A. Eminent Domain: The corporate authorities of the Village may 1) exercise its power of eminent domain to acquire by condemnation or otherwise any improved or unimproved real property which is necessary and appropriate for the public purpose of elimination and eradication of any blight areas and for the redevelopment of any blight area, including the fee simple title or such lesser property interest, including existing leaseholds, as the corporate authorities deem necessary and appropriate; 2) hold or use any such property for public uses; 3) convey, lease, mortgage, dispose of land or other property, real or personal, or rights therein, for purposes of redevelopment, all in a manner and at such price as the Village determines is reasonably necessary to achieve the public purpose of eliminating and eradication of a blight area and the redevelopment of a blight area.
B. Definition: "Blight area" means any area which has been designated as a blight area as provided in this Section. Any improved or vacant area located within the territorial limits of the Village may be designated by the corporate authorities as a blight area where, if improved, industrial, commercial and residential buildings or improvements, because of a combination of five (5) or more of the following factors: age; dilapidation; obsolescence; deterioration; illegal use of individual structures; presence of structures below minimum code standards; excessive vacancies; overcrowding of structures and community facilities; lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities; inadequate utilities; excessive land coverage; deleterious land use or layout; depreciation or lack of physical maintenance; lack of community planning, are detrimental to the public safety, health, morals or welfare, or if vacant, the sound growth of the area is impaired by, 1) a combination of two (2) or more of the following factors: obsolete platting of the vacant land; diversity of the ownership of such land; tax and special assessment delinquencies on such land; deterioration of structures or site improvements in neighboring areas to the vacant land or 2) the area immediately prior to becoming vacant qualified as an improved blight area.
C. Public Hearing: If the corporate authorities of the Village are considering the designation of the area as a blight area, the corporate authorities shall, by ordinance, provide for a public hearing, to be held by the corporate authorities, to determine if the area under consideration qualifies as a blight area, and at such hearing shall hear testimony and receive evidence of the factors that exist in the proposed blight area. At the public hearing, any interested person may file with the Village Clerk written objections to and may be heard orally in respect to any issues embodied in the notice of the public hearing. The Village shall hear and determine all protests and objections at the hearing and the hearing may be adjourned to another date without further notice, other than a motion to be entered upon the minutes, fixing the time and place of the subsequent hearing.
D. Notice: Notice of the public hearing provided for in subsection C shall be given by publication and mailing. Notice by publication shall be given by publication at least twice, the first publication to be not more than thirty (30), nor less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the Village. Notice by mailing shall be given by depositing such notice in the United States mail, by certified mail addressed to the person or persons in whose name the general taxes for the last preceding year were paid on each lot, block, tract or parcel of land lying within the proposed blight area. Said notice shall be mailed not less than ten (10) days prior to the date set for public hearing. In the event taxes for the last preceding year were not paid, the notice shall be sent to the persons last listed on the tax rolls within the preceding three (3) years as the owners of such property. The notices published and mailed pursuant to this subsection D shall include the following:
1. The time and place of public hearing;
2. The boundaries of the proposed blight area by legal description and by street location where possible;
3. A notification that all interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing;
4. A notification that property within the proposed blight area may be subject to being acquired by the Village through condemnation if it is determined that a blight area exists;
5. Such other matters as the Village may deem appropriate.
E. Ordinance of Determination: The corporate authorities may, by ordinance, within fourteen (14) to one hundred eighty (180) days from the completion of the public hearing provided for in subsection C determine that all or a part of the area described in the public notices published and mailed pursuant to subsection D is a blight area. Said ordinance shall designate the blight area, set forth the boundaries of the blight area and the factors that exist in the blight area that are detrimental to the public health, safety, morals and/or welfare.
F. Redevelopment Public Hearing: Prior to adopting any ordinance providing for the conveyance, lease, mortgage, disposition of land or other property or agreement relating to the redevelopment of all or any part of a blight area, the corporate authorities of the Village shall hold a public hearing and request proposals for the redevelopment of the property. Notice of the public hearing and the request for proposals shall be published in a newspaper which has a general circulation within the Village. The notice shall be published not more than thirty (30) nor less than fifteen (15) days prior to the public hearing. Notice of the public hearing shall state:
1. The time and place of the public hearing.
2. The boundaries of the blight area by legal description and by street location for which the Village is requesting redevelopment proposals.
3. The deadline by which written redevelopment proposals must be submitted to the Village Clerk, which deadline shall be the close of business of the last working day which ends not less than seven (7) days prior to the date of the public hearing.
4. A notification that all interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard and to submit written comments at the public hearing relating to the redevelopment of the property and any redevelopment proposals which have been submitted to the Village in accordance with the notice.
5. Such other matters as the Village may deem appropriate.
At the hearing any interested person may file with the Village Clerk written comments and may be heard orally with respect to the redevelopment of the property and any redevelopment proposal or proposals which may have been submitted with respect to the property. The hearing may be adjourned to another date without further notice other than a motion to be entered upon the minutes fixing a time and place of the subsequent hearing. Following the close of the hearing, the corporate authorities may reject all redevelopment proposals or enact an ordinance approving or accepting a redevelopment proposal and providing for the conveyance, lease, mortgage, disposition of land or other property within the blight area described in the notice of public hearing. Such approval or acceptance may be subject to any conditions the corporate authorities deem to be appropriate.
G. Conveyance: No conveyance, lease, mortgage, disposition of land or other property agreement relating to the redevelopment of all or any part of a blight area shall be made by the Village, except upon the adoption of an ordinance by the corporate authorities of the Village. Furthermore, no conveyance, lease, mortgage or other disposition of land or agreement relating to the redevelopment of all or any part of the blight area shall be made without public disclosure of the terms of the disposition and all bids and proposals made relating to the redevelopment of the property.
(Ord. 2327, 10-12-1993; amd. Ord. 2370, 5-24-1994; Ord. 2530, 1-14-1997)