The Council of the City of Philadelphia hereby finds that:
(1) Throughout the City of Philadelphia a large number of properties are vacant and have been vacant for an abnormal amount of time;
(2) The vacant properties are in such poor physical condition as to make them uninhabitable in the present conditions;
(3) Certain properties have been declared by City to be unfit for human habitation since they are in violation of building, fire, health and other City Codes;
(4) The owners of certain vacant or unoccupied properties are delinquent in the payment of Real Estate Taxes, Water and Sewer Rents, or other municipal liens and charges;
(5) The properties in their present conditions are and have become a blighting influence in and about the neighborhood where located and thus are a liability to the City and its citizenry;
(6) Nonpayment of the tax obligations by the owners of these properties indicates that they may have or intend to abandon such properties;
(7) Certain property owners desire to donate properties to the City as an alternative to abandoning them;
(8) It would be in the best interest of the owners of such properties and the citizens of Philadelphia if such property would be acquired, and accepted by the City of Philadelphia, to be held in trust until they can be rehabilitated for use by its citizens under certain terms and conditions;
(9) The City has acquired a number of vacant properties throughout the City at Sheriff's sales within its equity of unpaid taxes. Certain of these properties are surplus to the needs of the City but are capable of being improved, rehabilitated and re-used by the citizens of Philadelphia. Inasmuch as the City has no bonded indebtedness invested in these properties and their re-use will relieve the City of the care, maintenance and management of the properties, arrest the blight of the neighborhoods within which they are located and restore the properties to productive use, certain of these properties should be made available for disposition in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter; 34
(10) Certain other vacant properties cannot be acquired by donation either due to inability to locate the owners, heirs or successors in title; title vests in insolvent estates, institutions or corporations; defects exist in the chain of title; or claims of other than municipal creditors such as mortgagees, judgment or lien holders either cannot or will not be released or satisfied of record insofar as they affect title to such properties thereby deeming acquisition by Eminent Domain essential and serving a public purpose which will promote the public health, safety and welfare. 35
Notes
| 34 | Added, 1977 Ordinances, p. 164. |
| 35 | Added, 1979 Ordinances, p. 1520. |