CHAPTER 704

An Act to amend and reenact 8§ 2, 8, 4, 5, 7, 18, 16, 17, 19, 26, and 28 of
Chapter 190 of the Acts of Assembly of 1946, approved March 15, 1946,
and continued in effect by Code of Virginia, §§ 15-914 and 15.1-2,
which provided an act concerning blighted areas and substandard and
insanitary buildings in certain cities of the Commonwealth; providing
for the creation of corporations to clear such areas, demolish such
buildings and undertake projects for the redevelopment thereof;
providing for the supervision of such corporations and approval of
such projects and plans for such redevelopment; granting such cor-
porations the power to acquire property for such purposes, to exercise
the power of eminent domain, and to sell, lease, exchange or
such property; and prescribing the powers and duties of councils and
city planning commissions of such cities with respect to such redevel-
opment projects and plans.

[H 1134]

Approved April 5, 1968

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That 8§ 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 16, 17, 19, 26, and 28 of Chapter 190 of the
Acts of Assembly of 1946, approved March 15, 1946, be amended and re-
enacted as follows:

§ 2. It is hereby determined and declared that substandard and in-
sanitary areas exist in cities of the Commonwealth having a population
* over two hundred thousand but not in excess of two hundred and twenty-
five thousand at the time of the 1960 census occasioned by dense popu-
lation, and inadequate planning, excessive land coverage, lack of proper
light, air and open space, defective design and arrangement of buildings,
lack of proper sanitary facilities, and the existence of buildings, which
by reason of age, obsolescence, inadequate or outmoded design, or
physical deterioration, have become economic and social liabilities; that
such conditions exist in areas where substandard, insanitary, outworn or
outmoded industrial, commercial or residential buildings prevail, and the
same are conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mor-
tality, juvenile delinquency and crime; that such conditions impair the
economic value of large areas, infecting them with economic blight, and
that such areas are characterized by depreciated values, impaired invest-
ments, and inability to pay reasonable taxes; that such conditions occur
chiefly in areas which are subdivided into * many parcels; that their
assembly for purposes of clearance, replanning, rehabilitation and recon-
struction is difficult and costly; that the existence of such conditions and
the failure to clear, replan, rehabilitate or reconstruct these areas result
in progressive deterioration, and in a loss of population by the areas, cause
a wasteful expenditure of public funds for policing and occasion large out-
lays for the erection of public facilities and services elsewhere; that it is
impossible and uneconomic for individual owners to independently under-
take to remedy such conditions; that it is desirable to encourage owners
of property in such areas to join together with or without others in cor-
porate groups for the purpose of clearing, replanning, rehabilitating and
reconstructing such areas by joint action; that it is necessary to authorize
the creation of corporations, with proper safeguards, inducements and
opportunities for the employment of private investment and capital in
clearing, replanning, rehabilitating and reconstructing such areas; that
such conditions require the employment of capital on an investment basis,
allowing, however, the widest latitude in the amortization of any indebted-
ness created thereby; that such conditions further require the acquisition
of adequate areas, at fair prices, the clearance of such areas through demo-
lition of existing obsolete, inadequate, unsafe and insanitary buildings and
the redevelopment of such areas under proper supervision with appropri-
ate planning, land use and construction policies, and the clearance, re-
planning, rehabilitation and reconstruction of such areas on a scale com-
mensurate with the public welfare and needs; that the clearance, replan-
ning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of such areas are public uses and
purposes for which private property may be acquired; that such sub-
standard and insanitary areas constitute a menace to the health, safety,
morals, welfare and reasonable comfort of the citizens of such cities and
endanger the existence thereof; that such conditions require the creation
of the agencies, instrumentalities and corporations hereinafter authorized,
for the purpose of removing and arresting the dangers and of attaining
the ends herein sought; that the protection and promotion of the health,
safety, morals, welfare, economic well being and reasonable comfort of
the citizens of such cities and the continued existence thereof are matters
of public concern; and the necessity in the public interest for the provi-
sions herein enacted is hereby declared as a matter of legislative deter-
mination.

§ 3. The following terms, whenever used or referred to in this act,
shall, unless a different intent clearly appears from the context, be con-
strued as follows:

(a) “City” shall mean any city having a population of one hun-
dred ninety thousand inhabitants or more.

(b) The term “insanitary area” shall mean an area that by reason of
lack of sanitary facilities, light, air and open spaces, is conducive to ill
health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency and
crime.

(c) The term “substandard area” shall mean an area * with build-
ings or improvements which by reason of dilapidation, obsolescence, over-
crowding, faulty arrangement of design, lack of ventilation, light and
sanitary facilities, excessive land coverage, deleterious land use or obsolete
layout, or any combination of these or other factors, are detrimental to the
safety, health, morals or welfare of the community.

The term “development area” shall mean an area of a city which
a City Planning Commission has found or shall find to be substandard and
insanitary for * the purposes for which tt is being used, so that the clear-
ance, replanning, rehabilitation or reconstruction thereof is necessary or
advisable to effectuate the public purposes declared in section two of this
act. Any development area may include any buildings or improvements
not in themselves substandard and insanitary, and any real property,
whether improved or unimproved, the inclusion of which is deemed neces-
sary for the effective clearance, replanning, reconstruction or rehabilita-
tion of the area * of which such buildings, improvements or real property
form a part.

(e) The term “development” shall mean a specific work, repair or
improvement to put into effect a development plan. The term shall include
the real property, buildings, and improvements owned, constructed, man-
aged or operated by a redevelopment corporation.

(f) The term “development cost” shall mean the amount determined
by the supervising agency to be the reasonable cost of the development, or
part thereof, and shall include, among other costs, the reasonable expense
of planning the development, including preliminary studies and surveys,
neighborhood planning, and architectural and engineering services, the
reasonable value of the services performed for the incorporators of a re-
development corporation in connection with the development plan prior
to incorporation and financing the development; the carrying charges
during construction, the reasonable cost of the real property or any part
thereof whether acquired partly or wholly in exchange for securities, the
reasonable cost of demolition of existing structures, the reasonable cost
of utilities, landscaping and roadways, the reasonable cost of construc.
tion, equipment and furnishing of buildings and improvements, including
architectural, engineering and builder’s fees. The reasonable cost of re.
construction, rehabilitation, remodeling or initial repair of existing build.
ings and improvements, reasonable management and operation costs until
the development is ready for use, and the reasonable cost of improving
those portions of the development area which are to remain open spaces
together with such additions to development cost as shall equal the reason-
able cost of additions to or changes in the development in accordance with
the original development plan or after approved changes in or amend-
ments thereto.

(zg) The term “development plan” shall mean a plan for the re-
development of an area * and shall include any amendments thereto ap-
proved in accordance with the requirements of section nine of this act.

h) The term “mortgage” shall mean a mortgage, trust indenture,
deed of trust, building and loan contract or other instrument creating a
lien on real property, and the indebtedness secured by any of them.

(i) The term “neighborhood unit” shall mean a primarily residential
district having the facilities necessary for well-rounded family living,
such as schools, parks, playgrounds, parking areas and local shopping

istricts. :

(j) The term “City Planning Commission” shall mean the local
planning commission created pursuant to * Chapter 11 of Title 15.1 of the
Code of Virginia or pursuant to any city charter.

The term “real property” shall include lands, buildings, im-
provements, land underwater, waterfront property, and any and all ease-
ments, franchises and hereditaments, corporeal or incorporeal, and every
estate, interest, privilege, easement, franchise and right therein, or appur-
tenant thereto, legal or equitable, including restrictions of record, created
by plat, covenant, or otherwise, rights-of-way, terms for years and liens,
charges, or incumbrances by mortgage, judgment or otherwise.

( The term “redevelopment” shall mean the clearance, replanning,
reconstruction or rehabilitation of a substandard and insanitary area *,
and the provision for such residential, commercial, industrial, business or
public structures and spaces as may be appropriate, including recreational
and other facilities, incidental or appurtenant thereto.

(m) The term “redevelopment corporation” shall mean a corpora-
tion organized pursuant to the provisions of this act.

(n) The term “supervising agency” shall mean the State Corpora-
tion Commission.

§ 4. The City Planning Commission shall not designate any area as
a development area until at least thirty days notice of such intention or
proposal has been given to the owners of all real property in such area
and an opportunity is afforded them to be heard pursuant thereto. Such
notice shall be given in the manner provided in * §§ 8-51, as amended, 8-52
and 8-58 of the Code of Virginia. If any such owner be not a resident of
this State or cannot with reasonable diligence be found therein, or if it
appears by affidavit that his residence is unknown, such notice may be
piven by the publication thereof once a week for two successive weeks, and
posting a copy thereof not less than thirty days at the front door of the
courthouse prior to such hearing. The publication shall in all other re-
spects conform to §§ * 8-71, as amended, 8-72 and 8-76, as amended of the
Code of Virginia. If any such owner be an infant or insane person and
have no guardian or committee in this State, any court of record in such
cities, or the judge thereof in vacation, or the clerk of such court, shall
appoint a guardian ad litem for such infant or insane person to appear
therefor at such hearing to protect his or her interests. All costs, expenses
and fees involved in the giving of such notice and conducting such hearing
shall be paid by the proponents of the proposed redevelopment plan.

§ 5. Adevelopment plan shall contain:

(a) <A description of the development area by metes and bounds or
other definite designation.

A statement of the various stages, if more than one is intended,
by which the development is proposed to be constructed or undertaken,
and the approximate time limit for the completion of each stage, together
with a description of the real property to be included in each stage; pro-
vided, however, such time limit shall not exceed two years when the
development cost does not exceed one million dollars and three years when
such cost exceeds one million dollars, unless such time limit is extended
by the supervising agency.

(c) A statement of the existing buildings or improvements in the
development area to be demolished immediately, if any.

A statement of existing buildings or improvements, in the de-
velopment area not to be demolished immediately, if any, and the approxi-
mate period of time during which the demolition, if any, of each such
building or improvement is to take place.

(e) Astatement of the proposed improvements, if any, to each build-
ing not to be demolished immediately, any proposed repairs or alterations
to such buildings, and the approximate period of time during which such
improvements, repairs or alterations are to be made.

f) <A statement of the type, number and character of each new
structure or improvement to be erected or made.

(g) A statement of those portions, if any, of the development area
which may be permitted or will be required to be left as open space, the use
to which each such open space is to be put, the period of time each such
open space will be required to remain an open space and the manner in
which it will be improved and maintained if at all.

(h) <A statement of those portions, if any, of the development area
which the redevelopment corporation proposes to sell, donate, exchange or
lease to the School Board, public library board, or other public agency
end an outline of the term of such proposed sale, donation, exchange or
ease.

(i) A statement of the proposed changes, if any, in zoning ordi-
nances or maps, necessary or desirable for the development, and its protec-
tion against blighting influences.

(j) A statement of the proposed changes, if any, in streets or street
levels, and any proposed street closings.

A statement of the character of the existing dwelling accom-
modations, if any, in the development area, the approximate number of
families residing therein, together with a schedule of the rentals being
paid by them, and a schedule of the vacancies in such accommodations,
together with the rental demanded therefor.

(1) A statement of the character, approximate number of units,
approximate rentals and approximate date of availability of the proposed
dwelling accommodations, if any, and other structures, if any, to be fur-
nished during construction and upon completion of the development.

(m) A statement of the proposed method of financing the develop-
ment which shall include a financial statement in sufficient detail to dem-
onstrate the probability that the redevelopment corporation will be able
to finance or arrange to finance the development.

(n) A statement of persons who it is proposed will be active in or
associated with the management of the redevelopment corporation during
a period of at least one year from the date of the approval of the develop-
ment plan.
The development plan, and any application to the City Planning Com-
mission or supervising agency for approval thereof, shall contain in addi-
tion such other statements or materials as may be deemed relevant by the
proposer thereof, including limits on the amounts which may be paid as
compensation for services to the officers and employees of the redevelop-
ment corporation.

§ 7. The City Planning Commission may approve a development
plan, but no certificate of approval thereof shall be issued by it unless and
until an application for approval has been filed with it, together with the
development plan, unless and until the City Planning Commission shall
determine:

(a) That the development area is substandard and insanitary, and
that the redevelopment of the development area in accordance with the
development plan is necessary or advisable to effectuate the public pur-
poses declared in section two of this act.

(b) That the development plan is in accord with the master plan, or
city map, if any, of the city;

(c) That the development area is of sufficient size to allow its re-
development in an efficient and economically satisfactory manner ;

That the various stages, if any, by which the development is
proposed to be constructed or undertaken, as stated in the development
plan, are practicable and in the public interest;

(e) That public facilities, including but not limited to, school, fire,
police, transportation, park, playground and recreation, are presently ade-
quate, or will be adequate, at the time that the development is ready to use,
to service the development area;

(f) That the proposed changes, if any, in zoning ordinances or maps
and in streets and street levels, or any proposed street closings, are neces-
sary or desirable for the development and its protection against blighting
influences, and for the city as a whole;

(g) Upon data submitted by or on behalf of the proponents of a
redevelopment corporation, or upon data otherwise available to the City
Planning Commission that there will be available for occupation by fami-
lies, if any, then occupying dwelling accommodations in the development
area similar accommodations at substantially similar rentals in the devel-
opment area or elsewhere in a suitable location in the city, and that the
carrying into effect of the development plan will not cause undue hardship
to such families.

In arriving at such determination, the City Planning Commission shall
consider only those elements of the development plan relevant to such
determination under paragraphs (a) through (g) of this section and to
the type of development which is physically desirable for the development
area concerned from a city planning viewpoint, and, if applicable, from a
neighborhood unit viewpoint. Upon approval of a development plan by
the City Planning Commission it shall forthwith issue a certificate of
approval thereof.

The City Planning Commission may adopt general standards of city
and neighborhood unit planning to which a development plan should con-
form to be approved by it. Such standards, however, shall be as flexible as
possible and only for the guidance of prospective proponents of develop-
ment plans. Variations therefrom shall be freely allowed upon a showing
of oe advisability, to the end that individual initiative may be encour-
aged.

§ 18. A redevelopment corporation shall be a public service corpora-
tion and shall be subject to all of the provisions of * Articles 1 through 12
of Chapter 1 of Title 13.1, Code of Virginia, and Chapter 2 of Title 56,
Code of Virginia, insofar as such provisions are applicable to such corpora-
tions and are not inconsistent with the provisions of this act.
§ 16. All property acquired by the corporation and all structures
erected by it, shall be deemed to be acquired for the purpose of promoting
the public health, safety and welfare, and the stockholders of the corpora-
tion shall be deemed, when they subscribe to and receive the stock thereof,
to have agreed that they shall at no time receive or accept from the cor-
poration, in repayment of their investment in its stock, any sums in excess
of the par value of the stock, together with cumulative dividends * not wn
excess of the legal rate of interest in this State or the rate permitted by
§ 6.1-819 of the Code of Virginia, if greater. The provisions of this section
shall be stated in the articles of association of the corporation.

§ 17. All surplus earnings of the corporation, in excess of such
amount as is necessary to repay stockholders the par value of the stock
together with cumulative dividends at the rate * permitted by section stz-
teen of this act, shall be used to maintain and enlarge the project or pro-
vide for redevelopment of other areas in the city. Upon the failure,
refusal or neglect of the corporation to maintain and enlarge the project
or provide for redevelopment of other areas in the city, such surplus
earnings shall be paid into the treasury of the city and may be used by the
city for general municipal purposes.

No stock, stock certificates or other evidence of interest or
ownership in the corporation and no bond, note or other evidence of in-
debtedness shall be issued by the corporation unless it complies with all of
the applicable provisions of * Chapter 3 of Title 56, Code of Virginia,
Chapter 4, Title 56, Code of Virginia, §§ 18.1-517 and 18.1-519, Code of
Virginia, Section 167 of the Constitution of Virginia and §§ 138.1-22 and
13.1-518 of the Code of Virginia, and the corporation shall be bound by
and required to comply with such provisions of law.

§ 26. A redevelopment corporation may:

1. Acquire real property, or secure options in its own name or in the
name of nominees, by gift, grant, lease, purchase, condemnation or other-
wise, and all real property acquired by purchase shall be paid for in full
by the corporation within one year from the date of its acquisition. All
property acquired or damaged by the corporation for the purposes defined
in section two of this act is declared to have been so acquired or damaged
for public uses, as provided in section fifty-eight of the Constitution of
Virginia.

2. A redevelopment corporation shall have the right to acquire by
the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property in fee simple
or other estate which is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this act.

A redevelopment corporation may exercise the power of eminent
domain in the manner provided for corporations under and in accordance
with existing general laws and in any acts amendatory thereof or supple-
mentary thereto. Property already devoted to a public use may be acquired
in like manner, provided that no real property belonging to any city,
county, the State, or any political subdivision thereof may be acquired
without its consent, and no real property belonging to any other corpora-
tion possessing the power of eminent domain may be acquired without the
certificate of the State Corporation Commission issued in the manner
provided by § * 25-233, Code of Virginia.

§ 28. The following provisions shall apply to any proceedings for
the assessment of compensation and damages for real property in a devel-
opment area taken or to be taken by condemnation for a redevelopment
corporation:

(a) For the purposes of this act, the award of compensation shall
not be increased by reason of any increase in the value of the real property
caused by the assembly, clearance or reconstruction, or proposed assembly,
clearance or reconstruction for the purposes of this act, of the real property
in the development area. No allowance shall be made for the improvements
begun on real property after legal service of notice on the owner of such
property of the institution of the proceedings to condemn such property ;

If any of the real property in the development area which is to
be acquired by condemnation has, prior to such acquisition, been devoted
to another public use, it may nevertheless be acquired, provided that no
real property belonging to any city, county or to the State or to any other
governmental body, or agency or instrumentality thereof, corporate or
otherwise, may be acquired without its consent, and no real property be-
longing to any other corporation possessing the power of eminent domain
may be acquired without the certificate of the State Corporation Commis-
sion issued in the manner provided by § * 25-238, Code of Virginia.