A.  It is hereby found and declared that:

(1)  There exists in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, areas which have become slum and blighted because of the unsafe, unsanitary, inadequate, or overcrowded conditions of the structures therein, or because of inadequate planning of the area, or because of physically or functionally obsolete structures, or both, or because of excessive dwelling unit density, or because of the lack of proper light and air and open space, or because of faulty street or lot design, or inadequate public utilities or community services, or because of the conversion to incompatible types of land usage.

(2)  Such conditions or a combination of some or all of them have and will continue to result in making such areas economic and social liabilities imposing onerous parochial burdens which decrease the tax base and reduce tax revenues and cause harm to the social and economic well-being of the parish, depreciating property values therein, and thereby depreciating further the general communitywide values.

(3)  The prevention and elimination of slums and blight areas and their causes is a matter of public policy and concern in order that the parish shall not continue to be endangered by areas which are focal centers of economic and social retardation, and consume an excessive proportion of its revenues because of the extra services required for police, fire, accident, and other forms of public protection, services, and facilities.

(4)  The salvage and renewal of such areas, in accordance with sound and approved plans for their redevelopment, will promote the public health, safety, morals, and welfare.

(5)  Certain such areas or portions thereof may be susceptible to conservation or rehabilitation by voluntary action and through existing regulatory processes in such a manner that the conditions and evils enumerated in this Section may be eliminated, remedied, and prevented; and that in certain areas blight and slum conditions are beyond remedy or reasonable control through regulatory processes and cannot be effectively dealt with under existing law without additional aids herein allowed; and that such conditions often exist under circumstances in areas in which their assembly for purposes of clearance, replanning, and redevelopment is impossible without the exercise of the power of expropriation.

B.  The powers conferred by this Chapter are for public uses, purposes, and utility for which public money may be expended and expropriation authority utilized as necessary and in the public’s interest and in conformity with the approved plans of the parish.  The provisions provided by this Chapter shall apply for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other purposes and otherwise encourage the provision of healthful homes, a decent living environment, and adequate places of employment for the people in the parish.  Such purposes are hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.

Acts 2004, No. 583, §1, eff. June 25, 2004.