And sometimes that's really bad on the budget. And so this gives an opportunity to share the benefits of homeownership with also the predictability of understanding how your costs are going to go up over time when it comes to property ownership. Um, again, I will, I think I've already touched on this, but the idea of a is to provide access to permanently affordable home ownership and that happens because the purchase price is offset through grants or other subsidies that get brought to the deal. But it also comes from that predictability of the taxes comes from that predictability of the relationship between the land through the ground lease and the improvements through the ownership. And ultimately, all of this contributes to the idea of shared neighborhood growth and investment without displacement, which is at the core of everything that Russell A Place of Promise does in the neighborhood.

We can go on to the next slide.

So, I'm not going to read all of this either, but to hit the highlights grew out of the southern civil rights movement and the 1st, what we would consider to be the 1st, rural was developed outside Albany, Georgia, as a strategy for allowing black sharecroppers to have more control over the land that they were farming. And an opportunity to create a mutually beneficial web of neighbors who were working together to create a better life for their families and also to own property. Um, the 1st, urban was actually incorporated in Cincinnati in 1980, and it was intended to preserve the West end neighborhoods. And I think it's still up and running, but today there's over 300 in the nation and there's even more around the world. And so this is a model that exists in lots of other places. And we are 1 of 4 in Kentucky. I am definitely not going to spend a lot of time on these slides because I've already sort of talked about this, but this just really gives a history of our resident work groups that led to the decision to incorporate our pop as a CLT. We looked at lots of models. We looked at public benefit corporation. We looked at cooperative. We looked at a real estate investment trust. We looked at a bunch of things and really it boiled down to the idea that a CLT offered the most opportunity for community governance. Um, and shared ownership, which really built nicely into the vision and values that Russell residents have helped us define for the neighborhood.

So, we can keep going.

We also used resident engagement and a work group structure to decide where to invest. And so I know that you all have heard that Russell, a place of promise has interest in that Southwest corner of the Russell neighborhood really from Muhammad Ali to Broadway from 22nd street all the way over to the Georgia Davis powers expressway. And the intent behind that is to reflect what we heard from residents through this work group process that happened in 2023 through the Russell Futures Learning Lab. And that was that community recommended that we prioritize investing in a limited geography so that there could be maximum impact seen. When you invest in a more scattered approach, It can sometimes be really hard to see the change in the neighborhood, but, like, what we're seeing on Elliot Avenue, focusing our investment in this limited geography in this rectangle on the Southwest corner of the neighborhood will eventually lead to a very visual, very tangible difference in the, the neighborhood. And we've also chosen this area because it's adjacent to a 5 acre parcel that we are developing at 30th and Madison street across from the Norton sports and learning center. And so that. That 5 acre anchor is really sort of the top of the rectangle around where we're planning to invest in housing. And so again, it's just all sort of tied together. As far as the impact that we want to make in the Russell neighborhood goes. So I want to spend a little more time on these next couple of slides because this is where we start to talk about how people will actually purchase property from the CLT on Elliott Avenue and beyond. And it's a little different. So I want to first preface all of this by saying that buying through a CLT is not for every buyer. If you are able to go out and find a home in your price point on the market, buying through a CLT is probably not for you. Russell, a place of promise supports families who are in between 50 and 120% of area, median income. And the reason we go up to 120% is because there have been some significant job creating investments in the area where we're planning to invest that offer salary and income opportunities that exceed the 80% mark, which is where we typically see affordable housing developers working 80% below. We also are really invested in the idea of income diversity in the Russell neighborhood and know that creating opportunities for homeownership are great. But if you can start to pull apart the income streams a little bit more broadly and serve those families at the upper end that are not typically thought of as candidates for affordable housing, you start to create that mixed income that the Russell neighborhood has always been known for. So a CLT opportunity is for first time buyers who are looking for stability in their property ownership costs and a fair price, something that feels accessible to them, something that feels like it won't cost burden them as they start to engage in home ownership. It's also for working families who feel priced out of traditional market based housing options, whether that's rental or ownership. There are so many families in this community and I'm speaking broadly about Jefferson County when I make this statement. Who simply can't afford the average sale price of a home, which is hovering, I think, and you can correct me if I'm wrong somewhere around 300,000 dollars. And so you need to have a very solid, very predictable stream of income to be able to afford that house. The houses that we're building on Elliot are going to be priced significantly below that again with the idea that people who are earning wages who are able to survive. In an apartment should be able to attain home ownership if that's what they'd like to be able to do. And then again, because we're Russell a place of promise, we would really love to see families and Russell. Who are renting move into ownership and we would also really love to see families who have that historic connection to Russell, or maybe a family member grew up in Russell, or they still have family and Russell to come back to the neighborhood and be part of all of the great new investment that's come to this space. We've also talked a little bit about the next set of bullets. Why choose a home again? It's going to be a lower purchase price compared to what you can find on the open market. And that again is tied to the fact that subsidy comes along with it. And also, because the ownership is split between the community land trust and the buyer. Um, CLT homes also are able to support down payment assistance. So, for folks who are coming to the city folks who are coming to a bank folks who are getting a loan or a gift from a family or friend, a family member or friend. All of those things can layer into the purchase price that's ultimately do at the closing table. We also require all of our buyers to go through HUD certified counseling and receive a certificate. And so I am not sure where this shows up on my slide, but there is a statistic out there that's published by Grounded Solutions Network, which is the national umbrella that supports CLTs around the country that rates of foreclosure among CLT buyers are like less than 1% and have historically been less than 1%, even in times of housing crisis and foreclosure. And it's because there's a relationship between the and the buyer and it's because those buyers have all been through, uh, uh, data, like, focused, um, evidence based. Curriculum that is the head certified home buyer counseling program. Uh, there's more stuff we can keep going. It's fine. So, uh, after the home is sold, we get the buyer in the house. What happens next after the home is sold? The helps keep costs affordable again. We've talked about property tax being predictable. Um. 2 other things that we are going to be doing for all of our properties that help with that long term upkeep 1 is that every buyer will establish a maintenance fund. That money will be paid on a monthly basis on a sliding scale based on income. It's somewhere between 40 and 100 dollars a month that will go into an escrow account. That's tied to the house. Not to the family, but to the house, so that over time, as the maintenance needs grow, the fund is also growing alongside those needs. And when it's time to replace the roof or time to replace the windows or time to deal with the siding, there is a fund that's available with a proportionate share of that money tied to that improvement. So that you are not out of pocket 10,000 dollars for that roof. you have the benefit of this fund and can pull a set amount of that out to cover part of that cost. We are also encouraging owners to purchase home warranties to help cover repairs during their ownership. All of these new houses that we're building on Elliott will come with a home warranty. So right now, we've been doing a lot of community education because buying a house through a CLT is not as easy as just going and listing it on the MLS and finding it. So we've been hosting home buyer 101 meetings. Um, if you have been to 1 amazing, if you have not been to 1, you can watch on our YouTube channel, or you can find it on our Facebook stream because we've been doing some virtual ones as well as in person ones. We are encouraging everyone who has any interest at all in buying 1 of these houses to go sign up with the urban league or go sign up with or go to a prize in or America to get your head approved certificate saying that you've been through counseling. Um, other things that folks need to do to be ready to buy, they need to have a 1000 dollars in savings and then. In the next, I'm going to say 6 to 8 weeks, we're going to open up a Pre application that allows people to submit their interest in purchasing 1 of these homes along with limited information about income, household size, employment and where they live now. So we can get in touch with them. The Pre application will stay active for 2 years, and we use that Pre application to match people to homes that they're interested in buying. And also, frankly, we're hoping to be really oversubscribed with Elliot Avenue. So we'll hopefully use the applicant pool to understand demand for future homes that we build. Once we have homes available, we will email everyone in the applicant pool with home details and we'll ask, do you want to buy 1 of these houses? Um, in the future, we may have extra ways for people to express an interest and that could be because they have a family size that matches a house. For example, all of these homes on Elliot or 3 bedroom 2 bath, but we could because of the applicant pool end up with some homes that are smaller or some homes that are bigger in terms of number of bedrooms. And there may be families who have special needs for those smaller or bigger homes and we say, okay, extra preference. Um, we may also do things that are specifically focused on Russell renters or have different income criteria based on funding availability and funder requirements for income. Um, but for now. Let's just assume we're not going to do any of that because we're not, um, we'll email the entire applicant pool. If you're interested in buying 1 of the houses, you'll email us back within 7 days of that email saying I'd be interested in these houses. We will say, great, we'll put their names in the lottery for each of the houses that they're interested in 1 to 3 of those folks will be pulled from that lottery at random and we have software that does all this and it's transparent and it can audit it and it's trackable and all that stuff. Um, and once you're pulled, um, as someone who's a potential buyer, you'll have 14 days to submit your full application, which means you have your mortgage qualification. It means you've provided proof of income and all that other great stuff. Like, you would at a bank. We will review the applications along with our partners at. And we'll select to match the strongest match and then we'll go through the normal closing process. So, in owning and selling a, it looks a lot like regular ownership. The buyer agrees to live in the home as their primary residence. We do allow rental under extremely limited circumstances, but only for short periods of time. We also ask that the buyer maintain the home and fund the maintenance reserve and pay the taxes and carry homeowners insurance. And we check on that once a year to make sure everything's going. Well, not in a, where you're overlord kind of way, but in a, where your partner kind of way, we want to make sure things are going well that you're current on your mortgage that you're not having problems with your insurance, et cetera. When you're ready to sell, there's a resale formula it's baked into our stewardship manual and into our ground lease and it sets the sale price that allows the owner to recapture their original down payment the principle that they've paid on their mortgage. And then what we would consider to be that fair share of the home, the home growth over time and it's 2% annually. We then go through the same process of screening and qualifying the next buyer so that we are perpetually keeping that asset as an opportunity for affordable home ownership.

Now, this is the part I think you really care about.

So this is where we're building on Elliot. Um, in the green boundary, we have the 2400 and 2500 blocks. Um, we're building 5 different models. 1 is compliant. All of these models are priced to be affordable to the neighborhood and construction is very much underway underway. If you have not been through there recently, you will be amazed at the transformation. Um, all of these houses will be built by 2027, 15 of them are stick built and all 15 of those are at least framed and I think windows are in all of them and ruffs and it's really looking finished. The other 10 are across modular product that are being fabricated by Clayton homes. And again, for all of these houses, the affordability will be protected in perpetuity through Russell, a place of promise. This is our timeline between July and September. We're going to continue with our education. So we're doing lender education. We're doing realtor education. We have some dedicated home buyer education sessions coming up in partnership with they're happening on Saturdays. So, for 25 dollars, folks can come and sit and 8 hours later, they'll walk out with their head certified counseling proof, which is amazing. We're also in the process of interviewing for a housing support specialist, someone who will be that technical assistance provider and helping to move families into the Pre application stages and then supporting the applicant pool. Once it's established, we are also just about to turn around our ground lease to Fannie and Freddie. Um, that is something that we need to do to make sure that banks can use all of the available tools to provide mortgages on the property. And then again, our Pre application window will open toward the end of September beginning of October. And then you can see that lotteries are going to happen in October, November and December as we move these houses into new ownership. That's all the stuff that we've done to market. It is a lot. It is in-person, it is virtual, it is social media, it is one-on-one outreach with lenders. We've tabled, we've canvassed, we've basically covered all the bases and we're gonna keep doing it. And then I think my last few slides are pictures. So these are some of the homes. Um. They are, as I said, all 3 bedroom, 2 bath, they are all this hardy plank. Um, very nice finish on the outside. They all have a poured parking pad sidewalk and shed. Um. The finishes on the inside are all gonna be a little bit different. These are not cookie cutter on the inside at all. You can see, I think these are all the, actually there's three different models, four different models now that are shown in these pictures. I believe we have the Reed, the Springfield, And I maybe want to say the Lucille reflected in these pictures. So we did have a chance to name some of the houses after the neighborhood. And so we have a house named for Mr. Manfred read. We have 1 that's named for Elliot Avenue. We are very much excited to be able to have those names assigned to these properties.

And then I think we might have 1 more slide with pictures on it.

Yeah, we got 1 more so the last thing I'll, I'll share with you all is that we do have a lot of partners for this project. Obviously is our main partner, but we're also partnering with the legal aid society and borders and borders around Pre purchase counseling and closings for the folks who are going to purchase these properties. It was really important to us. To have those relationships, because the ground lease is 46 pages long, and I would not as a normal person want to sit there and read that and figure out what that means for me. So it's important that folks have legal representation. This is how it's happening. If they choose to take us up on that. We're also doing more dedicated home buyer education sessions and then our longstanding partnership, obviously, with the Louisville urban league continues also around home buyer and so many other things. Um, the last thing I'll say is that as we have invested in new construction on Elliot, we have also had the opportunity in partnership with new directions and the repair affair to take on home repairs for 19 homeowners in this general area. Those repairs will be done, I believe, by the end of September, and the value of those repairs can go up to 24,999 dollars. So there are some significant investments being made in existing homeowner retention, which is very much in line with how we like to move in the neighborhood. So it's supporting existing residents while creating opportunities for new things. So I'm happy to take questions. I know I just threw a lot at you. I hope you felt empowered to cut me off if you had them in the meantime.

I just have one question. Sure. Part of the process of the 25 lots are the 25 homes that are being built. When do you anticipate those 25? How long do you anticipate it taking to sell those 25?

I hope not that long. We have had a fairly significant number of people come to our interest meetings, come to our home buyer ed classes with HPI. We've had a lot of engagement on social media as we've talked about this project and I know that I, and Cassandra web, our other interim Co, executive director and Colby Bentley, our assistant director for a place have all been contacted by individuals to say, how do I sign up for that? Or how do I get my kid to sign up for that? Or how do I get my sister or my cousin to sign up for that? And so. Obviously, nobody wants to build something and have significant carrying costs associated with it. But because this is a new construction product in an area that doesn't see a lot of new construction, especially not in a concentrated way like this is, we think that the demand is going to be pretty high.

But let me come back in a couple of months and tell you for sure.

Do any of the other board members have any questions or. Anyone that is here are online.

I have a question.

Okay.

Okay. How many more lots is the land bank holding for you?

Well, we would really like to talk with you all about a proposal to hold all of the ones that are within that specific rectangle that I talked about. And the last I counted, it was somewhere around 112 of them. Not all of them are buildable. Matter of fact, I would say I can think of at least six or seven that aren't buildable. And the proposal that we'd like to, I wanted to have this conversation before we have that conversation in depth. Um, but I would like to bring back a proposal to you all to lay out a couple of options that could work because I know that there's the pressure to move property back onto the tax roll and to see those properties develop for the benefit of the neighborhood and to be not vacant anymore. And also not maintained by the city. Um. But there also are some opportunities that we see to think about how to support the model of community land trust in Russell and potentially in smoke town and maybe even in Barry town, which is where the 3rd land trust is in Jefferson county by taking a little bit of a different approach to how property is disposed of in those areas, or in some limited area that the land trust addresses. And so that I don't wanna steal my thunder or say something that is ultimately maybe not gonna make it into what I present to you all. But we think that there's a strategy that we can agree on that balances the interest of the land bank in being an available resource for everyone. And also the land bank and the community's interest in seeing these properties built in a way that creates a community asset, the way that a CLT can make them a community asset. that preserves affordability, that creates opportunity for homeownership over the long term, and the long-term stewardship that ensures that the houses that are built on Elliott today that are affordable to a family earning, we'll say, 80% of AMI are 10 years from now still available to a family earning 80% of area median income. And so hold that thought, if I may ask you, with all due respect. I would like to come back and talk to you more about that.

Yes, because I have a concern about being the property that's been held by the land bank and every time they have to go out there and do maintenance on it.

Yes. And I think that there is again, I think there's a balance in the ask that I'd like to make of the land bank about this approach that takes into consideration the burden that it is on the city to maintain those lots. Yeah. So if I may just kindly respect that I come back in a month to talk more about that proposal, or at least that I have materials for you all to consider in a month. Okay, thank you.

Are there any other questions? Amanda, do you have anything? No, not right now.

Okay.

All right.

All right. Thank you. Thank you all.

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Thank you. It's been a very informative meeting and we thank you for being here and providing us an update on how we are working to improve the neighborhoods in Jefferson County. And so our next meeting will be September the 14th at 3 PM. At the Metro development center on the 1st floor on 5th street. And so we invite you to come and but in the meantime, we invite you to go to the websites and see if there are any properties there that you might be interested in. And we have a wonderful land bank team that are working hard trying to make it happen. And and so thank you again for being here. Is there a motion to adjourn the meeting?

I motion to adjourn.

Is there a second? I second. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you, everyone.

Thank you.