Acting pursuant to the Home Rule powers afforded the village by the constitution and statutes of the state, it is hereby found and determined that there exist within the village blighted and deteriorating areas of the nature defined in this chapter which constitute a serious and growing menace injurious and inimical to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the residents thereof; that the existence of such areas:
(a) Constitutes an economic and social liability;
(b) Substantially impairs and arrests the sound growth of the community by causing the obsolescence of urban neighborhoods and facilities, and by impeding and retarding the sound private development of property and creation and preservation of housing and employment opportunities; that both properties improved with structures and vacant properties contribute to the above conditions; that this menace is beyond remedy and control solely by regulatory processes and exercise of the police power, and cannot be dealt with effectively by the ordinary operation of private enterprise without the aids herein provided; that the elimination by the village, in whole or in part, of blighted and deteriorating areas by urban renewal as defined herein is necessary for the public welfare and is a public use and purpose for which public money may be expended and private property acquired; that in blighted areas the conditions of blight spread throughout the area in many instances requiring, for the public welfare, the acquisition by the village of both properties which do and properties which do not contribute to the qualification of the area as blighted; and that in deteriorating areas the public welfare requires acquisition of properties which contribute to the qualification of the area as deteriorating in order to prevent deterioration into a blighted area, but in deteriorating areas the village will not implement eminent domain for blight elimination for other properties; and
(c) Contributes substantially and increasingly to the spread of 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.
(Ord. 96-32, passed 5-21-1996)