Detroit is the only Michigan city that can establish a land bank. More could soon join.

Detroit is the only Michigan city currently authorized to have a local land bank authority. But seven cities across the state could soon join the list under a bill signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week.

What does a local land bank do?

Land banks maintain an inventory of properties — including vacant and tax-delinquent ones — for sale to spur redevelopment in blighted areas. Forty-eight of Michigan's 83 counties have a county land bank authority, according to the State Land Bank Authority which works with counties and municipalities without a local authority.

What would the land bank bill do?

House Bill 4375 would allow Michigan cities with at least 50,000 residents in counties not currently home to a land bank authority to establish a local one.

"This is a tool that is necessary to meaningful urban economic development," said bill sponsor state Rep. Kristian Grant, D-Grand Rapids, during a House Committee on Local Government and Municipal Finance hearing. "Simply, in a bustling urban core, there is no room or time for wasted land."

Which cities could establish land bank authorities?

Some of Michigan's biggest counties don't have a county land bank authority.

Those counties are home to cities with sizeable populations that could establish authorities under the bill. In West Michigan, Kent County's Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming could do so. And in metro Detroit, Washtenaw County's Ann Arbor along with Macomb County's St. Clair Shores, Sterling Heights and Warren could all set up local land bank authorities.

In total, over 785,000 people live in the impacted cities, according to the 2020 census.

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Which Republicans support the land bank bill?

Every Democratic lawmaker supported the bill. State Sen. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, was the lone Republican in the state Senate to support the bill. His district includes part of Sterling Heights, one of the cities newly empowered to establish a land bank under the bill.

In the state House, a handful of GOP representatives backed the legislation, including state Rep. Thomas Kuhn, R-Troy, whose district also includes part of Sterling Heights.

Whitmer says bill will boost affordable housing

Whitmer celebrated the bill as a way to revitalize Michigan cities. "This legislation will widen access to the powerful economic development tools land bank fast track authorities provide," she said in a statement. "Whether it's renovating the old bank or theatre on main street, or turning abandoned lands into places of opportunity, Michigan communities are on the move, open for business, and showing the world how much we have to offer."

The bill goes into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.

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Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: More Michigan cities could establish land banks with new law