40:37A-55.1. Power of authority for purposes of redevelopment of blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating areas

For purposes of the redevelopment of blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating areas, and subject to the provisions of this act, an authority may:

a. Acquire or contract to acquire from any person, firm or corporation, public or private, by contribution, gift, grant, bequest, devise, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, real or personal property or any interest therein, including such property as it may deem necessary or proper, although temporarily not required for such purposes, in a redevelopment area and in any area designated by the municipal governing body as necessary for carrying out the relocation of the residents, industry and commerce displaced from a redevelopment area;

b. Demolish, remove or rehabilitate buildings or other improvements in any area acquired and install, construct or reconstruct streets, facilities, utilities and site improvements essential to the preparation of sites for use in accordance with the redevelopment plan;

c. Relocate or arrange for the relocation of residents and occupants of an area;

d. Dispose of land so acquired for the uses specified in the redevelopment plan as determined by it to any person, firm, or corporation or to any public agency by sale, lease or exchange;

e. Request the municipal planning board, if any, to recommend and the municipal governing body pursuant to existing law to designate blighted areas in need of redevelopment and to make recommendations for such development;

f. Study the recommendations of the municipal planning board for redevelopment of any area and to make its own investigations and recommendations as to current trends in the municipality, blighted areas and blighting factor, to the governing body of the municipality thereon;

g. Publish and disseminate information;

h. Prepare or arrange by contract for preparation of plans by registered architects or licensed professional engineers or planners for the carrying out of the redevelopment projects;

i. Arrange or contract with public agencies or redevelopers for the planning, replanning, conservation, rehabilitation, construction, or undertaking of any project, or redevelopment work, or any part thereof, to provide as part of any such arrangement or contract for extension of credit or making of loans to redevelopers to finance any project or redevelopment work, and to arrange or contract with public agencies for the opening, grading or closing of streets, roads, roadways, alleys, or other places or for the furnishing of facilities or for the acquisition by such agency of property options or property rights or for the furnishing of property or services in connection with a redevelopment area;

j. Arrange or contract with a public agency, to the extent that it is within the scope of that agency's functions, to cause the services customarily provided by such other agency to be rendered for the benefit of the occupants of any redevelopment area, and to have such other agency provide and maintain parks, recreation centers, schools, sewerage, transportation, water and other municipal facilities adjacent to or in connection with redevelopment areas;

k. Enter upon any building or property in any redevelopment area in order to conduct investigations or make surveys, soundings or test borings necessary to carry out the purposes of this act;

l . Arrange or contract with a public agency for the relocation of residents, industry or commerce displaced from a redevelopment area;

m. Make (1) plans for carrying out a program of voluntary repair and rehabilitation of buildings and improvements; and (2) plans for the enforcement of laws, codes, and regulations relating to the use of land and the use and occupancy of buildings and improvements, and to the compulsory repair, rehabilitation, demolition, or removal of buildings and improvements;

n. Develop, test, and report methods and techniques, and carry out demonstrations and other activities, for the prevention and the elimination of blight; and

o. To finance by mortgage loans or otherwise the construction or establishment of retail food outlets and to make temporary loans or advances in anticipation of permanent loans.

L.1979, c. 275, s. 34, eff. Jan. 3, 1980. Amended by L.1983, c. 273, s. 1, eff. July 18, 1983.