58-209.01. Blighted area, defined.

Blighted area shall mean an area within a city or village (1) which by reason of the presence of a substantial number of deteriorated or deteriorating structures, defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility or usefulness, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements, diversity of ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions of title, improper subdivision or obsolete platting, or conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes or any combination of such factors substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the community, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability and is detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use and (2) in which there is at least one of the following conditions: (a) Unemployment in the designated area is at least one hundred twenty percent of the state or national average; (b) the average age of the residential or commercial units in the area is at least forty years; (c) more than half of the plotted and subdivided property in the area is unimproved land that has been within the city or village for forty years and has remained unimproved during that time; (d) the per capita income of the area is lower than the average per capita income of the municipality in which the area is designated; or (e) the area has had either stable or decreasing population based on the last two decennial censuses. A city of the metropolitan, primary, or first class shall not designate more than thirty-five percent of the city as blighted, a city of the second class shall not designate an area larger than fifty percent of the city as blighted, and a village shall not designate an area larger than one hundred percent of the village as blighted.

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