§ 4002 — Definitions

The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this chapter, shall have the following respective meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
(1) “Authority” or “housing authority” shall mean any of the public corporations created by section 4003 of this title, and the Vermont State Housing Authority created by section 4005 of this title.
(2) “Municipality” shall mean a town, a village, or a city. “The municipality” means the particular municipality or municipalities for which a particular housing authority is created.
(3) “State public body” shall mean any city, town, county, municipality, commission, district, authority, or other subdivision or other public body of the State.
(4) “Governing body” shall mean the selectboard of a town, the trustees of a village, or the mayor and the board of aldermen of a city. Where a housing authority for two or more municipalities is established pursuant to section 4027 of this title, the “governing body” shall mean the selectboard of each town, the trustees of each village, and the mayor and board of aldermen of each city included in such authority.
(5) “Mayor” shall mean the mayor of the city or the officer thereof charged with the duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city.
(6) “Clerk” shall mean the clerk of the city or the clerk of the town, as the case may be, or the officer charged with the duties customarily imposed on the clerk.
(7) “Area of operation,” in the case of a housing authority for a municipality, shall include the municipality and, in the case of a city, the area within six miles of the territorial boundaries thereof but not any area that lies within the territorial boundaries of any other municipality for which another housing authority is created by this chapter. In the case of a housing authority duly constituted by, and for the purpose of serving, two or more municipalities, the area of operation shall include the area within each such municipality. The area of operation of the Vermont State Housing Authority is the entire State, except in those areas where there is an existing housing authority with a workable program. In those areas where a housing authority exists, the Vermont State Housing Authority may enter with permission of the governing body of the municipality.
(8) “Federal government” shall include the United States of America, the federal Public Works Administration, or any other agency or instrumentality corporate or otherwise of the United States of America.
(9) “Slum” shall mean any area where dwellings predominate that, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement or design, lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities, or any combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health, and morals.
(10) “Housing project” shall mean any work or undertaking:
(A) to demolish, clear, or remove buildings from any slum area; the work or undertaking may embrace the adaptation of the area to public purposes and including parks or other recreational or community purposes;
(B) to provide decent, safe, and sanitary urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low income and accommodations for elders who are of low income, the work or undertaking may include buildings, land, equipment, facilities, and other real or personal property for necessary, convenient, or desirable appurtenances, streets, sewers, water service, parks, site preparation, gardening, administrative, community, health, recreational, educational, welfare, or other purposes; or
(C) to accomplish a combination of the foregoing. The term “housing project” also may be applied to the planning of buildings and improvements, the acquisition of property, the demolition of existing structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration, and repair of improvements, and all other work in connection therewith.
(11) “Persons of low income” shall mean persons or families, elders or otherwise, who lack the amount of income that is necessary, as determined by the authority undertaking the housing project, to enable them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings without overcrowding. The term “elder” shall mean a person who has attained retirement age as defined in Section 216(a) of the federal Social Security Act or is under a disability as defined in Section 223 of that act.
(12) “Bonds” shall mean any bonds, notes, interim certificates, debentures, or other obligations issued by the authority pursuant to this chapter.
(13) “Real property” shall include all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every estate, interest, and right, legal or equitable therein, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage, or otherwise and the indebtedness secured by such liens.
(14) “Obligee of the authority” or “obligee” shall include any bond holder, trustee or trustees for any bond holders, or lessor demising to the authority property used in connection with a housing project, or any assignee or assignees of such lessor’s interest or any part thereof and the federal government when it is a party to any contract with the authority. (Added 1961, No. 212, § 3, eff. July 11, 1961; amended 1967, No. 332 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 23, 1968; 1973, No. 44; 1977, No. 27, § 1; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 157.)