[Code 1975, § 34-1; Code 1992, § 8-1]
It is hereby found and declared that:
(1)
Areas in the City have become blighted and are deteriorating in a
manner which leads to severe blight, with the consequent impairment
of taxable values upon which, in large part, City revenues depend;
(2)
Those blighted areas are detrimental or inimical to the health, safety,
morals, and general welfare of the citizens, and to the economic welfare
of the City;
(3)
In order to improve and maintain the general character of the City,
it is necessary to rehabilitate those blighted areas;
(4)
The conditions found in blighted areas cannot be remedied by the
ordinary operations of private enterprise, with due regard to the
general welfare of the public, without public participation in the
planning, property acquisition or disposition, and related implementation
and financing of the remedies;
(5)
The purposes of this article are to rehabilitate those areas by improving
or acquiring and developing properties within the areas for the protection
of the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the City, to
preserve existing values of other properties within or adjacent to
the areas, and to preserve the taxable value of the property within
the areas; and
(6)
The necessity in the public interest for provisions enacted in this
article is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination
to be a public purpose and a public use.
[Code 1975, § 34-2; Code 1992, § 8-2]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
The Rehabilitation of Blighted Areas Act, Public Act No.
344 of 1945 (MCL 125.71 et seq.).
A portion of the City, developed or undeveloped, improved
or unimproved, with business or residential uses, marked by a demonstrated
pattern of deterioration in physical, economic, or social conditions,
and characterized by such conditions as functional or economic obsolescence
of buildings or the area as a whole, physical deterioration of structures,
substandard building or facility conditions, improper or inefficient
division or arrangement of lots and ownerships and streets and other
open spaces, inappropriate mixed character and uses of the structures,
deterioration in the condition of public facilities or services, or
any other similar characteristics which endanger the health, safety,
morals, or general welfare of the City, and which may include any
buildings or improvements not in themselves obsolescent, and any real
property, residential or nonresidential, whether improved or unimproved,
the acquisition of which is considered necessary for rehabilitation
of the area. It is expressly recognized that blight is observable
at different stages of severity and that moderate blight unremedied
creates a strong probability that severe blight will follow. Therefore,
the conditions that constitute blight are to be broadly construed
to permit the City to make an early identification of problems and
to take early remedial action to correct a demonstrated pattern of
deterioration and to prevent worsening of blight conditions.
Any citizens' district council established under the terms
of this article.
Any coordinating council on urban redevelopment established
under the terms of this article.
That portion of a blighted area to which a development plan
is applicable.
A plan for the rehabilitation of all or any part of a blighted
area.
A portion of the City consisting of one or more adjacent
or nearby development areas and any surrounding territory that will
be significantly affected by the plan for the development area, where
a majority of residents in the district area reside in the development
area.
City taxes, any special district taxes and any other tax
on real property, but does not include special assessment for local
benefit improvements.
All of the undertakings authorized in this article for the
rehabilitation of a blighted area.
When used with reference to land reserved for such purpose,
means only such uses as are for the general use and benefit of the
public as a whole, such as schools; libraries; public institutions;
administration buildings; parks; boulevards; playgrounds; streets;
alleys; easements for sewers; and public lighting, water, gas or other
similar utilities.
Land, buildings, improvements, land under water, waterfront
property and any and all easements, franchises and hereditaments,
corporeal or incorporeal, and every estate, interest, privilege, easement,
franchise and right therein or appurtenant thereto, legal or equitable,
including rights-of-way, terms for years and liens, charges or encumbrances
by mortgage, judgment or otherwise.
[Code 1975, § 34-3; Code 1992, § 8-3]
The City assumes all of the statutory powers granted to bring
about the rehabilitation of blighted areas and the prevention, reduction
or elimination of blight, blighting factors or causes of blight, and
for that purpose to acquire real property by purchase, gift, exchange
or condemnation, and to lease, sell, renovate, improve, or exchange
such real property in accordance with the provisions of the rehabilitation
of blighted areas act, Public Act No. 344 of 1945 (MCL 125.71 et seq.).
[Code 1975, § 34-4; Code 1992, § 8-4]
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection (f) of this section, the plans, statements, and actions prescribed in Subsections (b) to (j) of this section are requirements and conditions for the exercise of the powers granted by this article for the acquisition, sale, or lease of real property for the carrying out of a development plan in a development area.
(b)
The following plans shall be adopted by the City Council:
(1)
A master plan of the City or a master plan which is sufficiently
advanced to designate areas in need of rehabilitation or in need of
measures to prevent blight.
(2)
A plan of the general features of development of the district
within which the development area lies and of other districts adjacent
to the development area, of such extent, content, and particularity
as is necessary to the coordination of the development area plan with
the future development of the territory surrounding the development
area, or, if no future development is planned, in coordination with
the present development.
(c)
District areas shall be designated for all development areas that
have been approved by the City Council. A district area shall not
be designated unless the City Council first holds a public hearing
on the designation. The City Council shall give notice of the public
hearing not less than 20 nor more than 30 days before the date for
the public hearing.
(d)
Citizens' district councils are governed by the following:
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, for each district
area, a citizens' district council of not less than 12 nor more than
25 members shall be selected in a manner that ensures that the citizens'
district council is to the maximum extent possible representative
of the residents of the area and of other persons with a demonstrable
and substantial interest in the area. The majority of the citizens'
district council shall be composed of citizens living in the development
area.
(2)
The term of office on the councils shall be three years. If
terms of councilmembers are not staggered, upon the expiration of
the terms of the members of the citizens' district council, one-third
shall be elected or appointed for three years, one-third for two years
and one-third for one year.
(3)
Members of the council may be selected by direct election by
the residents of the area and other persons with a demonstrable and
substantial interest in the area or may be appointed by the City Manager
after consultation with local community groups and residents of the
area or by a combination of appointment and election. The method of
selection of the citizens' district council and any appointments to
the council by the City Manager shall be determined with the approval
of the City Council after a public hearing has been held, with public
notice of such hearing distributed throughout the district area at
least 20 days before the date of the hearing. Citizens' district councils
shall be established within 45 days of any initial designation of
a development area. Vacancies on the citizens' district council may
be filled by appointment by the City Manager.
(e)
The City representative responsible for preparation of the development
plan within the district area shall periodically consult with and
advise the citizens' district council regarding all aspects of the
plan, including the development of new housing for relocation purposes
located either inside or outside of the development area. The consultation
shall begin before any final decisions regarding the development plan
other than the designation of the development area. The consultation
shall continue throughout the various stages of the development plan,
including the final implementation of the plan. The City officials
responsible for the development of the plan shall incorporate into
the development plan the desires and suggestions of the citizens'
district council to the extent feasible. No development plan for a
development area shall be approved unless there has previously been
consultation between the citizens' district council and the City officials
responsible for the development plan. A record of the meetings, including
information and data presented, shall be maintained and included in
official presentation of the proposed development plan to the City
Council.
(f)
The City Manager shall give the citizens' district council written
notice of any contemplated zoning change, hearing, or condemnation
proceedings within the district area. The notice shall be given at
least 20 days before the effective date of the change or the date
of the hearing or proceedings. Upon receiving a request from the citizens'
district council, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on
the proposed zoning change or condemnation proceedings. Each citizens'
district council may call upon any City department for information.
(g)
If the City has two or more district areas, each citizens' district
council shall elect four of its members who shall compose the entire
membership of the Coordinating Council on Urban Redevelopment. The
committee shall advise the City Council on proposed policy on urban
renewal, make recommendations for new projects, and promote better
relations between City government and residents of urban renewal areas.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the formation
of a Coordinating Council on Urban Redevelopment shall not be a requisite
for or condition of the exercise of the powers granted by this article
for the acquisition, sale, or lease of real property or the carrying
out of a development plan in a development area.
(h)
The City Council shall adopt a development plan after consultation with a citizens' district council, if required, and a public hearing on the development plan, as provided in Subsection (j) of this section, for the development area in which the land proposed to be acquired is located or for the effectuation or protection of which development the proposed land acquisition is deemed necessary. A development plan shall comply with the following:
(1)
The plan shall designate the location and extent of streets
and other public facilities within the area and shall designate the
location, character, and extent of the categories of public and private
land uses proposed for and within the area, such as residential, recreation,
business, industry, schools, open spaces, and others, and shall also
include a feasible method for the relocation of families who will
be displaced from the area in decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling
accommodations and without undue hardship to those families, and such
other general features of the proposed rehabilitation as may be determined
by the City Council. A feasible method for relocation of displaced
families shall demonstrate that standard housing units are or will
be available to the displaced families and individuals at rents or
prices within their financial means, in reasonably convenient locations
not less desirable than the development area with respect to utilities
and facilities.
(2)
The plan shall designate the location, extent, character, and
estimated cost of the improvements contemplated for the area and may
include any or all of the following improvements:
a.
Partial or total vacation of plats, or replatting.
b.
Opening, widening, straightening, extending, vacating, or closing
streets, alleys, or walkways.
c.
Locating or relocating water mains, sewers, or other public
or private utilities.
d.
Paving of streets, alleys, or sidewalks in special situations.
e.
Acquiring parks, playgrounds, or other recreational areas or
facilities.
f.
Street tree planting, greenbelts, or buffer strips.
g.
Property renovation in accordance with this article.
h.
Parking facilities.
i.
Commercial area promotion.
j.
Economic restructuring of commercial areas.
k.
Recruiting of new businesses.
l.
Other appropriate public improvements and activities which address
rehabilitation or blight prevention in accordance with this article.
(3)
The plan shall include the following:
a.
Estimates of the number of persons residing in the development
area and the number of families and individuals to be displaced;
b.
A survey of their income and racial composition;
c.
A statistical description of the housing supply in the community,
including the number of private and public units in existence or under
construction, the annual rate of turnover of the various types of
housing, and the range of rents and sale prices;
d.
An estimate of the total demand for housing in the community;
and
e.
The estimated capacity of private and public housing available
to displaced families and individuals.
(i)
A local administrative agency shall be designated to provide information
concerning private and public housing available to displaced families
and individuals and to advise and assist in their relocation.
(j)
Before the determination of a blighted area and a determination that
there is a feasible method for relocation of families and individuals
who will be displaced from the area and before adoption of a development
plan, the City Council shall hold a public hearing, which hearing
shall comply with the following:
(1)
Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given by
publication in a newspaper of general circulation not less than 30
days before the date set for the hearing. Notice of the hearing shall
be distributed in the blighted area at least 25 days before the hearing.
Notice of the hearing shall be mailed at least 25 days before the
hearing to the last known owner of each parcel of land in the blighted
area at the last known address of that owner as shown by the records
of the Assessor. The notice shall contain a description of the development
area. For purposes of this notice, it shall be sufficient to describe
the boundaries of the development area by its location in relation
to highways, streets, streams, or otherwise. The notice shall further
contain a statement that maps, plats, and a particular description
of the development plan, including the method of relocating families
and individuals who will be displaced from the area, are available
for public inspection at a place to be designated in the notice and
that all aspects of the development plan will be open for discussion
at the public hearing.
(2)
At the time set for hearing, the City Council shall provide
an opportunity for all persons interested to be heard and shall receive
and consider communications in writing with reference to the development
plan. The hearing shall provide the fullest opportunity for expression
of opinion, for argument on the merits of the development plan, and
for introduction of documentary evidence pertinent to the development
plan.
(3)
The City Council shall make and preserve a record of the public
hearing, including specific findings of fact with respect to its determination
of the blighted area and its determination that there is a feasible
method for relocation of families and individuals who will be displaced
from the area, all data presented at the public hearing and all other
data which the City Council considered in making its determinations.
If no individuals reside in the development area, the City Council
is not required to determine a feasible method for relocating residents.
(k)
Within 10 days after the completion of the public hearing as provided in Subsection (j) of this section, the citizens' district council for the district within which the proposed development area is located shall notify the City Council in writing of its approval or disapproval of the development plan. If the citizens' district council approves the plan or fails to notify the City Council of its approval or disapproval of the plan, the City Council is free to act on the plan. If the citizens' district council disapproves the plan and so notifies in writing the City Council, the City Council shall not adopt the plan for at least 30 days after receipt of the notice and during that period shall consult with the citizens' district council concerning its objections.
[Code 1975, § 34-5; Code 1992, § 8-5]
[Code 1975, § 34-6; Code 1992, § 8-6]
Where a hearing is required to be held prior to the adoption of a development plan, for a neighborhood development program to be carried out under applicable regulations and guidelines of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), notwithstanding the notice requirements of § 16-34, notice of the hearing shall be deemed sufficient if such notice is distributed door to door and mailed to known property owners only in the specific area where property is to be acquired or rehabilitated and mailed to all community organizations known to be interested in the project and posted in appropriate public buildings and other appropriate places of public gathering.
[Code 1975, § 34-7; Code 1992, § 8-7]
The boundaries of the district area may be revised by the City
Council if the existing citizens' district council is notified in
writing by the City Council at least 10 days prior to final action
on the revised boundaries. If new area is included in the revised
district area, persons residing in or having a demonstrable and substantial
interest in the newly included area may be elected or appointed to
the revised citizens' district council in the same manner of selection
as the original citizens' district council. Notwithstanding the maximum
size prescribed for citizens' district councils, the number of persons
to be selected to represent the newly included area shall be determined
by the City Council. If the existing citizens' district council disapproves
the revised boundaries or number of persons to be elected or appointed
to the revised citizens' district council and so notifies the City
Council in writing, within the ten-day period, final action on the
revised boundaries or the number of persons to be elected or appointed
to the revised citizens' district council shall not be taken by the
City Council for at least 30 days after receipt of the disapproval
notice, during which time the City Council shall consult with the
citizens' district council concerning its objections. Where a district
area is revised, persons serving on the citizens' district council
as residents of the district area who no longer reside in the revised
district area shall not thereafter serve on the citizens' district
council for the revised area, unless they are reappointed or reelected
as persons with a demonstrable and substantial interest in the revised
area.
[Code 1975, § 34-8; Code 1992, § 8-8]
Where a citizens' district council is established pursuant to
this article, it shall serve in lieu of and shall be deemed to satisfy
all requirements relating to an urban renewal neighborhood advisory
council required to be appointed pursuant to Section 3 of Public Act
No. 323 of 1966 (MCL 125.963).
[Code 1975, § 34-9; Code 1992, § 8-9]
(a)
If, prior to the lease, sale or exchange of any real property in the development area, the City Council desires to modify the development plan, it shall hold a public hearing thereon, notice of such hearing to be given as provided in § 16-36. If the modification is approved by the City Council, it shall become a part of the approved development plan.
(b)
The part of a development plan which directly applies to a parcel
of real property in the area may be modified by the City Council at
any time after the transfer or lease or sale of the parcel of real
property in the area, provided the modification is consented to by
the lessee or purchaser.
[Code 1975, § 34-10; Code 1992, § 8-10]
On and after the date when a plan has been approved for the
rehabilitation of an area by the City Council, no permit shall be
issued for work done in the area which is not in accordance with the
plan officially adopted and made effective by the City Council. The
Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power, on appeal filed with
it by the owner of real property in the area, to approve a minor deviation
from the plan for the area in any case in which such Board finds,
upon the evidence presented to it, that the application of the plan
results in unnecessary hardship or practical difficulties and a minor
deviation from the development plan is required by considerations
of justice and equity. Before taking any such action, the Board shall
hold a public hearing thereon, at least 10 days' notice of the time
and place of which shall be given by public notice in a newspaper
published or circulated generally in the City and by notice to all
property owners within 200 feet of the property in question, such
notice to be by mail addressed to the respective owners at the address
given in the last assessment roll. Should Board approval be the result
of such an appeal, a permit shall be issued in the normal manner of
issuing permits.
[Code 1975, § 34-11; Code 1992, § 8-11]
No action taken under this article shall have the effect of
promoting or perpetuating racial segregation in housing. To secure
this objective, the City Council, City officials and agencies, citizens'
district councils and the Coordinating Council on Urban Redevelopment
may consult with and seek the assistance of the State Civil Right
Commission.
[Code 1975, § 34-12; Code 1992, § 8-12]
(a)
For the accomplishment of the purposes of this article, the City
shall acquire fee simple title in real property by purchase, gift,
exchange, condemnation or otherwise and shall apply such real property
thereafter to the expressed purposes of the Act and this article.
(b)
The City Council may institute and prosecute proceedings under the
power of eminent domain in accordance with the laws of the state or
provisions of the Charter relative to condemnation. The purposes contemplated
by this article are hereby declared to be public purposes within the
meaning of the Constitution, state laws and the Charter relative to
the power of eminent domain. No resident owner in a development area
may be dispossessed after condemnation under this article until other
adequate housing accommodations are available to the people displaced.
[Code 1975, § 34-13; Code 1992, § 8-13]
Where, pursuant to the development of a project under this article,
disposition of acquired lands in accordance with the development plan
is hampered by reason of the size or character of the lots or tracts
of land within the development area and where diversification of ownership
within the development area prohibits redesign by means of a proprietor's
plat, the City Council may authorize a plat or replat of the area
or any part thereof to be made by a registered civil engineer or a
registered land surveyor in accordance with the terms, conditions
and provisions of the Act.
[Code 1975, § 34-14; Code 1992, § 8-14]
After the acquisition of real property under this article, such
property as will be used by public agencies shall be transferred to
or placed under the jurisdiction of the appropriate public agencies
for public use as defined in the Act and this article. The remainder
of the land which, in accordance with the development plan, is to
be devoted to private uses shall be sold, leased or exchanged to corporations,
companies or individuals or to urban redevelopment corporations whose
use of such property shall be in accordance with the limitations and
conditions provided in the development plan. Any such sale, lease
or exchange may be made without public bidding, but only after public
hearing by the City Council upon the proposed sale, lease or exchange
and the provisions thereof. The sale, lease or exchange shall be under
terms and conditions fixed by the City Council and shall contain provisions
that the development plan for the property shall be carried out.
[Code 1975, § 34-15; Code 1992, § 8-15]
The City shall have and hereby assumes all of the powers, rights
and privileges granted by the Act to finance the undertaking of any
project authorized by the Act and this article.
[Code 1975, § 34-16; Code 1992, § 8-16]
All actions of the City Council under this article and the Act
shall be by resolution, subject to the same provisions regarding procedure
as are applicable to other resolutions; provided, however, this article
may not be amended by resolution.
