Any local government is authorized, either as a part of a community development program or independently thereof, and without the necessity of compliance with the Urban Redevelopment Law, to exercise the following powers:

(1)        To acquire, by voluntary purchase from the owner or owners, real property that meets any of the following criteria:

a.         Blighted, deteriorated, deteriorating, undeveloped, or inappropriately developed from the standpoint of sound community development and growth.

b.         Appropriate for rehabilitation or conservation activities.

c.         Appropriate for housing construction or the economic development of the community.

d.         Appropriate for the preservation or restoration of historic sites, the beautification of urban land, the conservation of open space, natural resources, and scenic areas, the provision of recreational opportunities, or the guidance of urban development.

(2)        To clear, demolish, remove, or rehabilitate buildings and improvements on land so acquired.

(3)        To retain property so acquired for public purposes, or to dispose, through sale, lease, or otherwise, of any property so acquired to any person, firm, corporation, or governmental unit, provided the disposition of such property shall be undertaken in accordance with the procedures of Article 12 of Chapter 160A of the N.C. Gen. Stat., or the procedures of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-514, or any applicable local act or charter provision modifying such procedures, or subdivision (4) of this section.

(4)        To sell, exchange, or otherwise transfer real property or any interest therein in a community development project area to any redeveloper at private sale for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other uses or for public use in accordance with the community development plan, subject to such covenants, conditions, and restrictions as may be deemed to be in the public interest or to carry out the purposes of this Article, provided that the sale, exchange, or other transfer, and any agreement relating thereto, may be made only after approval of the governing board and after a legislative hearing. A notice of the hearing shall be given once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the local government’s planning and development jurisdiction area, the notice shall be published the first time not less than 10 days nor more than 25 days preceding the hearing, and the notice shall disclose the terms of the sale, exchange, or transfer. At the hearing, the appraised value of the property to be sold, exchanged, or transferred shall be disclosed, and the consideration for the conveyance shall not be less than the appraised value. ?(2019-111, s. 2.4; 2020-3, s. 4.33(a); 2020-25, ss. 43, 51(a), (b), (d).)