§ 555 — Acquisition of property

§ 555. Acquisition of property. 1. (a) Real property or any interest\ntherein, including but not limited to air rights, and easements or other\nrights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights,\nto be developed as air rights sites for the elimination of the blighting\ninfluences over an area or areas consisting principally of land in\nstreets, alleys, highways, and other public rights of way, railway or\nsubway tracks, bridge or tunnel approaches or entrances, or other\nsimilar facilities which have a blighting influence on the surrounding\narea necessary for or incidental to any urban renewal program or part\nthereof in accordance with an urban renewal plan may be acquired by an\nagency by gift, grant, devise, purchase, condemnation or otherwise and\nby a municipality for and on behalf of an agency by condemnation.\nProperty may be acquired by condemnation by an agency or by a\nmunicipality for an agency pursuant to the condemnation law or pursuant\nto the laws relating to the condemnation of land by the municipality for\nwhich the agency is acting or the municipality, as the case may be.\n (b) Property so acquired by an agency, or by a municipality in behalf\nof an agency, shall be exempt from taxation until sold, leased for a\nterm not exceeding ninety-nine years or otherwise disposed of in\naccordance with the provisions of this article or article fifteen of\nthis chapter; provided, however, that any such agency shall have the\npower and authority, with respect to such property, to pay, out of funds\navailable to it for the effectuating of such urban renewal program,\nannual sums in lieu of taxes to any taxing jurisdiction providing\nservices to the urban renewal area, or to the part or portion thereof\nwithin such taxing jurisdiction, in order that no such taxing\njurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of revenue by virtue of\nsuch urban renewal program; provided, further, that the amount so paid\nfor any year with respect to any such property shall not exceed the\nlesser of (1) the sum last levied for the benefit of such taxing\njurisdiction as an annual tax on such property prior to the time of its\nacquisition for urban renewal purposes or (2) such amount as shall be\napproved by the commissioner, pursuant to such rules, regulation,\nlimitations and conditions as he may prescribe, as an eligible and\nproper charge against such urban renewal program. Upon the sale, lease\nor disposition of such property to any person, firm or corporation not\nentitled to an exemption from taxation or entitled to only a partial tax\nexemption such property shall immediately become subject to taxation in\nwhole or in part, as the case may be, and shall be taxed pro rata for\nthe unexpired portion of the taxable year.\n As used in this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any\nmunicipal corporation or district corporation including any school\ndistrict or any special district, having the power to levy or collect\ntaxes and benefit assessments upon real property, or in whose behalf\nsuch taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.\n (c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, an agency\nmay acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation or otherwise, in\naccordance with the appropriate provisions of any general, special or\nlocal law or charter applicable to the acquisition of real property by\nsuch agency, such real property or any interest therein, within an area\ndesignated pursuant to article fifteen of this chapter as appropriate\nfor urban renewal, as it may deem ultimately necessary or proper to\neffectuate the purposes of this article although temporarily not\nrequired for such purposes, provided that the early acquisition of such\nproperty is approved as follows:\n (1) In a municipality where there is a planning commission, the agency\nshall submit the proposal for early acquisition to the commission for\nits approval. Such planning commission shall, not later than ten weeks\nfrom the date of the referral of the proposal to it, after a public\nhearing held on due notice, submit its report to the governing body\ncertifying its unqualified consent, its disapproval, or its qualified\nconsent with recommendations for modifications of the proposal.\n After public hearing held on due notice after the report is received\nor due from the planning commission, the governing body may:\n (i) if the commission shall have certified its unqualified consent, by\nmajority vote authorize the agency to proceed with the acquisition;\n (ii) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval or shall\nhave failed to make its report within ten weeks from the date such\nproposal was submitted to it, nevertheless authorize the agency to\nproceed with the acquisition, but only by a three-fourths vote;\n (iii) if the commission shall have certified its qualified consent\ntogether with recommendations for modifications of the proposal,\nauthorize the agency to proceed with the acquisition in accordance with\nthe modifications recommended by the commission, by majority vote, or\nauthorize such acquisition without such modifications but only by a\nthree-fourths vote.\n (2) In a municipality where there is no planning commission, the\nagency shall submit the proposal to the governing body which after\npublic hearing held on due notice, may either approve or disapprove the\nproposal.\n