§ 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.