For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BLIGHTED AREA. An area within the municipal corporation which by reason of the presence of a substantial number of slums, deteriorated or deteriorating structures, predominance of defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements, diversity of ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions to title, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the city, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability and is a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use.
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
(1) An agreement that includes at least the following agreements between the city as obliges and the following parties as obligors:
(a) An agreement to construct or rehabilitate the structures and facilities described in the development agreement on real property described in the agreement situated, the obligor of such agreement to be a party determined by the City Council to have the ability to perform the agreement;
(b) An agreement whereby the owners of the improvements to be constructed or rehabilitated agree to make any required urban renewal service payments in lieu of taxes as may be required by the city regarding the portion of the assessed valuation of the improvements declared by the City Council to be a public purpose;
(c) An agreement whereby the owners of the fee simple of the real property to which the development agreement pertains, agree as obligor that the owners shall use, develop, and redevelop the real property in accordance with, the urban renewal plan such obligation to be binding upon such owners and their successors and assigns.
(2) The city, on behalf of the holders of any urban renewal bonds issued pursuant to any urban renewal project, may be the obligor of any of the agreements described above.
PROJECT AREA. A blighted area or part thereof which Council designates as appropriate for an urban renewal or redevelopment project.
REDEVELOPER. Any person, firm or public corporation purchasing or leasing property in a project area from the city for use in accordance with the urban renewal or redevelopment plan.
SLUM AREA. An area within the municipal corporation in which there is a predominance of buildings or improvements, whether residential or nonresidential, which by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces, high density of population and overcrowding, or existence of conditions which endanger life or property, by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime, and is detrimental to public health, safety, morals, or welfare.
URBAN RENEWAL or REDEVELOPMENT. Undertakings and activities of the city in an urban renewal area for the elimination and the prevention of the development or spread of slums or blight, which may involve slum clearance and redevelopment, may involve rehabilitation or conservation in an urban renewal area, or any combination or part thereof, in accordance with an urban renewal plan, and such activities may include acquisition of a slum area or a blighted area, or any portion thereof, the demolition and removal of buildings and improvements; installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, public buildings and facilities, including sidewalks and public parking areas, and other improvements necessary for carrying out in the urban renewal area the urban renewal objectives in accordance with the urban renewal plan, disposition of any property acquired in the urban renewal area, including sale, leasing, or retention by the city itself, at its fair value for uses in accordance with the urban renewal plan; carrying out plans for a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements in accordance with the urban renewal plan; the acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or equipment of property, structures, equipment, or facilities for industry, commerce, distribution, or research from the proceeds of urban renewal bonds issued pursuant to the Codified Ordinances of the City of Reading or Ohio R.C. Chapter 725; and the acquisition of any other real property in the urban renewal area where necessary to eliminate unhealthful, unsanitary, or unsafe conditions, lessen density, eliminate obsolete, and other uses detrimental to the public welfare, or otherwise to remove or prevent the spread of blight or deterioration, or to provide land needed for public facilities.
URBAN RENEWAL or REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. A plan, as it exists from time to time, for an urban renewal project, which shall be sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition, removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in the urban renewal area, zoning, and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum densities, and building requirements.
URBAN RENEWAL BONDS. Bonds, receipts, notes, and any urban renewal refunding bonds issued pursuant to the authority of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Reading and Ohio R.C. Chapter 725, to be used for the purposes specified in Ohio R.C. Chapter 725.
URBAN RENEWAL DEBT RETIREMENT FUND. A fund created pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 725 by the City Council when it authorizes urban renewal bonds to be used for the payment of the principal and interest on such bonds, trustee fees and other costs and expenses of providing for the issuance of such bonds, used for the purposes of funding urban renewal projects.
(`82 Code, § 1232.02) (Ord. 86-77, passed 10-7-86; Am. Ord. 94-79, passed 8-16-94; Am. Ord. 98-48, passed 7-7-98)