130th Ohio General Assembly
The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.

Sub. S. B. No. 7  As Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
As Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee

127th General Assembly
Regular Session
2007-2008
Sub. S. B. No. 7


Senator Grendell 

Cosponsors: Senators Harris, Faber, Schaffer, Amstutz, Coughlin, Gardner, Padgett, Schuring, Clancy, Mumper, Carey, Niehaus 



A BILL
To amend sections 163.01, 163.02, 163.03, 163.04, 163.05, 163.06, 163.08, 163.09, 163.12, 163.14, 163.15, 163.16, 163.17, 163.19, 163.20, 163.21, 163.22, 163.52, 163.53, 163.54, 163.55, 163.56, 163.57, 163.58, 163.59, 163.60, 163.61, 163.62, 303.26, 719.012, 725.01, 725.02, 725.05, 725.11, 1728.01, 3735.40, and 3735.59, and to enact sections 1.08, 163.021, 163.211, and 163.63, and to repeal section 163.51 of the Revised Code to implement recommendations of the Eminent Domain Task Force and to create other procedures to protect the rights of property owners.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 163.01, 163.02, 163.03, 163.04, 163.05, 163.06, 163.08, 163.09, 163.12, 163.14, 163.15, 163.16, 163.17, 163.19, 163.20, 163.21, 163.22, 163.52, 163.53, 163.54, 163.55, 163.56, 163.57, 163.58, 163.59, 163.60, 163.61, 163.62, 303.26, 719.012, 725.01, 725.02, 725.05, 725.11, 1728.01, 3735.40, and 3735.59 be amended and sections 1.08, 163.021, 163.211, and 163.63 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 1.08. As used in the Revised Code:
(A) "Blighted property" means a property that to which either of the following applies:
(1) The property contains a structure that is dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin infested, and because of its condition an agency that is responsible for the enforcement of housing, building, or fire codes has designated it unfit for human habitation or use.
(2) The property has two or more of the following conditions:
(a) The property or a structure on the property constitutes a public nuisance because of its physical condition, use, or occupancy.
(b) The property contains a structure that in its current condition is a fire hazard or otherwise is dangerous to the safety of persons or property.
(c) The property contains a structure from which the utilities, plumbing, heating, sewerage, or other necessary facilities have been disconnected, destroyed, removed, or rendered ineffective so that the property is unfit for its intended use.
(d) The property is a vacant or unimproved lot or parcel in a predominantly built-up-neighborhood that, by reason of neglect or lack of maintenance, has become a place for accumulation of trash and debris, or a haven for vermin.
(e) The property has tax delinquencies that exceed the value of the property.
(f) The property or a structure on the property has significant code violations that substantially affect health or safety, and at least one year has passed since an appropriate code enforcement agency provided notice to the owner of the need to rehabilitate the property or structure, and the property or structure has not been substantially rehabilitated.
(g) The property poses a direct threat to public health or safety in its present condition by reason of environmentally hazardous conditions, solid waste pollution, or contamination.
(h) The property is an abandoned property, meaning that the owner or estate in possession of the property has declared it to be abandoned, or the property is occupied by a person who does not have a legal or equitable right to occupy the property and the entity taking the property is unable to identify and communicate with the owner despite making reasonable efforts.
(B) "Blighted area" and "slum" mean a delineated area that the taking agency establishes, that is comprised of contiguous properties, and in which over ninety per cent of all properties within the borders of the delineated area are blighted properties. Only properties within the delineated boundaries may be considered in the determination that an area is a "blighted area" or "slum." No area may be designated as a "blighted area" or "slum" unless the boundaries of that area are clearly delineated on a map that is made available to the public.
(C)(1) When determining whether a property is a blighted property or whether an area is a blighted area or slum, no person shall consider whether the property could generate more tax revenues if put to another use.
(2) No agency with the power to appropriate property shall use that power as a substitute for the enforcement of nuisance laws.
(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, absent any environmental or public health hazard that cannot be corrected under its current use or ownership, a property is not a blighted property because of any condition that is a blighting condition under division (A) of this section if its condition is consistent with conditions that are normally incident to generally accepted agricultural practices and the land is used for purposes consistent with the definition of "agriculture" in section 1.61 of the Revised Code, or the county auditor of the county in which the land is located has determined under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code that the land is "land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" as defined in section 5713.30 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 163.01.  As used in sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter:
(A) "Public agency" means any governmental corporation, instrumentality, unit, organization, or officer authorized by law to appropriate property in the courts of this state. "Private "Public agency" does not include a utility owned by a municipal corporation.
(B) "Private agency" means any other corporation, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint-stock association, or company that is not a "public agency," authorized by law to appropriate property in the courts of this state. "Agency" includes
(B)(C) "Agency" means any public agency or private agency authorized by law to appropriate property in the courts of this state. "Agency" includes a utility owned by a municipal corporation.
(D) "Business" means any lawful activity, excepting a farm operation, conducted primarily for one or more of the following:
(1) The purchase, sale, lease, and rental of personal and real property, and for the manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, or any other personal property;
(2) The sale of services to the public;
(3) By a nonprofit organization;
(4) Solely for the purposes of section 163.53 of the Revised Code, for assisting in the purchase, sale, resale, manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, personal property, or services by the erection and maintenance of an outdoor advertising display or displays, whether or not such display or displays are located on the premises on which any of the above activities are conducted.
(E) "Comparable replacement dwelling" means any dwelling that is decent, safe, and sanitary; adequate in size to accommodate the occupants; within the financial means of the displaced person; functionally equivalent to the displaced person's dwelling; in an area not subject to unreasonable adverse environmental conditions; and in a location generally not less desirable than the location of the displaced person's dwelling with respect to public utilities, facilities, services, and the displaced person's place of employment.
(F) "Court" includes means the court of common pleas and or the probate court of any county in which the property sought to be appropriated is located in whole or in part.
(C)(G) "Displaced person" means any person who moves from real property or moves personal property from real property on which the person is a residential tenant or conducts a business or farm operation, when that move is a direct result of a written notice of intent to acquire or the acquisition of that real property, in whole or in part, under a program or project an agency undertakes or as a direct result of rehabilitation, demolition, or other displacing activity on real property by an agency, and the head of the agency determines that the displacement is permanent.
"Displaced person" does not include a person who has been determined, according to criteria the head of the agency establishes, to be either in unlawful occupancy of the displacement dwelling or to have occupied that dwelling for the purpose of obtaining assistance under this chapter, or a person who became an occupant of the dwelling after its acquisition and whose occupancy is on a rental basis for a short term or a period subject to termination when the property is needed for the program or project.
(H) "Farm operation" means any activity conducted solely or primarily for the production of one or more agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale or home use, and customarily producing such products or commodities in sufficient quantity to be capable of contributing materially to the operator's support.
(I) "Mortgage" means the classes of liens commonly given to secure advances on, or the unpaid purchase price of, real property, under the laws of Ohio, together with the credit instruments, if any, secured thereby.
(J) "Owner" includes means any individual, partnership, association, or corporation having any estate, title, or interest in any real property sought to be appropriated.
(D)(K) "Person" includes any individual, partnership, corporation, or association.
(L) "Real property," "land," or "property" includes means any estate, title, or interest in any real property which that is authorized to be appropriated by the agency in question, unless the context otherwise requires.
(M) "Goodwill" means the calculable benefits that accrue to a business as a result of its location, reputation for dependability, skill or quality, and any other circumstances that result in probable retention of old, or acquisition of new, patronage.
Sec. 163.02.  (A) Except as provided in divisions (B), (C), (D), and (F) of this section, all All appropriations of real property shall be made pursuant to sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter, except as otherwise provided in section 163.06 of the Revised Code or because of a public exigency as provided in division (B) of section 307.08, 6101.181, 6115.221, 6117.39, or 6119.11, or division (D) of section 514.19 of the Revised Code.
(B) Subject to division (E) of this section, the The director of transportation may appropriate real property pursuant to sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter or as otherwise provided by law.
(C) Subject to division (E) of this section, a conservancy district may appropriate real property by procedures prescribed in Chapter 6101. of the Revised Code.
(D) Subject to division (E) of this section, a sanitary district may appropriate real property by procedures prescribed in Chapter 6115. of the Revised Code.
(E) When the director of transportation, a conservancy district, or a sanitary district proceeds Notwithstanding any authority to appropriate real property other than under sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code, the proceedings are to the contrary, any proceeding to appropriate real property is subject to division (B) of section 163.21 of the Revised Code.
(F) A county, township that has adopted a limited home rule government, conservancy district, sanitary district, county sewer district, or a regional water and sewer district also may appropriate real property in the manner prescribed in division (B) of section 307.08, 6101.181, 6115.221, 6117.39, or 6119.11 or division (D) of section 504.19 of the Revised Code, as applicable.
(G)(D) Any instrument by which the state or an agency of the state acquires real property pursuant to this section chapter shall identify include all of the following:
(1) The name of the agency of the state that has the use and benefit of the real property as, specified in the manner that section 5301.012 of the Revised Code. requires;
(2) A statement of the purpose of the appropriation as provided with the appropriation petition;
(3) A statement that the prior owner possesses a right of repurchase pursuant to section 163.211 of the Revised Code if the agency decides not to use the property for the purpose stated in the appropriation petition and the owner provides timely notice of a desire to repurchase. Nothing in this section affects the authority of the director of transportation to convey unneeded property pursuant to division (F) of section 5501.34 of the Revised Code.
(E) Nothing in this chapter precludes any person from voluntarily conveying a property to an agency that is considering appropriating the property or that offers to purchase the property under threat of appropriation. Any such voluntary conveyance of a property to an agency is deemed for all purposes to be a sale under the threat of appropriation for a public use. This division applies to a voluntary conveyance to an agency regardless of whether the property is a blighted property or is located in a blighted area, or the property subsequently could be found for any reason not to qualify for appropriation by the agency.
Sec. 163.021. (A)(1) No agency shall appropriate real property except as necessary and for a public use. In any appropriation, the taking agency shall show by a preponderance of the evidence that the taking is necessary and for a public use.
(2) "Public use" does not include any taking that is for conveyance to a private commercial enterprise, for economic development, or solely for the purpose of increasing public revenue, unless the taking agency shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the property being appropriated is within a blighted area and the taking is pursuant to a redevelopment plan having a purpose of eliminating blight that has been adopted by the legislative authority where the property is located.
(3) All of the following are presumed to be a public use: utility facilities, roads, sewers, water lines, public schools, public parks, government buildings, projects by an agency that is a public utility as defined in section 4905.02 of the Revised Code or an agency holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity granted by the federal energy regulatory commission, an electric cooperative as defined in section 4928.01 of the Revised Code, and similar facilities and uses of land.
(B)(1) No public agency that is not elected may appropriate real property unless the public agency or elected individual that appointed the agency approves the appropriation or a majority of the appointing public agencies or elected individuals approve the appropriation if more than one agency or individual participated in the appointment. If the agency that is not elected is a state agency or a state instrumentality such as a university, the approval shall be by the governor.
(2) Approval pursuant to this division shall be obtained for each appropriation or each project for which the agency proposes to appropriate property. If the project includes more than one property, an agency may request approval for the project only if that request includes a description of all affected properties in the project by the street address of each property or other method of identification by which an owner reasonably would be made aware that the owner's property is included in the project. If the agency adds properties to the project following an approval, the agency shall seek an additional approval for appropriation of those additional properties pursuant to the same procedures and requirements as the initial approval. Authority to approve appropriations may not be delegated to an agency that is not elected.
(C) No park board, park district, board of directors of a conservancy district, incorporated association with a purpose of establishing or preserving public parks and memorial sites, or similar park authority shall appropriate real property unless that property is located within the entity's jurisdiction.
(D) Any public agency with authority to appropriate property outside its jurisdiction shall obtain approval for the proposed appropriation from the legislative authority where the property is located and shall include a copy of that approval with any petition for appropriation.
Sec. 163.03.  Any agency may, upon the notice prescribed in this section, prior to or subsequent to the filing of a petition pursuant to section 163.05 of the Revised Code, enter upon any lands, waters, and premises for the purpose of making such surveys, soundings, drillings, appraisals, and examinations as are necessary or proper for the purpose of the agency under sections 163.01 to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code, this chapter and such that entry shall does not constitute a trespass. Notice of such a proposed entry shall be given to the owner or the person in possession by such means as are reasonably available not less than forty-eight hours nor more than thirty days prior to the date of such the proposed entry.
The agency shall make restitution or reimbursement for any actual damage resulting to such lands, waters, and premises and to improvements or personal property located in, on, along, over, or under such those lands, waters, and premises, as a result of such activities this section authorizes. If the parties are unable to agree upon restitution or other settlement, damages are recoverable by civil action to which the state or agency hereby consents.
Sec. 163.04. (A)(1) Any public agency that appropriates real property shall adopt procedures under which the public is entitled to provide input on a proposed appropriation. Any procedure shall include notice and a reasonable public comment period. For at least two consecutive weeks prior to any appropriation, the agency shall provide a weekly notice of the proposed appropriation in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the appropriation is proposed. If the notice is for a project that includes more than one property, the notice shall describe the project and identify each property in the project by the property's street address or other method reasonably designed to enable an owner to recognize that the owner's property is included in the project. Any notice shall specify the dates during which the agency will accept written comment and set forth the address to which persons may submit comment. The notice this division requires may be made for the appropriation of an individual property or for a project so long as the notice for a project clearly identifies each property in that project and each owner is given an opportunity to provide comment. If the agency adds additional properties to the project, the agency shall repeat the procedure this division describes for those additional properties. During the period of public comment, the agency shall accept from any person a written comment addressing the proposed appropriation and any project for which that appropriation would be made.
(2) Any public agency that is not elected by the public also shall hold at least one public hearing per appropriation or project following the two weeks' published notice that this section requires. The agency's notice shall include, in addition to all requirements of division (A)(1) of this section, notice of the time, date, and location of the public hearing. A public hearing may be held for an individual property or for a project so long as the notice for a project clearly identifies each property in that project and each owner is given an opportunity to provide comment at the public hearing. If the agency adds additional properties to the project, the agency shall repeat the procedure this division describes for those additional properties.
(3) Any agency that is a public utility as defined in section 4905.02 of the Revised Code, an electric cooperative as defined in section 4928.01 of the Revised Code, or a utility owned by a municipal corporation satisfies the notice and hearing requirements of this division if the agency has a certificate granted by a regulatory agency for the facility or project for which property will be appropriated. If the public utility, electric cooperative, or utility owned by a municipal corporation does not have such a certificate, it shall provide notice to all affected property owners at least thirty days prior to any initial offer to purchase property. The notice shall inform the owner that all or a portion of the property is necessary for a project, describe the nature of that project, and describe each property to be acquired by street address or other reasonable method that would enable an owner to identify the property.
(4) This division does not apply to any appropriation to eliminate a health nuisance or pursuant to a public exigency as described in division (A) of section 163.02 or section 163.06 of the Revised Code.
(B) No agency shall appropriate property unless prior to filing a petition for appropriation the agency makes a good faith offer to the owner and provides the owner or the guardian, agent, or trustee of the owner with a copy of an appraisal, a summary appraisal if the agency performed only a summary appraisal, or a written explanation of how the agency established the value of the property. The agency need not provide the owner, guardian, agent, or trustee an appraisal, summary appraisal, or written explanation of value if none of the persons to be provided the information is known or their residence or business address cannot be ascertained with reasonable diligence. The tax records of the county auditor shall not be used to determine a property's value in an appropriation action, but county tax payment records shall be prima facie evidence of ownership for purposes of an adverse possession action.
(C) Appropriations shall be made only after the agency is unable to agree on a conveyance or the terms of a conveyance, for any reason, with the any owner, or if more than one, any owner, or his the guardian or trustee, or when any of any owner, unless no owner is incapable capable of contracting in person or by agent and has no guardian or trustee, or is unknown, or is not a resident of this state, or his the residence is unknown to the agency and or business address of any of these persons who could approve a conveyance cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained with reasonable diligence.
Sec. 163.05.  An agency which that has met the requirements of section 163.04 of the Revised Code, may commence proceedings in a proper court by filing a petition for appropriation of each parcel or contiguous parcels in a single common ownership, or interest or right therein. The petition of a private agency shall be verified as in a civil action and all. All petitions shall contain:
(A) A description of each parcel of land or interest or right therein sought to be appropriated, such as will permit ready identification of the land involved;
(B) In the case of a private agency, a (1) A statement that such the appropriation is necessary, for a public use, and, in the case of if a public agency or an agency for which a resolution or approval is required, a copy of the resolution or approval of the public agency to appropriate;
(2) A statement showing the appraised value or the agency's estimated value of the property and affirming that the stated amount was offered to the owner as compensation;
(3) If the property is part of a blighted area that is being appropriated pursuant to a redevelopment plan, a statement that shows the basis for the finding of blight and that supports that the redevelopment area in which the parcel is located is a "blighted area" as defined in section 1.08 of the Revised Code, and a map that clearly sets forth the delineated boundaries of the redevelopment area.
(C) A statement of the purpose of the appropriation;
(D) A statement of the estate or interest sought to be appropriated;
(E) The names and addresses of the owners, so far as they can be ascertained;
(F) A statement showing requirements of section 163.04 of the Revised Code have been met;
(G) A prayer for the appropriation;.
(H) In the event of an appropriation where the agency would require less than the whole of any parcel containing a residence structure and the required portion would remove a garage and sufficient land that a replacement garage could not be lawfully or practically attached, the appropriation shall be for the whole parcel and all structures unless, at the discretion of the owner, the owner waives this requirement, in which case the agency shall appropriate only the portion that the agency requires as well as the entirety of any structure that is in whole or in part on the required portion.
In the event of the appropriation of less than the fee of any parcel or of a fee in less than the whole of any parcel of property, the agency shall either make available to the owner or shall file in the office of the county engineer, a description of the nature of the improvement or use which requires the appropriation, including any specifications, elevations, and grade changes already determined at the time of the filing of the petition, in sufficient detail to permit a determination of the nature, extent, and effect of the taking and improvement. A set of highway construction plans shall be acceptable in providing such description for the purposes of the preceding sentence in the appropriation of land for highway purposes.
Sec. 163.06.  (A) A public agency, other than an agency appropriating property for the purposes described in division (B) of this section, which qualifies that is appropriating property due to a public exigency that requires its immediate seizure pursuant to Section 19 of Article I, Ohio Constitution, may deposit with the court at the time of filing the petition the value of such property appropriated together with the damages, if any, to the residue, as determined by the public agency, and thereupon take possession of and enter upon the property appropriated. The right of possession upon deposit as provided in this division shall does not extend to structures.
(B)(1) A public agency appropriating property for the purpose of making or repairing roads which shall that will be open to the public, without charge, or for the purpose of implementing rail service under Chapter 4981. of the Revised Code, may deposit with the court at the time of filing the petition the value of such the property appropriated together with the damages, if any, to the residue, as determined by the public agency, and stated in an attached declaration of intention to obtain possession and thereupon, take possession of, and enter upon the property appropriated, including structures situated upon the land appropriated for such purpose or situated partly upon the land appropriated therefor and partly upon adjoining land, so that such the structures cannot be divided upon the line between such the lands without manifest injury thereto. The
(2) The jury, in assessing compensation to any owner of land appropriated under this division, shall assess the value thereof of the property in accordance with section 163.14 of the Revised Code. The owner or occupant of such structures the structure shall vacate the same structure within sixty days after service of summons as required under section 163.07 of the Revised Code, at no cost to the appropriating agency, after which time the agency may remove said any structures. In
(3) In the event such the structures are to be removed before the jury has fixed the their value of the same, the court, upon motion of the agency, shall do all of the following:
(1)(a) Order appraisals to be made by three persons, one to be named by the owner, one by the county auditor, and one by the agency. Such appraisals may be used as evidence by the owner or the agency in the trial of said the case but shall not be binding on said the owner, agency, or the jury, and the expense of said the appraisals shall be approved by the court and charged as costs in said case.
(2)(b) Cause pictures to be taken of all sides of said the structures;
(3)(c) Compile a complete description of said the structures, which shall be preserved as evidence in said case to which the owner or occupants shall have access.
(C) Any time after the deposit is made by the public agency under division (A) or (B) of this section, the owner may apply to the court to withdraw the deposit, and such that withdrawal shall in no way interfere with the action except that the sum so withdrawn shall be deducted from the sum of the final verdict or award. Upon such an application being made, the court shall direct that the sum be paid to such the owner subject to the rights of other parties in interest provided such those parties make timely application as provided in section 163.18 of the Revised Code. Interest shall not accrue on any sums withdrawable as provided in this division.
(D) If the award exceeds one hundred twenty-five per cent of the amount the agency deposited with the court, the owner shall be awarded attorney's fees, appraisal fees, and expenses as specified in division (B) of section 163.14 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 163.08.  (A) Any owner may file an answer to such the petition described in section 163.05 of the Revised Code. Such Any answer shall be verified as in a civil action and shall contain a general denial or specific denial of each material allegation not admitted. The agency's right to make the appropriation, whether the appropriation is for a public use, the inability of the parties to agree, and the necessity for the appropriation shall be resolved by the court in favor of the agency unless such matters are specifically denied in the answer and the facts relied upon in support of such denial are set forth therein, provided, when.
(B)(1) When property is taken in time of war or other public exigency, imperatively requiring its immediate seizure or for the purpose of making or repairing roads, which shall be open to the public, without charge, an answer may not deny the right to make the appropriation, the inability of the parties to agree, or the necessity for the appropriation. A
(2) A petition for appropriation, filed by the director of transportation, which contains a declaration and journalization of his the director's intent to construct a state highway or interstate highway, shall constitute a presumption that such the appropriation is for the purpose of making or repairing roads which shall be open to the public without charge. At a hearing on an issue whether a taking sought by the director of transportation is for the purpose of making or repairing roads open to the public without charge, a set of construction plans made by or for the director and showing the proposed use of the property in connection with the construction or repair of such a road is presumptive evidence of such purpose, notwithstanding that no money has been appropriated for such construction or repair.
(C) An answer shall be served in accordance with Civil Rule 12. If the agency involved in the action is a private agency, no more than one extension of the time authorized by Civil Rule 12 for serving an answer shall be granted pursuant to Civil Rule 6, and that extension shall not exceed thirty days.
Sec. 163.09.  (A) If no answer is filed pursuant to section 163.08 of the Revised Code, and no approval ordered by the court to a settlement of the rights of all necessary parties, the court, on motion of a public agency, shall declare the value of the property taken and the damages, if any, to the residue to be as set forth in any document properly filed with the clerk of the court of common pleas by the public agency. In all other cases, the court shall fix a time, within twenty days from the last date that the answer could have been filed, for the assessment of compensation by a jury.
(B)(1) When an answer is filed pursuant to section 163.08 of the Revised Code and any of the matters relating to the right to make the appropriation, the inability of the parties to agree, whether the appropriation is for a public use, whether a property is located in a blighted area, or the necessity for the appropriation are specifically denied in the manner provided in that section, the court shall set a day, not less than five or more than fifteen days from the date the answer was filed, to hear those matters. Upon those matters, when the owner has established a prima facie case as to any matter denied, the burden of proof with respect to that matter is upon the owner agency by a preponderance of the evidence. A resolution or ordinance of the governing or controlling body, council, or board of the agency declaring the necessity for the appropriation shall be prima-facie evidence of that necessity in the absence of proof showing an abuse of discretion by the agency in determining that necessity. If, The public necessity of the taking is an issue for the court to determine.
(2) If, as to any or all of the property or other interests sought to be appropriated, the court determines the matters in favor of the agency, the court shall set a time for the assessment of compensation by the jury within twenty days from the date of the journalization of that determination. An
(3)(a) An owner has a right to an immediate appeal if the order of the court is in favor of the agency in any of the matters the owner denied in the answer.
(b) An order of the court in favor of the agency on any of the matters or on qualification under section 163.06 of the Revised Code shall is not be a final order for purposes of appeal. An order of the court against the agency on any of the matters or on the question of qualification under section 163.06 of the Revised Code shall be is a final order for purposes of appeal. If
(4) If a public agency has taken possession prior to such an a final order and such an order, after any appeal, that order is against the agency on any of the matters, the agency shall restore the property to the owner in its original condition or respond in damages, which may include the items set forth in division (A)(2) of section 163.21 of the Revised Code, recoverable by civil action, to which the state consents.
(C) When an answer is filed pursuant to section 163.08 of the Revised Code, and none of the matters set forth in division (B) of this section is specifically denied, the court shall fix a time within twenty days from the date the answer was filed for the assessment of compensation by a jury.
(D) If answers are filed pursuant to divisions (B) and (C) of this section, or an answer is filed on behalf of fewer than all the named owners, the court shall set the hearing or hearings at such times as that are reasonable under all the circumstances, but in no event later than twenty days after the issues are joined as to all necessary parties or twenty days after rule therefor, whichever is earlier.
(E) The court, with the consent of the parties, may order two or more cases to be consolidated and tried together, but the rights of each owner to compensation, damages, or both shall be separately determined by the jury in its verdict.
(F) If an answer is filed under section 163.08 of the Revised Code with respect to the value of property appropriated under section 307.08, 504.19, 6101.181, 6115.221, 6117.39, or 6119.11 of the Revised Code as the result of a public exigency, the burden of proof with respect to that value is on the party or parties to the appropriation other than the property owners.
(G) In any final, unappealable order that is against the agency as to the necessity of an appropriation, the owner shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees, expenses, and costs as set forth in division (B) of section 163.21 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 163.12.  (A) A view of the premises to be appropriated or of premises appropriated shall be ordered by the court when demanded requested by a party to the proceedings.
(B) The property owners shall open and close the case except that, if the premises are appropriated under section 163.06, 307.08, 504.19, 6101.181, 6115.221, 6117.39, or 6119.11 of the Revised Code as the result of a public exigency, the party or parties other than the owners shall open and close the case.
(C) The court may amend any defect or informality in proceedings under sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter. The court may cause new parties to be added and direct further notice to be given to a party in interest as the court considers proper.
(D) No part of the pleadings, other than the petition, shall be read or exhibited to the jury.
Sec. 163.14.  (A)(1) In appropriation proceedings the jury shall be sworn to impartially assess the compensation and damages, if any, without deductions for general benefits as to the property of the owner.
(2) The jury, in its verdict, shall assess the compensation for the property appropriated and damages, if any, to the residue, to be paid to the owners. When a building or other structure is on the property appropriated or when a building or other structure is situated partly upon the land appropriated and partly upon adjoining land so that the structure cannot be divided upon the line between such those lands without manifest injury thereto, the jury, in assessing compensation to any owner of the land, shall assess the value thereof, of such a building as part of the compensation. The title to said the structure shall vest in the agency which shall have the right to enter upon the any adjoining land upon which any part of the structure is located for the purpose of removing said the structure therefrom, after deposit in accordance with the verdict. Such The removal shall be made within ninety days after taking title to the property appropriated;, provided, that the court may extend removal time upon such conditions as the court requires.
(3) The jury, in its verdict, shall assess compensation to the owner of a business conducted on the property taken, or on the remainder if the property is part of a larger parcel, for loss of goodwill if the owner proves both of the following:
(a) The loss is caused by the taking of the property or the injury to the remainder; and
(b) The loss cannot reasonably be prevented by relocation of the business or by taking steps and adopting procedures that a reasonably prudent person would take and adopt in preserving the goodwill.
Compensation for loss of goodwill shall not be included in payments made under section 163.53 of the Revised Code and shall not be duplicated in any compensation otherwise awarded to the owner.
(B)(1) If the amount of compensation the jury awards to an owner is greater than one hundred twenty-five per cent of the value the agency included in the appropriation petition as the value of the property and the amount offered to the owner in a good faith offer, the court shall award the owner reasonable attorney's fees and expenses incurred or contracted, including appraisal fees.
(2) Any award of attorney's fees pursuant to this section shall be in an amount the judge determines appropriate, not to exceed twenty-five per cent of the amount by which the awarded value exceeds the appraised value that was stated on the appropriation petition or, in the case of an appropriation due to exigency, the amount deposited with the court.
(3) Any award of expert witness fees shall be in an amount the judge determines appropriate, not to exceed a total of ten thousand dollars. If cases have been consolidated, the judge shall determine the portion of that amount to be distributed on behalf of each parcel included in the consolidated case.
(4) The agency shall deposit any amount awarded pursuant to this division with the court for distribution.
(C) The verdict shall be signed by at least three-fourths of the members of the jury.
(D) If a jury is discharged without rendering a verdict, another shall be impaneled at the earliest convenient time and shall make the inquiry and assessment.
Sec. 163.15. (A) As soon as the agency pays to the owner or party entitled thereto or deposits with the court the amount of the award and the costs assessed against the agency, it the agency may take possession;, provided, that this right of possession shall not be construed to limit the right of a public agency to enter and take possession, due to a public exigency as provided in section 163.06 of the Revised Code. When the owner has accepted the award or all appeals have been exhausted, the agency is entitled to possession the court shall enter an order to such effect upon the record and, if necessary, process shall be issued to place the agency in possession. Whenever
(B) Whenever a final journal entry in an appropriation proceeding, granting to this state a fee title or any lesser estate or interest in real property is filed and journalized by the clerk of courts, the clerk of courts shall forthwith transmit to the county auditor a certified copy of said the final journal entry who and the auditor shall transfer the property on his the books and transmit said the entry with proper endorsement to the county recorder for recording. The costs of filing such the final journal entry with the county auditor and the county recorder shall be taxed as costs in the appropriation proceedings the same as other costs are taxed under section 163.16 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 163.16.  The court costs, including jury fees, of any proceeding shall be paid as the court directs, except as may be provided for in cases subject to division (A)(2) or (B)(1) of section 163.21 of the Revised Code by the agency that is appropriating the property. The agency may offer to confess judgment for the amount to be stated and the court costs then made in favor of any owner who in any manner enters an appearance or upon whom service has been made. If such owner refuses to accept such offer and as a result of the trial does not receive more, he shall pay all court costs accruing after the offer.
Sec. 163.17.  (A) Where the agency has the right to take possession of the property before the verdict upon payment into court of a deposit for an appropriation due to a public exigency pursuant to section 163.06 of the Revised Code, and a portion of said that deposit may be withdrawn immediately by the owner, the amount of the verdict which that exceeds the portion of the deposit withdrawable shall be is subject to interest from the date of taking to the date of actual payment of the award.
(B) Where the agency has no right to take possession of the property before the verdict, if the award is not paid to the owner or deposited in court within twenty-one days after journalization of the verdict, interest thereafter shall accrue, except that where the owner appeals, interest shall not accrue until the agency takes possession.
(C) If the owner appeals and is granted a larger award, interest shall be paid on the additional amount awarded from the date of taking possession to the date of actual payment or date of deposit with immediate right of withdrawal.
(D) If the agency wishes to appeal, it may require the deposit to remain with the court pending final disposition of the case, provided it pays interest on the final award from date of taking possession to the date the money is actually paid or made available to the owner;, provided, the owner may withdraw the entire award upon posting an appropriate refund bond set by the court;, and provided, that where a building or other structure is taken, the court may, on application of the owner, permit the owner to withdraw a reasonable portion of the award allocable to the building without giving bond.
(E) If the amount of any deposit actually withdrawn by the owner exceeds the final award from which no appeal is or can be taken, then the owner at the time of entry of judgment on such that award shall refund at once to the court for the account of the agency the amount of such excess plus interest on such that excess from the date of withdrawal of such the excess until the date of such the refund, and upon the failure of the owner to make such a refund, the agency shall be entitled to a money judgment against the owner.
(F) Except for cases involving the department of transportation, interest as provided for in this section shall be at the rate of interest for judgments as set forth in section 1343.03 of the Revised Code. In a case involving the appropriation of property by the department of transportation, and the department is the sole public agency seeking to appropriate property in the case, interest as provided for in this section shall be at the per annum rate of either the interest rate as defined and established in division (B) of section 5703.47 of the Revised Code, or ten per cent, whichever is less.
Sec. 163.19.  Subject to sections 163.07 and 163.09 of the Revised Code, any party may prosecute appeals as in other civil actions from the judgment of the court. The trial court upon proper terms may suspend the execution of any order; but in all cases where the agency pays or deposits the amount of the award assessed and gives adequate security for any further compensation and costs, as required by the court, the right to take and use the property appropriated shall not be affected by such review by the appellate courts.
Any appeal in an appropriation action shall be heard in an expedited manner and any owner shall have the right to an immediate appeal as specified in section 163.09 of the Revised Code.
Either party may request, and the court may grant, a stay on appeal, provided that the owner posts a supersedeas bond in an amount the court determines.
Sec. 163.20.  An agency may appropriate in accordance with sections 163.01 to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code, this chapter any property in which an interest has been appropriated, in order to perfect title in itself.
Sec. 163.21.  (A)(1) If it An agency that has not taken possession of property that is appropriated, an agency may abandon appropriation proceedings under sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter at any time after the proceedings are commenced but not later than ninety days after the final determination of the cause.
(2) In all cases of abandonment as described in division (A)(1) of this section, the court shall enter a judgment against the agency for costs, including jury fees, and shall enter a judgment in favor of each affected owner, in amounts that the court considers to be just, for each of the following that the owner incurred:
(a) Witness fees, including expert witness fees, appraisal fees, and engineering fees;
(b) Attorney's fees;
(c) Other actual and reasonable costs, expenses, and disbursements.
(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, if in In appropriation proceedings under sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter or, as authorized by divisions (A) and (B), (C), and (D) of section 163.02 of the Revised Code, in for appropriation proceedings under other sections of the Revised Code, if the court determines that an agency is not entitled to appropriate particular property, the court shall enter both of the following:
(a) A judgment against the agency for costs, including jury fees;
(b) A judgment in favor of each affected owner, in amounts that the court considers to be just, for the owner's reasonable costs, disbursements, and expenses, to include witness fees, including expert witness fees, for attorney's fees, appraisal and engineering fees, and for other actual expenses that the owner incurred in connection with the proceedings.
(2) This division does not apply to a state agency that is subject to section 163.62 of the Revised Code in connection with condemnation proceedings Any award to an owner pursuant to this section shall be paid by the head of the agency for whose benefit the appropriation proceedings were initiated.
Sec. 163.211. (A) If an agency abandons a project or decides not to use appropriated property for the purpose stated in the appropriation petition, the prior owner from whom the property was appropriated may repurchase the property if that owner provided timely notice to the agency that the owner desires to repurchase the property and the agency has not conveyed or transferred title to the property to another person or agency.
(B) The right of repurchase is extinguished five years after the agency acquires the property or prior to that time if any of the following occur:
(1) The prior owner declines to repurchase the property;
(2) The prior owner fails to repurchase the property within sixty days after the agency offers the property for repurchase;
(3) The property qualified as blighted property at the time it was appropriated.
(C) Nothing in this section affects the authority of the director of transportation to convey unneeded property pursuant to division (F) of section 5501.34 of the Revised Code.
(D) The fair market value of the property that an owner may repurchase pursuant to this section may be determined by mutual agreement of the owner and the agency. If they are unable to agree, the court shall determine the fair market value. The owner shall pay for the property the lesser of that fair market value that the court determines or the price the agency paid for the acquisition, increased by the amount by which the consumer price index increased since that acquisition.
Sec. 163.22.  All proceedings brought under sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code this chapter shall be governed by the law applicable in civil actions and the Rules of Civil Procedure, including, but not limited to, the rules governing discovery, except as otherwise provided in those sections. The proceedings shall be advanced as a matter of immediate public interest and concern and shall be heard by the court at the earliest practicable moment.
Sec. 163.52.  (A) The failure of an acquiring agency to satisfy a requirement of section 163.59 of the Revised Code does not affect the validity of any property acquisition by purchase or condemnation appropriation.
(B) Nothing in sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code shall be construed as creating, in any condemnation appropriation proceeding brought under the power of eminent domain, any element of value or damage not in existence immediately prior to June 11, 1971.
Sec. 163.53.  (A) Whenever the acquisition of real property for a program or project undertaken by a displacing an agency will result in the displacement of any person, the head of the agency shall make a payment to any displaced person, upon proper application as approved by such the agency head, for all of the following:
(1) Actual reasonable expenses in moving himself the person, his and the person's family, business, farm operation, or other personal property;
(2) Actual direct losses of tangible personal property as a result of moving or discontinuing a business or farm operation, but not to exceed an amount equal to the reasonable expenses that would have been required to relocate such the property, as determined by the head of the displacing agency;
(3) Actual reasonable expenses in searching for a replacement business or farm, not to exceed twenty-five hundred dollars;
(4) Actual and reasonable expenses necessary to reestablish a displaced farm, nonprofit organization, or small business at its new site, but not to exceed ten thousand dollars.
(B) Any displaced person eligible for payments under division (A) of this section who is displaced from a dwelling and who elects to accept the payments authorized by this division may elect, in lieu of the payments authorized by division (A) of this section may, to receive an expense and dislocation allowance, determined according to a schedule established by the head of the displacing agency.
(C) Any displaced person eligible for payments under division (A) of this section who is displaced from his the person's place of business or from his the person's farm operation may qualify for the payment authorized by this division in lieu of the payment authorized by division (A) of this section. The payment authorized by this division shall consist of a fixed payment in an amount to be determined according to criteria established by the head of the lead agency based on the average annual net income of the business or farm operation for the two years prior to the displacement, except that such payment shall be not less than one thousand dollars nor more than twenty thousand dollars. A person whose sole business at the displacement dwelling is the rental of such the property to others does not qualify for a payment under this division.
(D)(1) Except as provided in section 5501.51 of the Revised Code, if a program or project undertaken by a displacing an agency results in the relocation of a utility facility, and the purpose of the program or project was not to relocate or reconstruct any utility facility;, and if the owner of the utility facility which that is being relocated under such the program or project has entered into a franchise or similar agreement with the state or local government on whose property, easement, or right-of-way such the facility is located with respect to the use of such the property, easement, or right-of-way;, and if the relocation of such the facility results in such the owner incurring an extraordinary cost in connection with such the relocation; then, the displacing agency may, in accordance with such rules as the head of the lead agency may adopt adopts, provide to such the owner a relocation payment which that may not exceed the amount of such any extraordinary cost, less any increase in the value of the new utility facility above the value of the old utility facility, and less any salvage value derived from the old utility facility.
(2) As used in division (D) of this section:
(a) "Extraordinary cost in connection with a relocation" means any cost incurred by the owner of a utility facility in connection with relocation of such the facility that is determined by the head of the displacing agency, under such rules as the head of the lead agency shall adopt adopts, to be a nonroutine relocation expense, to be a cost that owner ordinarily does not include in its annual budget as an expense of operation, and to meet such other requirements as the lead agency may prescribe in such rules by rule.
(b) "Utility facility" means any electric, gas, water, steam power, or materials transmission or distribution system; any transportation system; any communications system, including cable television; and any fixture, equipment, or other property associated with the operation, maintenance, or repair of any such system; which is located on property owned by a state or local government or over which a state or local government has an easement or right-of-way. A utility facility may be publicly, privately, or cooperatively owned.
Sec. 163.54.  (A) In addition to payments this chapter otherwise authorized by sections 163.51 to 163.62 of the Revised Code authorizes, the head of the displacing agency displacing the owner shall make an additional payment not to exceed twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars to any displaced person who is displaced from a dwelling actually owned and occupied by him the person for not less than one hundred eighty days prior to the initiation of negotiations for the acquisition of the property. Such additional payment shall include the following elements:
(1) The amount, if any, which when added to the acquisition cost of the dwelling acquired by the displacing agency, equals the reasonable cost of a comparable replacement dwelling.
(2) The amount, if any, which will compensate the displaced person for any increased interest costs and other debt service costs which the person is required to pay for financing the acquisition of a comparable replacement dwelling. This amount shall be paid only if the dwelling acquired by the displacing agency was encumbered by a bona fide mortgage which that was a valid lien on the dwelling for not less than one hundred eighty days prior to the initiation of negotiations for the acquisition of the dwelling.
(3) Reasonable expenses the person incurred by the displaced person for evidence of title, recording fees, and other closing costs incident to the purchase of the replacement dwelling, but not including prepaid expenses.
(B) The additional payment authorized by this section shall this section authorizes may be made only to a displaced person who purchases and occupies a replacement dwelling which that is decent, safe, and sanitary not later than the end of the one-year period beginning on the date on which he the person receives from the displacing agency final payment of all costs of the acquired dwelling, or on the date on which the displacing agency's obligation under division (B)(3) of section 163.56 of the Revised Code is met, whichever is later, except that the displacing agency may extend the period for good cause. If the period is extended, the payment under this section shall be based on the costs of relocating the person to a comparable replacement dwelling within one year after the displaced person receives from the displacing agency final payment of all costs of the acquired dwelling.
Sec. 163.55.  (A) In addition to amounts this chapter otherwise authorized by sections 163.51 to 163.62 of the Revised Code authorizes, the head of a displacing an agency shall make a rent supplement payment to or for any displaced person displaced from any dwelling not eligible to receive a payment under section 163.54 of the Revised Code which if the dwelling was actually and lawfully occupied by such the displaced person for not less than ninety days prior to the initiation of negotiations for acquisition of such the dwelling, or in any case in which displacement is not a direct result of acquisition, not less than ninety days prior to such other event as the head of the lead agency shall prescribe prescribes. The payment shall consist of the amount necessary to enable the displaced person to lease or rent for a period not to exceed forty-two months, a comparable replacement dwelling, but not to exceed five thousand two hundred fifty dollars. At the discretion of the head of the displacing agency, a payment under this division may be made in periodic installments. Computation of a payment under this division to a low-income displaced person shall take into account the person's income.
(B) Any person eligible for a payment under division (A) of this section may elect to apply the payment to a down payment on, and other incidental expenses pursuant to, the purchase of a decent, safe, and sanitary replacement dwelling. The person may, under criteria established by the head of the displacing agency, be is eligible under this division for the maximum payment allowed greater of five thousand two hundred fifty dollars or the amount the person would have received under division (A) of this section, except that, in the case of a displaced home owner who has owned and occupied the displacement dwelling for at least ninety days but not more than one hundred eighty days immediately prior to the initiation of negotiations for the acquisition of such the dwelling, the payment shall not exceed the payment the person would otherwise have received under section 163.54 of the Revised Code had the person owned and occupied the displacement dwelling one hundred eighty days immediately prior to the initiation of the negotiations.
Sec. 163.56.  (A)(1) Projects or programs that cause persons to be displaced persons shall be planned in a manner that recognizes, at an early stage in the planning of such those programs or projects and before the commencement of any actions action that will cause displacements, the problems associated with the displacement of individuals, families, businesses, and farm operations, and in a manner that provides for the resolution of such those problems in order to minimize adverse impacts on displaced persons and to expedite program or project advancement and completion.
(2) Whenever a program or project undertaken by a displacing an agency undertakes will result in the displacement of any person, the head of the displacing that agency shall provide a relocation assistance advisory program for displaced persons which shall offer the services described in division (B) of this section. If the head of the displacing agency determines that any person occupying property immediately adjacent to the real property acquired is caused substantial economic injury because of the acquisition, he the head of the agency may offer that person relocation advisory services under the program.
(B) Each relocation assistance advisory program required by division (A) of this section shall include such any measures, facilities, or services as may be necessary or appropriate in order to do all of the following:
(1) Determine the need, if any, of displaced persons for relocation assistance;
(2) Provide current and continuing information on the availability, prices, and rentals, of comparable decent, safe, and sanitary sales and rental housing, and of suitable commercial properties and locations for displaced businesses and farm operations;
(3) Assure that, within a reasonable period of time, prior to any displacement there will be available comparable replacement dwellings, as defined by the head of the displacing agency defines, equal in number to the number of and available to the displaced persons who require such dwellings, except that the head of the displacing agency may prescribe by regulation rule situations when such assurances may be waived;
(4) Assist a displaced person displaced from his the displaced person's business or farm operation in obtaining and becoming established in a suitable replacement location;
(5) Supply information concerning federal and state housing programs, disaster loan programs, and other federal or state programs offering assistance to displaced persons;
(6) Provide other advisory services to displaced persons in order to minimize hardships to them in adjusting to relocation.
Sec. 163.57.  (A) If a project cannot proceed to actual construction because comparable replacement sale or rental housing is not available, and the head of the displacing agency determines that such comparable housing cannot otherwise be made available, he the head may take such any action as is necessary or appropriate to provide such that housing by use of funds authorized for such the project. The head of the displacing agency may use this section to exceed the maximum amounts which that may be paid under sections 163.54 and 163.55 of the Revised Code on a case-by-case basis for good cause as determined in accordance with rules adopted the head adopts under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code by the head of the lead agency.
(B) No person shall be required to move from his a dwelling on account of any project, unless the displacing agency head is satisfied that replacement housing, in accordance with section 163.56 of the Revised Code, is available to such the person.
(C) The acquisition of replacement housing sites and the acquisition, rehabilitation, relocation, and construction of replacement housing shall be considered to be for a public purpose, and displacing agencies may properly expend their respective funds to carry out the purposes of sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code.
(D) In order to prevent unnecessary expenses and duplications of functions, and to promote uniform and effective administration of relocation assistance programs for displaced persons under sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code, a displacing agency may enter into contracts with any individual, firm, association, or corporation for services in connection with such programs, or may carry out its functions under sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code through any federal or state governmental agency or instrumentality having an established organization for conducting relocation assistance programs. The displacing agency shall, in carrying out the relocation assistance activities described in this section, whenever practicable, utilize the services of state or local housing agencies, or other agencies having experience in the administration or conduct of similar housing assistance activities.
Sec. 163.58.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in rules adopted under division (B) of this section, the head of each displacing any agency is authorized to displacing persons pursuant to this chapter may establish such regulations and procedures as he may determine to be the head of the agency determines necessary to assure:
(1) That the payments and assistance authorized by sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code shall be are administered in a manner which that is fair and reasonable, and as uniform as practicable;
(2) That a displaced person who makes proper application for a payment authorized for such person by sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code shall be paid promptly after a move or, in hardship cases, be paid in advance;
(3) That any person aggrieved by a determination as to eligibility for a an authorized payment authorized by such sections, or the amount of a payment, may have his the application reviewed by the head of the displacing agency having authority over the applicable program or project.
(B) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, the lead agency shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to implement sections 163.51 163.52 to 163.62 of the Revised Code in a manner which that is as fair, reasonable, and uniform as practicable. As used in this section, "lead agency" means the state agency that the governor shall designate to carry out the duties prescribed by this division.
Sec. 163.59.  In order to encourage and expedite the acquisition of real property by agreements with owners, to avoid litigation and relieve congestion in the courts, to assure consistent treatment for owners in the many state and federally assisted programs, and to promote public confidence in public land acquisition practices, heads of acquiring agencies acquiring real property pursuant to this chapter shall do or ensure the acquisition satisfies all of the following:
(A) The That the head of an acquiring the agency shall make makes every reasonable effort to acquire expeditiously real property by negotiation.
(B) In order for an acquiring agency to acquire real property, the The acquisition shall be is for a defined public purpose that is to be achieved in a defined and reasonable period of time. An acquisition of real property that complies with section 5501.31 of the Revised Code satisfies the defined public purpose requirement of this division.
(C) Real property to be acquired shall be is appraised before the initiation of negotiations, and the owner or the owner's designated representative shall be is given a reasonable opportunity to accompany the appraiser during the appraiser's inspection of the property, except that the. The head of the lead agency may prescribe a procedure to waive the appraisal in cases involving the acquisition by sale or donation of property with a low fair market value, in which case, the agency shall provide a summary appraisal or a written statement that describes how the agency determined the value of the property. If the appraisal values the property to be acquired at more than ten thousand dollars, the head of the acquiring agency concerned shall make every reasonable effort to provide a copy of the appraisal, summary appraisal, or written statement of value to the owner pursuant to section 163.04 of the Revised Code. As used in this section, "appraisal" means a written statement independently and impartially prepared by a qualified appraiser, or a written statement prepared by an employee of the acquiring agency who is a qualified appraiser, setting forth an opinion of defined value of an adequately described property as of a specified date, supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market information.
(D) Before the initiation of negotiations for real property, the head of the acquiring agency concerned shall establish an amount that the head of the acquiring agency believes to be just compensation for the property and shall make a prompt offer to acquire the property for no less than the full amount so established. In no event shall that amount be less than the agency's approved appraisal of the fair market value of the property. Any decrease or increase in the fair market value of real property prior to the date of valuation caused by the public improvement for which the property is acquired, or by the likelihood that the property would be acquired for that improvement, other than that due to physical deterioration within the reasonable control of the owner, will be disregarded in determining the compensation for the property.
The head of the acquiring agency concerned shall provide the owner of real property to be acquired with a written statement of, and summary of the basis for, the amount that the head of the acquiring agency established as just compensation. Where appropriate, the just compensation for real property acquired and for damages to remaining real property shall be separately stated.
The owner shall be given a reasonable opportunity to consider the agency's offer of the acquiring agency for the real property, to present material that the owner believes is relevant to determining the fair market value of the property, and to suggest modification in the proposed terms and conditions of the acquisition. The acquiring agency shall consider the owner's presentation and suggestions.
(E) If information presented by the owner or a material change in the character or condition of the real property indicates the need for new appraisal information, or if a period of more than two years has elapsed since the time of the appraisal of the property, the head of the acquiring agency concerned shall have the appraisal updated or obtain a new appraisal. If updated appraisal information or a new appraisal indicates that a change in the acquisition offer is warranted, the head of the acquiring agency shall promptly reestablish the amount of the just compensation for the property and offer that amount to the owner in writing.
(F) No owner shall be required to surrender possession of real property before the acquiring agency concerned pays the agreed purchase price, or deposits with the court for the benefit of the owner an amount not less than the agency's approved appraisal of the fair market value of the property, or the amount of the award of compensation in the condemnation proceeding for the property.
(G) The construction or development of a public improvement shall be so scheduled so that no person lawfully occupying real property shall be required to move from a dwelling, or to move the person's business or farm operation, without at least ninety days' written notice from the head of the acquiring agency concerned of the date by which the move is required.
(H) If the head of an acquiring agency permits an owner or tenant to occupy the real property acquired on a rental basis for a short term or for a period subject to termination on short notice, the amount of rent required shall not exceed the fair rental value of the property to a short-term occupier.
(I) In no event shall the head of an acquiring agency either advance the time of condemnation, or defer negotiations or condemnation and the deposit of funds in court for the use of the owner, or take any other action coercive in nature, in order to compel an agreement on the price to be paid for the real property.
(J) When any interest in real property is acquired by an appropriation pursuant to this chapter or otherwise by exercise of the power of eminent domain, the head of the acquiring agency concerned shall institute the formal condemnation appropriation proceedings pursuant to this chapter. No head of an acquiring agency shall intentionally make it necessary for an owner to institute legal proceedings to prove the fact of the taking of the owner's real property.
(K) If the acquisition of only part of a property would leave its owner with an uneconomic remnant, the head of the acquiring agency concerned shall offer to acquire that remnant. For the purposes of this division, an uneconomic remnant is a parcel of real property in which the owner is left with an interest after the partial acquisition of the owner's property and which the head of the agency concerned has determined has little or no value or utility to the owner.
An acquisition of real property may continue while an acquiring agency carries out the requirements of divisions (A) to (K) of this section.
This section applies only when the acquisition of real property may result in an exercise of the power of eminent domain.
Sec. 163.60.  (A) If the head of a state an agency acquires any interest in real property pursuant to this chapter or otherwise, he the head shall acquire at least an equal interest in all buildings, structures, or other improvements located upon the real property so acquired and which he that the head requires to be removed from such real the property or which he that the head determines will be adversely affected by the use to which such real the property will be put.
(B) For the purpose of determining the just compensation to be paid for any building, structure, or other improvement required to be acquired by division (A) of this section, such the building, structure, or other improvement shall be deemed to be a part of the real property to be acquired notwithstanding the right or obligation of a tenant, as against the owner of any other interest in the real property, to remove such the building, structure, or improvement at the expiration of his the tenant's term, and the fair market value which such that the building, structure, or improvement contributes to the fair market value of the real property to be acquired, or the fair market value of such the building, structure, or improvement for removal from the real property, whichever is the greater, shall be paid to the tenant therefor.
(C) Payment under this section shall not result in duplication of any payments otherwise authorized by law. No such payment under this section shall be made unless the owner of the land involved disclaims all interest in the improvements of the tenant. In consideration for any such payment, the tenant shall assign, transfer, and release all his the tenant's right, title, and interest in and to such improvements.
Sec. 163.61.  The head of a state an agency, as soon as practicable after the date of payment of the purchase price or the date of deposit in court of funds to satisfy the award of compensation in a condemnation an appropriation proceeding to acquire real property, whichever is the earlier, shall reimburse the owner, to the extent the head of such agency considers fair and reasonable, for expenses he the owner necessarily incurred for:
(A) Transfer taxes, and similar expenses incidental to conveying such real property to the state agency;
(B) Penalty costs for prepayment of any pre-existing recorded mortgage entered into in good faith encumbering such the real property;
(C) The pro rata portion of any real property taxes paid which are allocable to a period subsequent to the date of vesting title in the state or state agency, or the effective date of possession of such the real property by the agency, whichever is the earlier.
Sec. 163.62.  (A) The court having jurisdiction of a proceeding instituted by a state an agency to acquire real property by condemnation pursuant to this chapter shall award the owner of any right, or title to, or interest in, such that real property such sum as will in the opinion of the court reimburse such owner for his reasonable costs, disbursements, and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal, and engineering fees, actually incurred because of the condemnation proceeding, if either:
(1) The final judgment is that the agency cannot acquire the real property by condemnation; or
(2) The proceeding is abandoned by the state agency.
(B) Any award made pursuant to division (A) of this section shall be paid by the head of the agency for whose benefit the condemnation proceeding was instituted pursuant to section 163.21 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 163.63. Any reference in the Revised Code to an authority to acquire real property by "condemnation" or to take real property pursuant to a power of eminent domain is deemed to be an appropriation of real property and any such taking or acquisition shall be made pursuant to this chapter. Any section of the Revised Code that authorizes the appropriation of real property pursuant to sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code is an authority to appropriate real property pursuant to this chapter and that appropriation shall be made pursuant to this chapter.
Sec. 303.26.  As used in sections 303.26 to 303.56, inclusive, of the Revised Code, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context:
(A) "Municipality" means any incorporated city or village of the state.
(B) "Public body" means the state, any county, municipality, township, board, commission, authority, district, or other subdivision.
(C) "Federal government" means the United States or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise thereof.
(D) "Slum area" means an area within a county but outside the corporate limits of any municipality, in which area 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 spaces, high density of population and overcrowding, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property, by fire and other causes, 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.
(E) "Blighted area" means an area within a county but outside the corporate limits of any municipality, which area 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, insanitary 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 to 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 a county, 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 has the meaning defined in section 1.08 of the Revised Code.
If such any blighted area consists of open land, the provisions of section 303.34 of the Revised Code shall apply.
Any disaster area referred to in section 303.36 of the Revised Code shall constitute constitutes a "blighted area".
(F)(E) "County renewal project" may include undertakings and activities of a county in a county renewal area for the elimination and for the prevention of the development or spread of slums and blight, and may involve slum clearance and redevelopment in a county renewal area, or rehabilitation or conservation in a county renewal area, or any combination or part thereof, in accordance with a county renewal plan, and such aforesaid undertakings and activities may include acquisition of a slum area or a blighted area, or portion thereof; demolition and removal of buildings and improvements; installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, and other improvements necessary for carrying out in the county renewal area the county renewal objectives of sections 303.26 to 303.56, inclusive, of the Revised Code in accordance with the county renewal plan; disposition of any property acquired in the county renewal area, including sale, initial leasing, or retention by the county itself, at its fair value for uses in accordance with the county renewal plan; carrying out plans for a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements in accordance with the county renewal plan; and acquisition of any other real property in the county renewal area where necessary to eliminate unhealthful, insanitary, 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 facilities.
(G)(F) "County renewal area" means a slum area or a blighted area or a combination thereof which the board of county commissioners designates as appropriate for a county renewal project.
(H)(G) "County renewal plan" means a plan, as it exists from time to time, for a county renewal project, which plan shall conform to the general plan for the county, except as provided in section 303.36 of the Revised Code, and shall be sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition, and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in the county renewal area, zoning, and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum densities, building requirements, and the plan's relationship to definite local objectives respecting appropriate land uses, improved traffic, public transportation, public utilities, recreational and community facilities, and other public improvements.
(I)(H) "Redevelopment" and derivatives thereof, when used with respect to a county renewal area, mean development as well as redevelopment.
(J)(I) "Real property" includes all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every estate, interest, right, and use, legal or equitable, therein, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage, or otherwise.
(K)(J) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, or body politic, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other person acting in a similar representative capacity.
(L)(K) "Obligee" includes any bondholder, agents, or trustees for any bondholders, or lessor demising to the county property used in connection with a county renewal project, or any assignee or assignees of such lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the federal government when it is a party to any contract with the county.
(M)(L) "Bond," as used in section 303.46 of the Revised Code, means bonds, including refunding bonds, notes, interim certificates of special indebtedness, debentures, or other obligations of a county, payable and secured as authorized by section 303.46 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 719.012.  In order to rehabilitate a building or structure that a municipal corporation determines to be a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare; that has been declared to be a public nuisance under Chapter 3707., 3709., or 3781. of the Revised Code; and that either has been found to be insecure, unsafe, structurally defective, unhealthful, or unsanitary under sections 715.26 to 715.30 of the Revised Code or violates a building code or ordinance adopted under section 731.231 blighted property of the Revised Code, a municipal corporation may appropriate, in the manner provided in sections 163.01 to 163.22 Chapter 163. of the Revised Code, any such building or structure and the real property of which it is a part. The municipal corporation shall rehabilitate the building or structure or cause it to be rehabilitated within two years after the appropriation, so that the building or structure is no longer a public nuisance, insecure, unsafe, structurally defective, unhealthful, or unsanitary, or a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, or in violation of a building code or ordinance adopted under section 731.231 of the Revised Code. Any building or structure appropriated pursuant to this section which is not rehabilitated within two years shall be demolished.
If during the rehabilitation process the municipal corporation retains title to the building or structure and the real property of which it is a part, then within one hundred eighty days after the rehabilitation is complete, the municipal corporation shall appraise the rehabilitated building or structure and the real property of which it is a part, and shall sell the building or structure and property at public auction. The municipal corporation shall advertise the public auction in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipal corporation once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the date of sale. The municipal corporation shall sell the building or structure and real property to the highest and best bidder. No property that a municipal corporation acquires pursuant to this section shall be leased.
Sec. 725.01.  As used in sections 725.01 to 725.11 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Slum area" means an area within a municipal corporation, in which area 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 spaces, high density of population and overcrowding, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property, by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime, and is detrimental to public health, safety, morals, or welfare.
(B) "Blighted area" means an area within a municipal corporation, which area by reason of the presence of a substantial number of slums, 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 to 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 a municipal corporation, 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.
(C)(A)(1) "Development agreement" means an agreement that includes as a minimum all of the following agreements between a municipal corporation as obligee and the following parties as obligors:
(a) An agreement to construct or rehabilitate the structures and facilities described in the development agreement on real property described in the agreement situated in an urban renewal area, the obligor of such agreement to be a party determined by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to have the ability to perform or cause the performance of the agreement;
(b) The agreement required by section 725.04 of the Revised Code, the obligor of the agreement to be the owner or owners of the improvements to be constructed or rehabilitated;
(c) An agreement of the owner or owners of the fee simple of the real property to which the development agreement pertains, as obligor, that the owner or owners and their successors and assigns shall use, develop, and redevelop the real property in accordance with, and for the period of, the urban renewal plan and shall so bind their successors and assigns by appropriate agreements and covenants running with the land enforceable by the municipal corporation.
(2) A municipal corporation on behalf of the holders of urban renewal bonds may be the obligor of any of the agreements described in division (C)(A)(1) of this section.
(D)(B) "Revenues" means all rentals received under leases made by the municipal corporation in any part or all of one or more urban renewal areas; all proceeds of the sale or other disposition of property of the municipal corporation in any part or all of one or more urban renewal areas; and all urban renewal service payments collected from any part or all of one or more urban renewal areas.
(E)(C) "Urban renewal area" means a slum area or a blighted area or a combination thereof which the legislative authority of the municipal corporation designates as appropriate for an urban renewal project.
(F)(D) "Urban renewal bonds" means, unless the context indicates a different meaning, definitive bonds, interim receipts, temporary bonds, and urban renewal refunding bonds issued pursuant to sections 725.01 to 725.11 of the Revised Code, and bonds issued pursuant to Article XVIII, Section 3, Ohio Constitution, for the uses specified in section 725.07 of the Revised Code.
(G)(E) "Urban renewal refunding bonds" means the refunding bonds authorized by section 725.07 of the Revised Code.
(H)(F) "Urban renewal plan" means a plan, as it exists from time to time, for an urban renewal project, which plan shall conform to the general plan for the municipal corporation, if any, and shall be sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition, and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in the urban renewal area, zoning, and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum densities, and building requirements.
(I)(G) "Urban renewal project" may include undertakings and activities of a municipal corporation in an urban renewal area for the elimination and for the prevention of the development or spread of slums and blight, and may involve slum clearance and redevelopment in an urban renewal area, or rehabilitation or conservation in an urban renewal area, or any combination or part thereof, in accordance with an urban renewal plan, and such aforesaid undertakings and activities may include acquisition of a slum area or a blighted area, or portion thereof, demolition and removal of buildings and improvements; installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, public buildings and facilities, and other improvements necessary for carrying out in the urban renewal area the urban renewal objectives in accordance with the urban renewal plan, disposition of any property acquired in the urban renewal area, including sale, leasing, or retention by the municipal corporation itself, at its fair value for uses in accordance with the urban renewal plan; carrying out plans for a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements in accordance with the urban renewal plan; the acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or equipment of property, structures, equipment, or facilities for industry, commerce, distribution, or research from the proceeds of urban renewal bonds issued pursuant to division (C) of section 725.05 of the Revised Code; and acquisition of any other real property in the urban renewal 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 facilities.
(J)(H) "Urban renewal debt retirement fund" means a fund, created pursuant to section 725.03 of the Revised Code by the legislative authority of a municipal corporation when authorizing a single issue or a series of urban renewal bonds, to be used for payment of the principal of and interest and redemption premium on such urban renewal bonds, trustee's fees, and costs and expenses of providing credit facilities, put arrangements, and interest rate hedges, and for fees and expenses of agents, and other fees, costs, and expenses, in connection with arrangements under sections 9.98 to 9.983 of the Revised Code; or when authorizing the repayment of loans from the state issued pursuant to Chapter 164. of the Revised Code and used for urban renewal projects, to be used to repay the principal and interest on such loans. When so authorized by the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, such a fund may be used for both purposes permitted under this division.
(K)(I) "Urban renewal service payments" means the urban renewal service payments, in lieu of taxes, provided for in section 725.04 of the Revised Code.
(L)(J) "Improvements" means the structures and facilities constructed or rehabilitated pursuant to a development agreement.
(M)(K) "Exemption period" means that period during which all or a portion of the assessed valuation of the improvements has been exempted from real property taxation pursuant to section 725.02 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 725.02.  (A) The portion of the assessed valuation of improvements constructed pursuant to a development agreement, and the portion of the increase in the assessed valuation after the commencement of rehabilitation of improvements rehabilitated pursuant to a development agreement declared to be a public purpose in the development agreement shall be exempt from real property taxation by all political subdivisions and taxing districts. Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, the portion of the assessed valuation of improvements declared to be a public purpose and exempted from taxation shall not exceed seventy-five per cent of the assessed valuation of the improvements for each year of the exemption period.
(B) With the approval under this division of the board of education of the city, local, or exempted village school district within the territory of which the improvements are or will be located, the portion of the assessed valuation of improvements exempted from taxation may exceed seventy-five per cent, but shall not exceed one hundred per cent. The legislative authority of the municipal corporation shall deliver to the board of education a notice stating its intent to declare improvements to be a public purpose under the agreement. The notice shall be delivered not later than forty-five days prior to execution of the agreement by the legislative authority, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays as defined in section 1.14 of the Revised Code. The notice shall describe the parcel and the improvements, provide an estimate of the true value in money of the improvements, specify the period for which the improvements would be exempted from taxation and the percentage of the assessed valuation of the improvements that would be exempted, and indicate the date on which the legislative authority intends to execute the agreement. The board of education, by resolution adopted by a majority of the board, may approve the exemption for the exemption percentage specified in the notice, may disapprove the exemption for the percentage of the improvements to be exempted in excess of seventy-five per cent, or may approve the exemption on the condition that the legislative authority and the board negotiate an agreement providing for compensation to the school district equal in value to a percentage of the taxes that would be payable on the portion of the assessed valuation of the improvements in excess of seventy-five per cent were that portion to be subject to taxation. The board of education shall certify its resolution to the legislative authority not later than fourteen days prior to the date the legislative authority intends to execute the agreement as indicated in the notice. If the board of education approves the exemption on the condition that a compensation agreement be negotiated, the board in its resolution shall propose a compensation percentage. If the board of education and the legislative authority negotiate a mutually acceptable compensation agreement, the legislative authority may declare up to one hundred per cent of the assessed valuation of the improvements to be a public purpose and exempted from taxation. If the board and the legislative authority fail to negotiate a mutually acceptable compensation agreement, the legislative authority may declare not more than seventy-five per cent of the assessed valuation of the improvements to be a public purpose and exempted from taxation. If the board fails to certify a resolution to the legislative authority within the time prescribed by this division, the legislative authority thereupon may declare up to one hundred per cent of the assessed valuation of the improvements to be a public purpose and exempted from taxation. The legislative authority may execute a development agreement at any time after the board of education certifies its resolution approving the exemption to the legislative authority, or, if the board approves the exemption on the condition that a mutually acceptable compensation agreement be negotiated, at any time after the compensation agreement is agreed to by the board and the legislative authority.
If a board of education has adopted a resolution waiving its right to approve exemptions from taxation granted pursuant to development agreements and the resolution remains in effect, approval of such exemptions by the board is not required under this division. If a board of education has adopted a resolution allowing a legislative authority to deliver the notice required under this division fewer than forty-five business days prior to the legislative authority's execution of the agreement, the legislative authority shall deliver the notice to the board not later than the number of days prior to such execution as prescribed by the board in its resolution. If a board of education adopts a resolution waiving its right to approve exemptions or shortening the notification period, the board shall certify a copy of the resolution to the legislative authority. If the board of education rescinds such a resolution, it shall certify notice of the rescission to the legislative authority.
If the legislative authority is not required by this division to notify the board of education of the legislative authority's intent to declare improvements to be a public purpose, the legislative authority shall comply with the notice requirements imposed under section 5709.83 of the Revised Code, unless the board has adopted a resolution under that section waiving its right to receive such a notice.
(C) The exemption shall commence on the date of the execution of the development agreement therefor and extend for the number of years designated in the development agreement and thereafter for so long as there are outstanding any urban renewal bonds payable from the urban renewal service payments provided for in the development agreement. Any such exemption shall be claimed and allowed in the same or a similar manner as in the case of other real property exemptions and no such claim shall be allowed unless the municipal corporation wherein said property is located certifies that an exemption period has been specified and that a development agreement has been entered into and is in effect. If an exemption status changes during a tax year, the procedure for the apportionment of the taxes for said year shall be the same as in the case of other changes in tax exemption status during the year.
(D) An agreement that satisfies the requirements of either division (C)(A)(1)(a) or (C)(A)(1)(c) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code may be amended to satisfy all of the remaining requirements of the other two of division (C)(1)(a), (b), or (c) (A) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code and to establish the period of exemption pursuant to this section at any time prior to the completion of the construction or rehabilitation of the improvements of which all or a portion of the assessed valuation is to be exempt from real property taxation pursuant to this section. The execution of the amendment of such agreement shall be the execution of the development agreement for the purpose of this section.
Sec. 725.05.  A municipal corporation creating an urban renewal debt retirement fund pursuant to section 725.03 of the Revised Code, may:
(A) Issue unvoted urban renewal bonds, which pledge and are payable solely from all or any portion of the revenues as defined in division (D) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code. The revenues pledged shall be placed in the urban renewal debt retirement fund established for such urban renewal bonds and applied to the payment of interest on, principal of and redemption premium for such urban renewal bonds, trustee's fees, and costs and expenses of providing credit facilities, put arrangements, and interest rate hedges, and for fees and expenses of agents, and other fees, costs, and expenses, in connection with arrangements under sections 9.98 to 9.983 of the Revised Code.
(B) Issue unvoted urban renewal bonds, which pledge the full faith and credit of the municipal corporation and that may also pledge and be payable from all or any portion of the revenues as defined in division (D) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code.
For bonds issued pursuant to this division, the ordinance provided for in section 725.06 of the Revised Code shall provide for the levying of a tax on real and tangible personal property, within the ten-mill limitation, sufficient in amount to pay the interest on and to provide a sinking fund for all of the principal of the urban renewal bonds authorized by that ordinance for their final redemption at maturity; but the amount of the tax to be levied in any year may be reduced by the amount available for such purposes from revenues, and any available moneys in the applicable urban renewal debt retirement fund. The ordinance providing for the levy of a tax pursuant to this division shall provide both of the following:
(1) That the first principal maturity of the urban renewal bonds or the first mandatory sinking fund deposit therefor shall not be later than seven years following the issuance of the bonds;
(2) That no principal maturity, mandatory sinking fund requirement, or combination thereof, shall be more than one and one-half times the amount of the next preceding principal maturity, mandatory sinking fund requirement, or combination thereof.
A copy of such ordinance levying such tax shall be certified by the fiscal officer of the municipal corporation to the county auditor of the county in which the municipal corporation is located. The revenues pledged and the moneys derived from the levy of such tax shall be placed in the urban renewal debt retirement fund established for such urban renewal bonds and applied to the payment of interest on, principal of, and redemption premium for such urban renewal bonds, trustee's fees, and costs and expenses of providing credit facilities, put arrangements, and interest rate hedges, and for fees and expenses of agents, and other fees, costs, and expenses, in connection with arrangements under sections 9.98 to 9.983 of the Revised Code.
(C) Issue unvoted urban renewal bonds pursuant to Article VIII, Section 13, Ohio Constitution, to create and preserve jobs and employment opportunities and to improve the economic welfare of the people of the municipal corporation, which pledge and are payable from revenues as defined in division (D) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code and from any moneys selected by the municipal corporation that are not moneys raised by taxation.
For bonds issued pursuant to this division, the urban renewal project and the ordinance provided for in section 725.06 of the Revised Code shall provide for the acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or equipment of property, structures, equipment or facilities for industry, commerce, distribution, or research and for the obligating and pledging of moneys not raised by taxation as selected by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation sufficient in amount to pay all or any portion of the interest on and to provide a sinking fund for all or any portion of the principal of the urban renewal bonds authorized by the ordinance for their final redemption at maturity. The revenues pledged and the moneys so obligated and pledged shall be deposited in the urban renewal debt retirement fund established for such urban renewal bonds and applied to the payment of interest on, principal of, and redemption premium for such urban renewal bonds, trustee's fees, and costs and expenses of providing credit facilities, put arrangements, and interest rate hedges, and for fees and expenses of agents, and other fees, costs, and expenses, in connection with arrangements under sections 9.98 to 9.983 of the Revised Code. The amount of the moneys so deposited in any year may be reduced by the amount available for such purposes from revenues as defined in division (D) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code, and any available moneys in the applicable urban renewal debt retirement fund.
(D) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the exercise of its powers under sections 725.01 to 725.11 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 725.11.  Urban renewal bonds issued under sections 725.01 to 725.11 of the Revised Code may be secured by a trust agreement between the municipal corporation and a corporate trustee, which trustee may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the state.
Any such trust agreement and the ordinance providing for the issuance of such bonds may pledge or assign all revenues as defined in division (D) of section 725.01 of the Revised Code, or any part thereof, and all moneys deposited into the urban renewal debt retirement fund established for such bonds pursuant to section 725.03 of the Revised Code and may provide for the holding in trust by the trustee to the extent provided for in the ordinance authorizing such bonds, of all such revenues and moneys.
Any such trust agreement, or any ordinance providing for the issuance of such bonds, may contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the bondholders as are reasonable and proper and not in violation of law, including covenants setting forth the duties of the municipal corporation.
Any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of this state which may act as trustee or as depository of the proceeds of bonds or revenues may furnish such indemnifying bonds or may pledge such securities as are required by the municipal corporation. Any such trust agreement may set forth the rights and remedies of the bondholders and of the trustee, and may restrict the individual right of action by bondholders as is customary in trust agreements or trust indentures securing bonds or debentures of corporations. Such trust agreements may contain such other provisions as the municipal corporation deems reasonable and proper for the security of the bondholders.
Sec. 1728.01.  As used in sections 1728.01 to 1728.13 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Governing body" means, in the case of a municipal corporation, the city council or legislative authority.
(B) "Community urban redevelopment corporation" means a corporation qualified under Chapter 1728. of the Revised Code, to acquire, construct, operate, and maintain a project hereunder, or to acquire, operate, and maintain a project constructed by a corporation so qualified under Chapter 1728. of the Revised Code, and the term "corporation" when used within Chapter 1728. of the Revised Code, shall be understood to be a contraction of the term "community urban redevelopment corporation" except when the context indicates otherwise.
(C) "Impacted city" means a municipal corporation that meets the requirements of either division (C) (1) or (2) of this section:
(1) In attempting to cope with the problems of urbanization, to create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities, and to improve the economic welfare of the people of the municipal corporation, the municipal corporation has at some time:
(a) Taken affirmative action by its legislative body to permit the construction of housing by a metropolitan housing authority organized pursuant to sections 3735.27 to 3735.39 of the Revised Code within its corporate boundaries or to permit such a metropolitan housing authority to lease dwelling units within its corporate boundaries; and
(b) Been certified by the director of the department of development that a workable program for community improvement (which shall include an official plan of action for effectively dealing with the problem of urban slums and blight within the community and for the establishment and preservation of a well-planned community with well-organized residential neighborhoods of decent homes and suitable living environment for adequate family life) for utilizing appropriate private and public resources to eliminate, and to prevent the development or spread of, slums and urban blight, to encourage needed urban rehabilitation, to provide for the redevelopment of blighted, deteriorated, or slum areas, to undertake such activities or other feasible community activities as may be suitably employed to achieve the objectives of such a program has been adopted. A determination by the United States that the impacted city's workable program meets the federal workable program requirements shall be sufficient for the director's certification.
(2) Been declared a major disaster area, or part of a major disaster area, pursuant to the "Disaster Relief Act of 1970," 84 Stat. 1744, 42 U.S.C.A. 4401, as now or hereafter amended, and has been extensively damaged or destroyed by a major disaster, provided that impacted city status obtained pursuant to division (C) (2) of this section lasts for only a limited period from the date of the declaration, as determined by the rules promulgated pursuant to division (G) of section 122.06 of the Revised Code, but in the event that an impacted city, while qualified under such division, enters into a financial agreement with a community urban redevelopment corporation pursuant to section 1728.07 of the Revised Code, a loss of certification under such rules shall not affect that agreement or the project to which it relates.
(D) "Community development plan" means a plan, as it exists from time to time, for the redevelopment and renewal of a blighted area, which plan shall conform to the general plan for the municipality, and shall be sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition, and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in such blighted area, zoning, and any planning changes, land uses, maximum densities, and building requirements.
(E) "Blighted area" means an area within a municipality containing a majority of structures that have been extensively damaged or destroyed by a major disaster, or that, by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces, unsafe and unsanitary conditions or the existence of conditions which endanger lives or properties by fire or other hazards and causes, or that, by reason of location in an area with inadequate street layout, incompatible land uses or land use relationships, overcrowding of buildings on the land, excessive dwelling unit density, or other identified hazards to health and safety, are conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, juvenile delinquency and crime and are detrimental to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.
(F) "Project" means:
(1) As to blighted areas within all municipal corporations, the undertaking and execution of the redevelopment of a blighted area by a community urban redevelopment corporation, in whole or in part, pursuant to a community development plan approved by the governing body of the municipal corporation in which such blighted area is situated and in accordance with an agreement for the sale or lease of all or a portion of the land concerned in such redevelopment to the corporation by a municipal corporation, or agency, or authority including the work to be done in reference thereto, the designation of the particular proposed buildings to be constructed and their uses and purposes, the landscaping of the premises, the streets and access roads, recreational facilities, if any, the furnishing of the public utilities, the financial arrangements, and the terms and conditions of the proposed municipal corporation and approval; and
(2) In addition as to blighted areas within impacted cities, the undertaking and activities of a community urban redevelopment corporation in a blighted area for the elimination and for the prevention of the development or spread of blight pursuant to a community development plan approved by the governing body of the impacted city and to the extent agreed to by the governing body of the impacted city in the financial agreement provided for in section 1728.07 of the Revised Code and may involve clearance and redevelopment, or rehabilitation or conservation or any combination or part thereof, in accordance with such community development plan, and such aforesaid undertakings and activities may include acquisition of a blighted area or portion by purchase or otherwise, and demolition and removal of buildings and improvements.
(G)(F) "Total project unit cost" or "total project cost" means the aggregate of the following items as related to any unit of a project if the project is to be undertaken in units or to the total project if the project is not to be undertaken in units:
(1) Cost of the land to the community urban redevelopment corporation;
(2) Architects', engineers', and attorneys' fees paid or payable by the corporation in connection with the planning, construction, and financing of the project;
(3) Surveying and testing charges in connection therewith;
(4) Actual construction cost as certified by the architect, including the cost of any preparation of the site undertaken at the corporation's expense;
(5) Insurance, interest, and finance costs during construction;
(6) Cost of obtaining initial permanent financing;
(7) Commissions and other expenses paid or payable in connection with initial leasing;
(8) Real estate taxes and assessments during the construction period;
(9) Developer's overhead based on a percentage of division (G)(F)(4) of this section, to be computed in accordance with the following schedule:
$500,000 or less - 10 per cent
500,001 through $ 1,000,000 - $50,000 plus 8 per cent on
excess above $500,000
1,000,001 through 2,000,000 - 90,000 plus 7 per cent on
excess above 1,000,000
2,000,001 through 3,500,000 - 160,000 plus 5.6667 per cent
on excess above 2,000,000
3,500,001 through 5,500,000 - 245,000 plus 4.25 per cent
on excess above 3,500,000
5,500,001 through 10,000,000 - 330,000 plus 3.7778 per cent
on excess above 5,500,000
Over 10,000,000 - 5 per cent

(H)(G) "Annual gross revenue" means the total annual gross rental and other income of a community urban redevelopment corporation from the project. If in any leasing, any real estate taxes or assessments on property included in the project, any premiums for fire or other insurance on or concerning property included in the project, or any operating or maintenance expenses ordinarily paid by a landlord are to be paid by the tenant, such payments shall be computed and deemed to be part of the rent and shall be included in the annual gross revenue. The financial agreement provided for in section 1728.07 of the Revised Code shall establish the method of computing such additional revenue, and may establish a method of arbitration where either the landlord or the tenant disputes the amount of such payments so included in the annual gross revenue.
(I)(H) "Major disaster" means any tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, fire, or other catastrophe.
Sec. 3735.40.  As used in sections 3735.27, 3735.31, and 3735.40 to 3735.50 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Federal government" includes the United States, the federal works administrator, or any other agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States.
(B) "Slum area" means any area where dwellings predominate which, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement or design, lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities, or any combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health, or morals.
(C) "Housing project" or "project" means any of the following works or undertakings:
(1) Demolish, clear, or remove buildings from any slum area. Such work or undertaking may embrace the adaptation of such area to public purposes, including parks or other recreational or community purposes.
(2) Provide decent, safe, and sanitary urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low income. Such work or undertaking may include buildings, land, equipment, facilities, and other real or personal property for necessary, convenient, or desirable appurtenances, streets, sewers, water service, parks, site preparation, gardening, administrative, community, health, recreational, educational, welfare, or other purposes.
(3) Accomplish a combination of the foregoing. "Housing project" also may be applied to the planning of the buildings and improvements, the acquisition of property, the demolition of existing structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration, and repair of the improvements, and all other work in connection therewith.
(D)(C) "Families of low income" means persons or families who lack the amount of income which is necessary, as determined by the metropolitan housing authority undertaking the housing project, to enable them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings, without overcrowding.
(E)(D) "Families" means families consisting of two or more persons, a single person who has attained the age at which an individual may elect to receive an old age benefit under Title II of the "Social Security Act" or is under disability as defined in section 223 of that act, 49 Stat. 622 (1935), 42 U. S. C. A. 401, as amended, or the remaining member of a tenant family.
(F)(E) "Families" also means a single person discharged by the head of a hospital pursuant to section 5122.21 of the Revised Code after March 10, 1964.
Sec. 3735.59.  A metropolitan housing authority may contract with persons, associations, or corporations, or with the state, a state department or agency, or a state public body as defined in section 3735.51 of the Revised Code for furnishing to the authority food services, health clinics, medical services, or other services for tenants of the authority who are not able to provide for themselves.
The director of any state department may enter into agreements with a metropolitan housing authority for furnishing such services to the authority for tenants described in division (F)(E) of section 3735.40 of the Revised Code pursuant to terms agreed upon between the director and the authority and for such compensation as will reimburse the department for the services rendered.
Section 2. That existing sections 163.01, 163.02, 163.03, 163.04, 163.05, 163.06, 163.08, 163.09, 163.12, 163.14, 163.15, 163.16, 163.17, 163.19, 163.20, 163.21, 163.22, 163.52, 163.53, 163.54, 163.55, 163.56, 163.57, 163.58, 163.59, 163.60, 163.61, 163.62, 303.26, 719.012, 725.01, 725.02, 725.05, 725.11, 1728.01, 3735.40, and 3735.59 and section 163.51 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Please send questions and comments to the Webmaster.
© 2024 Legislative Information Systems | Disclaimer