As used in this chapter:
(a) "Deteriorated neighborhood" means any area containing unsafe, unsanitary or overcrowded buildings; vacant, overgrown and unsightly lots of ground; a disproportionate number of tax delinquent properties; excessive land coverage; defective design or arrangement of buildings, streets or lot layouts; economically and socially undesirable land uses; impoverished, as certified to by the State Department of Public Welfare and approved by the State Department of Revenue under the "Neighborhood Assistance Act"; or blighted because of inadequate dwellings therein or because of inadequate planning of the area or because of the lack of proper light, air and open space.
(b) "Deteriorated property" means any dwelling unit located in a deteriorated neighborhood; a dwelling unit which has been, or, upon request, is certified by a health, housing or building inspection agency as, unfit for human habitation for rent withholding, or other health or welfare purposes; or a dwelling unit which has been the subject of an order by such an agency requiring the unit to be vacated, condemned or demolished by reason of noncompliance with laws, ordinances or regulations.
(c) "Improvement" means repair, construction or reconstruction, including alterations and additions, having the effect of rehabilitating a structure so that it becomes habitable or attains higher standards of housing safety, health or amenity, or is brought into compliance with the laws, ordinances or regulations governing housing standards. Ordinary upkeep and maintenance shall not be deemed an improvement.
(Ord. 4141. Passed 4-25-79.)