Section 33:4720.89 - DefinitionsThe following terms whenever used or referred to in this Chapter shall have the following meaning unless a different meaning is clearly indicated in the context:
(1) "Blighted area" means an area which by reason of the presence of a substantial number of slum, deteriorated or deteriorating structures, predominance of defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements, diversity of ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions of title, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the parish, retards the provision of housing accommodations or constitutes an economic or social liability and is a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use; but if the area consists of any disaster area referred to in R.S. 33:4720.85(E), it shall constitute a "blighted area".(2) "Community improvement area" means a slum area or a blighted area or a combination thereof which the parish governing authority designates as appropriate for a community improvement project.(3) "Community improvement plan" means a general plan for a community improvement project, which plan shall conform to the general plan for the parish as a whole except as provided in R.S. 33:4720.85(E) and shall delineate the community improvement area affected thereby. It shall be sufficient for the plan, for each community improvement area, to contain a general description of those matters proposed to be carried out in the community improvement area, such as any or all of the following: land acquisitions, demolition and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, rehabilitation, zoning and planning changes, if any, land uses, population densities, or building requirements. Detailed, particularized proposals for the implementation of all or any portion of a community improvement plan shall be deemed modification of the plan, within the meaning of R.S. 33:4720.85(D).(4) "Community improvement project" means undertakings and activities for the elimination and prevention of the development or spread of slums and blight and may involve slum clearance and redevelopment in a community improvement area, or rehabilitation or conservation in a community improvement area, or a program of code enforcement in a community improvement area, and may include open land which, because of its location or situation, or both, is necessary for sound community growth which is to be developed by replatting and planning, or any combination or part thereof in accordance with a community improvement plan. Such undertakings and activities may include: (a) Acquisition of a slum or blighted area or portion thereof.(b) Demolition and removal of buildings and improvements.(c) Installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, and other improvements necessary for carrying out in the community improvement area the redevelopment objectives of this Chapter in accordance with the community improvement plan.(d) Disposition of any property acquired in the community improvement area, including sale, initial leasing, or retention by the agency itself, at its fair market value for uses in accordance with the community improvement plan.(e) Carrying out plans for a program of code enforcement and a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements in accordance with the community improvement plan.(f) Acquisition of real property in the community improvement area which, under the community improvement plan, is to be repaired or rehabilitated for dwelling use or related facilities, repair or rehabilitation of the structures, and resale of the property.(g) Acquisition of any other real property in the community improvement area where necessary to eliminate unhealthful, unsanitary, or unsafe conditions, lessen density, eliminate obsolete or other uses detrimental to the public welfare, or otherwise to remove or prevent the spread of blight or deterioration, or to provide land for needed public or quasi public facilities.(h) Acquisition, without regard to any requirement that the area be a slum or blighted area, of air rights in an area consisting principally of land in highways, railway or subway tracks, bridges, drainage canals, waterways, levees, wharves, warehouses, docks, tunnel entrances, or other similar facilities which have a blighting influence on the surrounding area and over which air rights sites are to be developed for the elimination of such blighting influences and for the provision of improvements and related facilities and uses set forth in the community improvement plan.(i) Construction of foundations and platforms necessary for the provision of air rights sites for improvements and related facilities and uses set forth in the community improvement plan.(j) The preservation of historic structures or locations within a project area by removing deleterious surroundings.(k) Relocating within the project area a structure which the parish governing authority determines to be of historic value and which will be disposed of to a public body or private nonprofit organization which will renovate and maintain such structure for historic purposes.(5) "Families of low income" means those families or persons, as defined in R.S. 40:384, whose income is less than the amount determined by the St. Charles Parish Council to be necessary to enable them without financial assistance to live in decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings without overcrowding.(6) "Federal government" means a department, agency, or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America.(7) "Fire hazard" shall mean anything or any act which increases or may cause an increase of the hazard or menace of fire to a greater degree than that customarily recognized as normal.(8) "Infestation" shall mean the presence within or around a dwelling of large numbers of insects, rodents, or other pests to the extent that they may be reasonably calculated to cause harm to a person or to the structure.(9) "Nuisance" shall mean whatever is dangerous or potentially dangerous to human life or detrimental or potentially detrimental to health, including but not limited to any of the following: (a) Any condition or use of any land, building, or dwelling or any operation thereon or therein that causes or may cause a person of ordinary curiosity to desire to examine such condition, use, or operation and that is reasonably calculated to cause harm to such person, whether the condition, use, or operation is located in a building, on the premises of a building, or on a vacant lot. This Paragraph includes, without limitation, any abandoned wells, shafts, basements, or excavations, abandoned refrigerators or motor vehicles, structurally unsound fences or other structures, or any lumber, trash, fence, debris, or vegetation reasonably calculated to be a hazard for inquisitive persons.(b) Insufficient ventilation or illumination.(c) Inadequate or unsanitary sewerage or plumbing facilities.(d) Uncleanliness, as determined by the director of Planning and Zoning.(e) Whatever renders air, food, or drink unwholesome or detrimental to the health of human beings as determined by the director of Planning and Zoning.(f) A dwelling, building, or structure or the use thereof that is dangerous or potentially dangerous to the physical health or safety of an occupant or other person or to the general welfare.(g) Scrap lumber, junk, trash, debris, glass, or used building material.(h) Abandoned, discarded, or unused objects of equipment, such as automobiles, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans, or containers.(10) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, or body politic and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other person acting in a similar representative capacity.(11) "Public body" means the state and any parish or municipality and any board, commission, authority, agency, district, subdivision or department, agency, instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the foregoing.(12) "Real property" means all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith, and every estate, interest, right or use, legal or equitable, therein, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage, or otherwise.(13) "Related activities" means planning work for the preparation of a general neighborhood renewal plan or for the preparation or completion of a communitywide plan or program and the functions related to the acquisition and disposal of real property pursuant to R.S. 33:4720.84(4).(14) "Slum area" means an area in which there is a predominance of buildings or improvements, whether residential or nonresidential, which by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open space, high density of population and overcrowding, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or an area of open land which, because of its location or situation, or both, is necessary for sound community growth, by replatting and planning and development, or any combination of such factors is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime, and is detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare.Acts 2004, No. 583, §1, eff. 6/25/2004.