§ 506. Acquisition of property. 1. (a) A municipality, acting through
its governing body, may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease,
condemnation or otherwise, in accordance with the provisions of the
appropriate general, special or local law applicable to the acquisition
of real property by such municipality, 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 of 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 a program of urban renewal for
residential, commercial, industrial, public, semi-public, community or
other uses or combinations of such uses in accordance with an urban
renewal plan for a designated area, or for a part or portion of such
area, provided, however, that the acquisition of any air rights over
railroad tracks, rights of way or facilities and easements or other
rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights
are to be subject to the provision of section fifty-one-a of the
railroad law. The acquisition of real property within a designated urban
renewal area shall in every case be deemed to be and constitute a
continuous rather than separate takings.

(b) Property so acquired by a municipality 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 of this chapter; provided however, that any such municipality
shall have the power and authority, with respect to such property, to
pay or transfer, 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 or transferred 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, regulations, 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, a
municipality may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation
or otherwise, upon recommendation of the agency and in accordance with
the appropriate provisions of any general, special or local law or
charter applicable to the acquisition of real property by such
municipality, such real property or any interest therein, within an area
designated pursuant to this article 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,
approve the proposal by a majority vote:

(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 by the agency, nevertheless approve the
proposal, 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, approve
the proposal together with the modifications recommended by the
commission by a majority vote, or approve the proposal 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.