It is the purpose of this article to enable the Planning Commission to make declarations of blight on properties or neighborhoods independent of the actions and processes of the Redevelopment Authority and Urban Redevelopment Law. Such declarations may be made where a property or neighborhood is blighted but the actions and processes defined in the subsequent articles of this Part 8 are inappropriate for the circumstances.
The Planning Commission may make a blight declaration on a specific individual property when it determines that one or more of the following conditions are present.
A. 
Any of the conditions enumerated under Section 12.1(c) of the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 1712.1(c).
B. 
Prone to significant damage from flooding.
C. 
The presence of conditions, particularly in structures, which pose a threat to neighboring properties or passersby in the public right-of-way.
D. 
Abandoned accessory structures.
E. 
Collection or accumulation of junk, trash, or other refuse.
F. 
A use or structure which is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and was not put in place by legal means. Legal nonconforming uses and structures are considered to have been put into place legally.
The Planning Commission may make a blight declaration on specific areas of the City when it determines that two or more of the following conditions are present:
A. 
Unsafe, unsanitary, inadequate, or overcrowded conditions in dwellings.
B. 
Excessive land coverage.
C. 
Defective design or arrangement of buildings.
D. 
Faulty street or lot layout.
E. 
Economically or socially undesirable land uses.
F. 
Building obsolescence.
G. 
Other effects of inadequate planning.
When making a blight declaration, the Commission shall abide by this procedure:
A. 
Declaration shall be made publicly at any regular Commission meeting.
B. 
Declaration shall be made by resolution of the Commission. The resolution shall include a specific description of the property or area subject to the declaration, the factors leading to such declaration, and any adverse effects such declaration may have on property owners included in the boundaries of the declaration.
C. 
The Commission shall then notify all property owners affected by the declaration that such declaration has been made, the adverse effects that the declaration may have on them, and a notice of the right to appeal the declaration in accordance with the procedure in § 535-217 below. The notice shall be mailed within five days of the vote on the declaration.
D. 
The Commission shall notify the City Council of the blight declaration after the possibility of appeal has ended.
A blight declaration is a tool used to provide funding to certain areas and projects within the City. In and of itself, the declaration has no tangible effect. However, because the use of funding which can result from such a declaration can have financial, social, and other immediate negative effects on those who own or lease property affected by a declaration, the Commission must include in its declaration what it foresees the funding available being used for and how it will impact owners and leaseholders.
Persons owning or leasing property included in a blight declaration shall have standing to appeal the declaration to any court of competent jurisdiction. Should the court find that the blight declaration is in error, the declaration shall be vacated so far as it applies to the property owned or leased by the appellant. Such appeal shall be done in the same manner as an appeal from a determination of a public nuisance.
No blight declaration issued under this article may be subsequently used as a basis for activity under Article XXX or XXXI of this Part 8. Likewise, no declaration or certification of blight under Article XXX or XXXI of this Part 8 may be used as a blight declaration under this article. In both cases, a new blight declaration must be issued pursuant to the criteria and procedures outlined in each respective article.