40-58-01.1. Definitions

40-58-01.1. Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Area of operation" means the area within the corporate limits of the municipality and

the area within five miles [8.05 kilometers] of those limits, except that the term does

not include any area that lies within the territorial boundaries of another incorporated

city unless a resolution is adopted by the governing body of the other city declaring a

need for the inclusion.

2. "Blighted area" means an area other than a slum area 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 of title, improper subdivision or obsolete platting, or the existence of

conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any

combination of these factors, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of a

municipality, 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. "Blighted area" does not include any land that

has been assessed as agricultural property within the last ten years unless it was

located within the interior boundaries of a city for at least ten years.

3. "Board" or "commission" means a board, commission, department, division, office,

body, or other unit of the municipality.

4. "Bonds" means any bonds, including refunding bonds, notes, interim certificates,

certificates of indebtedness, debentures, or other obligations.

5. "Clerk" means the clerk or other official of a municipality who is the custodian of the

official records of the municipality.

6. "Development" includes the construction of new buildings, structures, or

improvements; the demolition, alteration, remodeling, repair, or reconstruction of

existing buildings, structures, or improvements; the acquisition of equipment; and the

clearing and grading of land on industrial or commercial property in a development or

renewal area. However, for the purpose of determining amounts to be reimbursed by

tax increments under section 40-58-20, only those eligible public costs of development

enumerated under section 40-58-20.1 are reimbursable for that purpose.

7. "Development or renewal area" means industrial or commercial property, a slum or

blighted area, or a combination of these properties or areas that the local governing

body designates as appropriate for a development or renewal project.

8. "Development or renewal plan" means a plan for a development or renewal project

which:

a. Conforms to the general plan for the municipality as a whole; and

b. Is sufficiently complete to indicate any land acquisition, development, demolition

and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, or rehabilitation as

may be proposed to be carried out in the development or renewal area, zoning

and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum densities, building

requirements, and the plan's relationship to definite local objectives relating to

appropriate land uses, improved traffic, public transportation, public utilities,

recreational and community facilities, and other public improvements.

9. "Development or renewal project" may include authorized undertakings or activities of

a municipality in a development or renewal area for the development of commercial or

industrial property or for the elimination and prevention of the development or spread

of slums and blight.

10. "Dwelling" means any building, or structure, or part of a building or structure used and

public improvements.

9. "Development or renewal project" may include authorized undertakings or activities of

a municipality in a development or renewal area for the development of commercial or

industrial property or for the elimination and prevention of the development or spread

of slums and blight.

10. "Dwelling" means any building, or structure, or part of a building or structure used and

occupied for human habitation or intended to be so used, and includes any

appurtenances to the building or structure.

11. "Federal government" means the United States or any agency or instrumentality,

corporate or otherwise, of the United States.

12. "Governing body" means the city council, the board of city commissioners, or the

board of township supervisors.

13. "Housing authority" means a housing authority created by and established pursuant to

the housing authorities law.

14. "Industrial or commercial property" means unused or underutilized real property that is

zoned or used as an industrial or commercial site.

15. "Mayor" means the mayor of a municipality or other officer or body having the duties

customarily imposed upon the executive head of a municipality.

16. "Municipality" means any incorporated city in the state.

17. "Obligee" includes any bondholder, agents or trustees for any bondholder, or lessor

demising to the municipality property used in connection with a development or

renewal project, or any assignee or assignees of the lessor's interest or any part

thereof, and the federal government when it is a party to any contract with the

municipality.

18. "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, limited liability company,

company, association, joint-stock association, or body politic and includes any trustee,

receiver, assignee, or other person acting in a similar representative capacity.

19. "Public body" means the state or any municipality, township, board, commission,

authority, district, or any other political subdivision or public body of the state.

20. "Public officer" means any officer who is in charge of any department or branch of the

government of the municipality relating to health, fire, building regulations, or to other

activities concerning dwellings in the municipality.

21. "Real property" includes all lands, including improvements and fixtures on the land,

and property of any nature appurtenant to the land, or used in connection with the

land, and every estate, interest, right and use, legal or equitable, in the land, including

terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage, or otherwise.

22. "Rehabilitation" or "conservation" includes the restoration and renewal of all or a part

of a slum or blighted area, in accordance with a development or renewal plan, by:

a. Carrying out plans for a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and

rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements.

b. Acquisition of real property and demolition or removal of buildings and

improvements on the real property if necessary to eliminate unhealthful,

unsanitary, or unsafe conditions, lessen density, reduce traffic hazards, eliminate

obsolete or other uses detrimental to the public welfare, or to otherwise remove

or prevent the spread of blight or deterioration, or to provide land for needed

public facilities.

c. Installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds,

and other improvements necessary for carrying out the purposes of this chapter.

d. The disposition of any property acquired in the development or renewal area,

including sale, initial leasing, or retention by the municipality at its fair value for

uses in accordance with the development or renewal plan.

23. "Slum area" means an area 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,

including sale, initial leasing, or retention by the municipality at its fair value for

uses in accordance with the development or renewal plan.

23. "Slum area" means an area 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 the

existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or

any combination of these factors is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease,

infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime, and is detrimental to the public health,

safety, morals, or welfare.

24. "Slum clearance and redevelopment" may include:

a. Acquisition of all or part of a slum area or a blighted area.

b. Demolition and removal of buildings and improvements.

c. Installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds,

and other improvements necessary for carrying out the development or renewal

plan.

d. Making the land available for development or redevelopment by private enterprise

or public agencies, including sale, initial leasing, or retention by the municipality

at its fair value for uses in accordance with the development or renewal plan.

25. "Urban renewal agency" means a public agency created pursuant to section 40-58-16.