Senate Bill 204, introduced this week by Senator Robert Spada (R - 24th Dist.), intends to provide an expedited foreclosure procedure for lands that have had delinquent tax charges for a specified number of years and that are not occupied. The bill comes from a series of discussions between local and county leaders regarding the court clog problems associated with foreclosure actions. Recently in August, the Cuyahoga County Commissioners held an open meeting on this problem. A report was later issued that proposed short term and long term reform strategies, including recommendations similar to those proposed in Senate Bill 204. The report can be downloaded here.
Using the foreclosure process, municipalities can sometimes obtain vacant land for development projects from individuals who have seriously delinquent tax bills. Vacant land that would otherwise go unused, and is often an eye-sore for the community, can be acquired through the tax foreclosure process.