It is the purpose of this article to enable the Planning Commission to make declarations of blight on properties or neighborhoods independent of the actions and processes of the Redevelopment Authority and Urban Redevelopment Law. Such declarations may be made where a property or neighborhood is blighted but the actions and processes defined in the subsequent articles of this Part
8 are inappropriate for the circumstances.
The Planning Commission may make a blight declaration on a specific
individual property when it determines that one or more of the following
conditions are present.
A. Any of the conditions enumerated under Section 12.1(c) of the Pennsylvania
Urban Redevelopment Law.
B. Prone to significant damage from flooding.
C. The presence of conditions, particularly in structures, which pose
a threat to neighboring properties or passersby in the public right-of-way.
D. Abandoned accessory structures.
E. Collection or accumulation of junk, trash, or other refuse.
F. A use or structure which is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood
and was not put in place by legal means. Legal nonconforming uses
and structures are considered to have been put into place legally.
The Planning Commission may make a blight declaration on specific
areas of the City when it determines that two or more of the following
conditions are present:
A. Unsafe, unsanitary, inadequate, or overcrowded conditions in dwellings.
C. Defective design or arrangement of buildings.
D. Faulty street or lot layout.
E. Economically or socially undesirable land uses.
G. Other effects of inadequate planning.
When making a blight declaration, the Commission shall abide
by this procedure:
A. Declaration shall be made publicly at any regular Commission meeting.
B. Declaration shall be made by resolution of the Commission. The resolution
shall include a specific description of the property or area subject
to the declaration, the factors leading to such declaration, and any
adverse effects such declaration may have on property owners included
in the boundaries of the declaration.
C. The Commission shall then notify all property owners affected by the declaration that such declaration has been made, the adverse effects that the declaration may have on them, and a notice of the right to appeal the declaration in accordance with the procedure in §
535-217 below. The notice shall be mailed within five days of the vote on the declaration.
D. The Commission shall notify the City Council of the blight declaration
after the possibility of appeal has ended.
A blight declaration is a tool used to provide funding to certain
areas and projects within the City. In and of itself, the declaration
has no tangible effect. However, because the use of funding which
can result from such a declaration can have financial, social, and
other immediate negative effects on those who own or lease property
affected by a declaration, the Commission must include in its declaration
what it foresees the funding available being used for and how it will
impact owners and leaseholders.
Persons owning or leasing property included in a blight declaration
shall have standing to appeal the declaration to any court of competent
jurisdiction. Should the court find that the blight declaration is
in error, the declaration shall be vacated so far as it applies to
the property owned or leased by the appellant. Such appeal shall be
done in the same manner as an appeal from a determination of a public
nuisance.
No blight declaration issued under this article may be subsequently used as a basis for activity under Article
XXX or
XXXI of this Part
8. Likewise, no declaration or certification of blight under Article
XXX or
XXXI of this Part
8 may be used as a blight declaration under this article. In both cases, a new blight declaration must be issued pursuant to the criteria and procedures outlined in each respective article.