§ 2-1. Determinations, declarations, and definitions.

(a) Determinations.

It is hereby found and determined:

(1) that there exist within the City of Baltimore slum, blighted, deteriorated, or deteriorating areas, which constitute a serious and growing menace, injurious and inimical to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the residents of the City of Baltimore;

(2) that the existence of such areas and the growth and spread thereof and the deterioration or threatened deterioration of other areas:

(i) contribute substantially and increasingly to the spread of disease and crime, and to losses by fire and accident;

(ii) necessitate 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;

(iii) constitute an economic and social liability;

(iv) substantially impair or arrest the sound growth of the community;

(v) retard the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary housing accommodations;

(vi) aggravate traffic problems and substantially impair or arrest the elimination of traffic hazards and the improvement of traffic facilities;

(vii) depreciate assessable values;

(viii) cause an abnormal exodus of families from the city; and

(ix) are detrimental to the health, the well-being and the dignity of many of the residents of the City of Baltimore;

(3) that such areas cannot be dealt with effectively by the ordinary operations of private enterprise without the aids herein provided;

(4) that the rehabilitation or elimination, in whole or in part, of slum, blighted, deteriorated, and deteriorating areas and the prevention of the spread or development of blight in, and the deterioration of, areas which are free of blight are public uses and purposes requiring the exercise of the governmental powers of the City of Baltimore in the public interest.

(b) Declarations.

(1) It is further found and declared that some slum or blighted or deteriorated areas, or portions thereof, may require comprehensive acquisition, clearance, and disposition with or without prior development or redevelopment, since the prevailing conditions of decay may make impracticable the reclamation of the area by conservation or rehabilitation; that some such areas or portions thereof and some deterioration areas or portions thereof may be susceptible of conservation or rehabilitation in such a manner that the conditions and evils hereinbefore enumerated may be eliminated, remedied, or prevented without comprehensive acquisition and clearance; that other areas not yet deteriorated or deteriorating, or portions thereof, may be conserved so that the conditions and evils hereinbefore enumerated may be prevented from spreading thereto or arising therein; and that all such areas within the boundaries of the City of Baltimore may be benefitted through the enforcement of applicable regulatory codes relating to buildings, housing, sanitation or safety, the rendering of services to community organizations or through a combination of other means provided in this ordinance.

(2) It is further found and declared that the elimination, correction, and prevention of the conditions and evils hereinbefore enumerated must be undertaken through the use of a comprehensive and integrated program; that this program should involve whatever range of municipal powers and resources is required to enable the City of Baltimore to act affirmatively in fulfilling its responsibilities to its citizens; that this program requires a suitable administrative structure to undertake adequately a coordinated and purposeful attack on urban slums and blight and the prevention of new areas of slums and blight; and that a comprehensive program should be undertaken within the boundaries of the City of Baltimore.

(3) It is further found and declared that the powers conferred by this ordinance {subtitle} are for public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended and the power of eminent domain exercised and that the necessity in the public interest for the provisions herein enacted is hereby declared and determined.

(1) Slum, blighted, or deteriorated area.

As used herein, a slum, blighted, or deteriorated area is an area in which:

(i) a preponderance of the structures or the dwelling units therein is detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare by reason of age, dilapidation, depreciation, overcrowding, excessive land coverage, faulty arrangement, lack of ventilation or sanitary facilities, failure to conform with the provisions of the ordinances or regulatory codes of the City of Baltimore relating to buildings, housing, or sanitation, neighborhood obsolescence or deterioration, or inadequate open space, parking, or access to transportation; or

(ii) there is a preponderance of defective or inadequate street layouts, or of faulty lot layouts in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility or usefulness, or of unsanitary or unsafe conditions, or of deteriorated or inadequate site improvements or community facilities, or of conditions which endanger life or property by fire or other cause or which retard development of the area, or any combination of these factors; or

(iii) the land is suitable for development but has not been developed to an appreciable extent because of obsolete platting, diversity of ownership, deterioration of structures or site improvements, a high rate of tax delinquency or mortgage foreclosures, or spoiling of the land as a result of excavation or usage, or any combination of these factors.

(2) Deteriorating area.

As used herein, a deteriorating area is an area, whether within or apart from a slum, blighted, or deteriorated area, which contains obsolete or substandard structures, or inadequate community facilities or incompatible land uses, or any combination of these factors which substantially impair or arrest the sound growth of the area, retard the provision of necessary housing accommodations, or constitute an economic or social liability or constitute a detriment to the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare, in its present condition and use.

(3) Zoning change.

In this subtitle, "zoning change":

(i) means any "legislative authorization", as defined in Baltimore City Zoning Code, § 5-501 {"Legislative Authorizations"}; but

(ii) does not include any use or bulk regulation restriction that is imposed by a Renewal Plan or Conservation Plan.