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1998 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 36-49.1:1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 36-49.1:1. Spot blight abatement authorized; procedure.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, an authority, or any
county, city or town which does not have an authority, shall have the power to
acquire or repair any blighted property, as defined in § 36-49, outside of
a conservation or redevelopment area, by exercise of the powers of eminent
domain provided in Title 25, and, further, shall have the power to hold, clear,
repair, manage or dispose of such property for purposes consistent with this
title. In addition, any county with the urban county executive form of
government, and any city totally contained within such county,
any city with a population between 52,500 and 54,000, any city
with a population between 110,000 and 120,000 and any city with a population
between 200,000 and 210,000 shall have the power to recover the costs of
any repair or disposal of such property from the owner. This power shall be
exercised only in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section.
B. The chief executive or designated agency or authority of the county, city, or town shall make a preliminary determination that a property is blighted in accordance with this article. It shall notify the owner, specifying the reasons why the property is considered blighted. The owner shall have thirty days within which to respond with a plan to cure the blight within a reasonable time.
C. If the owner fails to respond within the thirty-day period with a plan that is acceptable to the chief executive of the agency, authority or locality, the agency, authority or locality (i) may request the local planning commission to conduct a public hearing and make findings and recommendations that shall be reported to the governing body of the county, city, or town concerning the repair or other disposition of the property in question and (ii) in the event a public hearing is scheduled, shall prepare a plan for the repair or other disposition of the property.
D. Not less than three weeks prior to the date of the public hearing before the planning commission, the commission shall provide by regular and certified mail, notice of such hearing to (i) the owner of the blighted property or the agent designated by him for receipt of service of notices concerning the payment of real estate taxes within the locality; (ii) the abutting property owners in each direction, including those property owners immediately across the street or road from the property; and (iii) the representative neighborhood association, if any, for the immediate area. The notice shall include the plan for the intended repair or other disposition of the property. The notice of the public hearing shall be published at least twice, with not less than six days elapsing between the first and second publication in a newspaper published or having general circulation in the county, city, or town in which the property is located. The notice also shall be posted on the property. The notice shall specify the time and place of the hearing at which persons affected may appear and present their views, not less than six days nor more than twenty-one days after the second publication.
E. The planning commission shall determine whether:
1. The owner has failed to cure the blight or present a reasonable plan to do so;
2. The property is blighted;
3. The plan for the repair or other disposition of the property is in accordance with the locally adopted comprehensive plan, zoning ordinances, and other applicable land use regulations; and
4. The property is located within an area listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In such instances, the planning commission shall consult with the locally established architectural review board, if any, regarding the proposed repair or other disposition of the property by the authority or governing body.
F. The planning commission shall report its findings and recommendations
concerning the property to the governing body. The governing body, upon receipt
of such findings and recommendations, may, after an advertised public hearing,
affirm, modify, or reject the planning commission's findings and
recommendations. If the repair or other disposition of the property is
approved, the authority, agency or locality may carry out the approved plan to
repair or acquire and dispose of the property in accordance with the approved
plan, the provisions of this section, and applicable law. Any county with the
urban county executive form of government, and any city or town
totally contained within such county, any city with a population between
52,500 and 54,000, any city with a population between 110,000 and
120,000 and any city with a population between 200,000 and 210,000 shall
have a lien on all property so repaired or acquired under an approved plan to
recover the cost of (i) improvements made by such county, city or town to bring
the blighted property into compliance with applicable building codes and (ii)
disposal, if any. The lien authorized by this subsection shall be filed in the
circuit court where the property is located and shall be subordinate to any
prior liens of record. The governing body may recover its costs of repair from
the owner of record of the property when the repairs were made at such time as
the property is sold or disposed of by such owner. If the property is acquired
by the governing body through eminent domain, the cost of repair may be
recovered when the governing body sells or disposes of the property. In either
case, the costs of repair shall be recovered from the proceeds of any such
sale.
G. In lieu of acquisition of blighted property by exercise of the powers of eminent domain as herein provided, and in lieu of the exercise of other powers granted in subsections A through F, any county with the urban county executive form of government, any county with the county executive form of government which is adjacent to such county, any city with a population between 110,000 and 120,000, any city with a population between 52,000 and 53,000, any city with a population between 52,500 and 54,000, any city with a population between 200,000 and 210,000, and any town with a population between 14,000 and 15,000 may, by ordinance, declare any blighted property as defined in § 36-49 to constitute a nuisance, and thereupon abate the nuisance pursuant to § 15.2-900 or § 15.2-1115. Such ordinance shall be adopted only after written notice by certified mail to the owner or owners at the last known address of such owner as shown on the current real estate tax assessment books or current real estate tax assessment records.
G. H. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,
unless otherwise provided for in Title 36, if the blighted property is occupied
for personal residential purposes, the governing body, in approving the plan,
shall not allow for an acquisition of such property if it would result in a
displacement of the person or persons living in the premises. The provisions of
this subsection shall not apply to acquisitions, under an approved plan, by any
county with the urban county executive form of government, and any
city or town totally contained within such county, any city with a
population between 52,500 and 54,000, any city with a population
between 110,000 and 120,000, and any city with a population between 200,000 and
210,000 of property which has been condemned for human habitation for
more than one year. In addition, such county, city or town exercising the
powers of eminent domain in accordance with Title 25, may provide for temporary
relocation of any person living in the blighted property provided the
relocation is within the financial means of such person.
H. I. The provisions of this section shall be cumulative
and shall be in addition to any remedies for spot blight abatement that may be
authorized by § 15.1-238 or any other provision of law.