It is hereby determined that there exist within the city, slum, blighted, deteriorated and deteriorating areas, as defined in § 252.04, which constitute a serious and growing menace injurious and inimical to the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the residents thereof. The existence of such areas contributes substantially and increasingly to the spread of disease and crime and to losses by fire and accident, necessitating excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for the preservation of the public health and safety, for crime prevention, correction, prosecution and punishment, for the treatment of juvenile delinquency, for the maintenance of adequate police, fire and accident protection and for other public services and facilities; constitutes an economic and social liability; and substantially impairs and arrests the sound growth of the community, retards the provision of housing accommodations, aggravates traffic problems and retards the elimination of traffic hazards and the improvement of traffic facilities. This menace is beyond remedy and control solely by regulatory processes and exercise of the police power and cannot be dealt with effectively by ordinary operation of private enterprise without the aids herein provided. The elimination in whole or in part of slum, blighted, deteriorated and deteriorating areas and the prevention of occurrence or recurrence of such areas by redevelopment, conservation, rehabilitation and reconditioning, to the extent feasible, of the salvageable portions of such areas and by other activities pursuant to urban redevelopment or urban renewal, as defined herein, are public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended and private property acquired by purchase, donation or eminent domain and are governmental functions of concern to the city, requiring the exercise of the powers of government granted to the city by the provisions of Art. XVIII of the Ohio Constitution. The necessity, in the public interest and general welfare, for the provisions of this chapter is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.
(Prior Code, § 252.02) (Ord. 242-1967, passed 11-27-1967)