18-2102. Legislative findings and declarations.

It is hereby found and declared that there exist in cities of all classes and villages of this state areas which have deteriorated and become substandard and blighted because of the unsafe, insanitary, inadequate, or overcrowded condition of the dwellings therein, or because of inadequate planning of the area, or excessive land coverage by the buildings thereon, or the lack of proper light and air and open space, or because of the defective design and arrangement of the buildings thereon, or faulty street or lot layout, or congested traffic conditions, or economically or socially undesirable land uses. Such conditions or a combination of some or all of them have resulted and will continue to result in making such areas economic or social liabilities harmful to the social and economic well-being of the entire communities in which they exist, needlessly increasing public expenditures, imposing onerous municipal burdens, decreasing the tax base, reducing tax revenue, substantially impairing or arresting the sound growth of municipalities, aggravating traffic problems, substantially impairing or arresting the elimination of traffic hazards and the improvement of traffic facilities, and depreciating general community-wide values. The existence of such areas contributes substantially and increasingly to the spread of disease and crime, necessitating excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for the preservation of the public health and safety, for crime prevention, correction, prosecution, punishment and the treatment of juvenile delinquency, and for the maintenance of adequate police, fire, and accident protection and other public services and facilities. These conditions are beyond remedy and control solely by regulatory process in the exercise of the police power and cannot be dealt with effectively by the ordinary operations of private enterprise without the aids herein provided. The elimination of such conditions and the acquisition and preparation of land in or necessary to the renewal of substandard and blighted areas and its sale or lease for development or redevelopment in accordance with general plans and redevelopment plans of communities and any assistance which may be given by any state public body in connection therewith are public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended and private property acquired. The necessity in the public interest for the provisions of the Community Development Law is hereby declared to be a matter of legislative determination.

It is further found and declared that the prevention and elimination of blight is a matter of state policy, public interest, and statewide concern and within the powers and authority inhering in and reserved to the state, in order that the state and its municipalities shall not continue to be endangered by areas which are focal centers of disease, promote juvenile delinquency, and consume an excessive proportion of their revenue.

It is further found and declared that certain substandard and blighted areas, or portions thereof, may require acquisition, clearance, and disposition, subject to use restrictions, as provided in the Community Development Law, since the prevailing conditions of decay may make impracticable the reclamation of the area by conservation or rehabilitation; that other areas or portions thereof may, through the means provided in the Community Development Law, be susceptible of conservation or rehabilitation in such a manner that the conditions and evils, hereinbefore enumerated, may be eliminated, remedied, or prevented; and that salvageable substandard and blighted areas can be conserved and rehabilitated through appropriate public action and the cooperation and voluntary action of the owners and tenants of property in such areas.

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