Statement of legislative findings and purpose

§ 1100. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. The legislature\nhereby finds and declares that there is a serious shortage of decent\naffordable housing in the state for persons of low income; that the cost\nof providing such housing without public participation and assistance is\nprohibitively high; that there exists throughout the state a significant\nnumber of dwellings which are deteriorated and are vacant or\nunderutilized; that the existence of such properties creates a serious\nthreat to the health and safety of persons who live in or near them,\nlimits the availability of decent affordable housing to others,\ncontributes to the blight and deterioration of neighborhoods, and drains\nmunicipal resources and expenditures; that the rehabilitation of these\nproperties would stem the deterioration of neighborhoods and promote the\npreservation and creation of safe and sanitary low income housing; that\nthe potential exists to make such housing available to persons of low\nincome through projects carried out by eligible applicants to\nrehabilitate these dwelling accommodations, bring these accommodations\ninto compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and remove all\nhazardous and immediately hazardous code conditions; that the purposes\nof this article should also be served by providing for new construction\nof housing for persons of low income in areas in which rehabilitation\nopportunities are limited or where new construction would prove to be\nmore effective; that the carrying out of such projects serves a\nsignificant public purpose and may appropriately be performed by\neligible applicants; that payment for such services, tax exemptions and\nother public participation in such projects would bring down the cost of\nsuch housing and make it affordable to persons of low income; and that\nit is the policy of the state to preserve and create such housing and to\nprovide for the aid, care, and support of the needy. The legislature\ntherefore finds that a program should be established to provide monies\nfor the rehabilitation and construction of these properties by eligible\napplicants to promote the preservation and creation of affordable\nhousing for persons of low income.\n It is intended that any payments, grants or loans provided to\nmunicipalities through this program not substitute for funds which such\nmunicipalities would have spent in the absence of this program and that\nsuch payments, grants and loans will enable such municipalities to\nexpand their commitment to increase the supply of affordable low income\nhousing to levels greater than would have been possible without this\nprogram.\n