It hereby is found and declared:
(1) That there exist within the state blighted areas.
(2) That such areas impair economic values and tax revenues.
(3) That such areas cause an increase in and spread of disease and crime and constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents of the state and that these conditions necessitate excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for crime prevention and punishment, public health, safety and welfare, fire and accident protection and other public services and facilities.
(4) That certain blighted areas may require acquisition and clearance since the prevailing condition of decay may make impracticable the reclamation of the area by conservation or rehabilitation, but other areas or portions thereof may be susceptible of conservation or rehabilitation in such manner that the conditions and evils mentioned in subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section may be eliminated, remedied or prevented and that such areas should, if possible, be conserved and rehabilitated through appropriate public action and the cooperation and voluntary action of the owners and tenants of property in such areas.
(5) That the acquisition, conservation, rehabilitation, redevelopment, clearance, replanning and preparation for rebuilding of these areas, and the prevention or the reduction of blight and its causes, are public uses and purposes for which public money may be spent and private property acquired and are governmental functions of state concern.
(6) That there are also certain areas where the condition of the title, the diverse ownership of the land to be assembled, the street or lot layouts or other conditions prevent a proper development of the land, and that it is in the public interest that such areas, as well as blighted areas, be acquired by eminent domain and made available for sound and wholesome development in accordance with a redevelopment or urban renewal plan, and that the exercise of the power of eminent domain and the financing of the acquisition and preparation of land by a public agency for such redevelopment or urban renewal is likewise a public use and purpose.
(7) That redevelopment and urban renewal activities will stimulate residential construction which is closely correlated with general economic activity; that undertakings authorized by this chapter will aid the production of better housing and more desirable neighborhood and community development at lower costs and will make possible a more stable and larger volume of residential construction, which will assist materially in maintaining full employment.
(8) That the necessity in the public interest for this chapter is a matter of legislative determination. [Amended by 1957 c.456 §2; 1979 c.621 §11]
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