2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 15-A - Municipal Urban Renewal Agencies, Organization and Powers › 555 - Acquisition of Property.

§  555.  Acquisition of property. 1. (a) Real property or any interest
therein, including but not limited to air rights, and easements or other
rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights,
to be developed as air rights sites for the elimination of the blighting
influences over an area or  areas  consisting  principally  of  land  in
streets,  alleys,  highways,  and other public rights of way, railway or
subway tracks, bridge  or  tunnel  approaches  or  entrances,  or  other
similar  facilities  which have a blighting influence on the surrounding
area necessary for or incidental to any urban renewal  program  or  part
thereof  in  accordance with an urban renewal plan may be acquired by an
agency by gift, grant, devise, purchase, condemnation or  otherwise  and
by  a  municipality  for  and  on  behalf  of an agency by condemnation.
Property  may  be  acquired  by  condemnation  by  an  agency  or  by  a
municipality  for an agency pursuant to the condemnation law or pursuant
to the laws relating to the condemnation of land by the municipality for
which the agency is acting or the municipality, as the case may be.
(b) Property so acquired by an agency, or by a municipality in  behalf
of  an  agency,  shall  be exempt from taxation until sold, leased for a
term not  exceeding  ninety-nine  years  or  otherwise  disposed  of  in
accordance  with  the  provisions  of this article or article fifteen of
this chapter; provided, however, that any such  agency  shall  have  the
power and authority, with respect to such property, to pay, out of funds
available  to  it  for  the  effectuating of such urban renewal program,
annual sums in lieu  of  taxes  to  any  taxing  jurisdiction  providing
services  to  the  urban renewal area, or to the part or portion thereof
within  such  taxing  jurisdiction,  in  order  that  no   such   taxing
jurisdiction  shall  suffer  an inequitable loss of revenue by virtue of
such urban renewal program; provided, further, that the amount  so  paid
for  any  year  with  respect  to any such property shall not exceed the
lesser of (1) the sum  last  levied  for  the  benefit  of  such  taxing
jurisdiction  as an annual tax on such property prior to the time of its
acquisition for urban renewal purposes or (2) such amount  as  shall  be
approved  by  the  commissioner,  pursuant  to  such  rules, regulation,
limitations and conditions as he  may  prescribe,  as  an  eligible  and
proper  charge  against such urban renewal program. Upon the sale, lease
or disposition of such property to any person, firm or  corporation  not
entitled to an exemption from taxation or entitled to only a partial tax
exemption  such property shall immediately become subject to taxation in
whole or in part, as the case may be, and shall be taxed  pro  rata  for
the unexpired portion of the taxable year.
As  used  in  this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any
municipal corporation  or  district  corporation  including  any  school
district  or  any  special district, having the power to levy or collect
taxes and benefit assessments upon real property,  or  in  whose  behalf
such taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.
(c)  Notwithstanding  any  other provisions of this article, an agency
may acquire by purchase, gift, devise,  condemnation  or  otherwise,  in
accordance  with  the  appropriate provisions of any general, special or
local law or charter applicable to the acquisition of real  property  by
such  agency, such real property or any interest therein, within an area
designated pursuant to article fifteen of this  chapter  as  appropriate
for  urban  renewal,  as  it  may deem ultimately necessary or proper to
effectuate  the  purposes  of  this  article  although  temporarily  not
required  for such purposes, provided that the early acquisition of such
property is approved as follows:
(1) In a municipality where there is a planning commission, the agency
shall submit the proposal for early acquisition to  the  commission  for
its  approval.  Such planning commission shall, not later than ten weeks

from the date of the referral of the proposal  to  it,  after  a  public
hearing  held  on  due  notice,  submit its report to the governing body
certifying its unqualified consent, its disapproval,  or  its  qualified
consent with recommendations for modifications of the proposal.
After  public  hearing held on due notice after the report is received
or due from the planning commission, the governing body may:
(i) if the commission shall have certified its unqualified consent, by
majority vote authorize the agency to proceed with the acquisition;
(ii) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval  or  shall
have  failed  to  make  its  report  within ten weeks from the date such
proposal was submitted to  it,  nevertheless  authorize  the  agency  to
proceed with the acquisition, but only by a three-fourths vote;
(iii)  if  the  commission  shall have certified its qualified consent
together  with  recommendations  for  modifications  of  the   proposal,
authorize  the agency to proceed with the acquisition in accordance with
the modifications recommended by the commission, by  majority  vote,  or
authorize  such  acquisition  without  such  modifications but only by a
three-fourths vote.
(2) In a municipality where  there  is  no  planning  commission,  the
agency  shall  submit  the  proposal  to  the governing body which after
public hearing held on due notice, may either approve or disapprove  the
proposal.