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Part II - Conservation Areas

      (315 ILCS 30/Pt. II heading)PART II. CONSERVATION AREAS

(315 ILCS 30/20) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 91.120)     Sec. 20. The Department of Urban Renewal as agent of the municipality, shall have and exercise the following powers with respect to the development, redevelopment and replanning of conservation areas:     (a) Designate Conservation Areas and approve all conservation plans developed for conservation areas in the manner prescribed herein.     (b) Approve each use of eminent domain for the acquisition of real property for the purposes of this Act, provided that every property owner affected by condemnation proceedings shall have the opportunity to be heard by the Department before such proceedings may be approved.     (c) Act as the agent of the municipality in the acquisition, management, and disposition of property acquired pursuant to this Act as hereinafter provided.     (d) Act as agent of the governing body, at the discretion of the governing body, in the enforcement and the administration of any ordinances relating to the conservation of urban residential areas and the prevention of slums enacted by the governing body pursuant to the laws of this State. (Source: Laws 1961, p. 3308.)

(315 ILCS 30/21) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 91.121)     Sec. 21. Whenever the Department determines that an area within the municipality may be eligible for designation as a conservation area within the meaning of this Act, it shall make such investigation and hold such hearings as may be required, including at least one public hearing held within the area. Any hearing may be conducted by the Department or by a committee appointed by it, consisting of one or more members of the Department. The Department and any member, employee or agent thereof so designated shall have power to administer oaths, take affidavits, subpoena and require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers pertaining to such investigation. The Department may after such hearing designate such areas as conservation areas for the purposes of this Act. Such designation together with an accurate description of the area included in such designation shall be made by resolution of the majority of the Department and be part of the records of the Department.     Following such designation the Department shall draw up or have submitted for its approval a conservation plan for the area, which plan may include but is not limited to (1) land uses, residential and non‑residential; (2) improvement, alteration, or vacation of major and minor streets and alleys, provision for restricted service access, and off‑street parking; (3) locations and easements for public utilities; (4) community facilities; (5) landscaping and site engineering; (6) building restrictions; (7) recommended construction including new buildings, rehabilitation and conversions, demolition of designated structures, and elimination of non‑conforming uses; (8) population density, ground coverage, and number of dwelling units recommended; (9) recommended standards of maintenance, and requirements of applicable health and safety ordinances; (10) zoning and/or rezoning required; (11) costs and financing arrangements of public portions of the plan; (12) recommended time table of various stages of the program; (13) any and all other steps needed to carry out the plan. Such plan shall conform to the comprehensive plan, if any, of the municipality. In any municipality which has provided for the creation of a Department, to operate within the boundaries of such municipality, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, the Department shall nominate and the presiding officer shall appoint no less than nine nor more than fifteen residents of each conservation area designated by the Department to serve as a "Conservation Community Council" for their respective areas. One member of each such council shall be designated as Chairman by the presiding officer. Members of such councils shall be appointed to serve three year terms except that one‑third of the initial membership of each council shall serve terms of one year and one‑third of the initial membership of each council shall serve terms of two years. Members shall serve without pay and shall be eligible to succeed themselves. A member shall hold office until his successor shall have been appointed and qualified. No member of a council may hold public or political party office during his period of membership. A majority of the members of each council shall constitute a quorum to transact business and no vacancy shall impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of each council, and every action of a conservation community council approved by a majority of the members present shall be deemed to be the action of the conservation community council; provided that not less than five members shall constitute a quorum.     The councils shall:     (a) Consult with, assist and advise the Department in the preparation of the conservation plan for their respective areas;     (b) Assist the Department in the administration of the conservation plan within their respective areas;     (c) Approve by majority vote as hereinbefore provided the conservation plan for their respective areas before it is submitted to the governing body, as hereinafter provided;     (d) Take vigorous appropriate steps to reconstitute community pride and encourage self‑help through planned individual and block rehabilitation efforts within their respective areas.     Any Conservation Community Council heretofore created pursuant to the "Urban Community Conservation Act," approved July 13, 1953, as amended, shall be deemed lawfully and validly created under the terms of this Act, and shall have all the authority and exercise the same powers, and be subject to the same duties as herein prescribed for Conservation Community Councils; and nothing herein contained shall affect or impair the validity of any act or proceeding done or performed by such Conservation Community Councils under the aforesaid Urban Community Conservation Act.     The Department shall cooperate and consult with public and private agencies and individuals interested in the area, in preparing the plan. Upon its completion the plan shall be submitted to the governing body, together with a request for such implementing legislation as may be required and within the authority of the governing body and the opinion of the plan commission of the municipality, if any, on the merits of the plan.     The governing body of the municipality shall by resolution adopt or reject such plan. Following favorable action by the governing body, the Department shall certify such plan as adopted and may thereafter exercise in such areas the powers granted under this Act; provided that nothing in this Section shall restrict the Department from the exercise within the municipality of any other powers which have been delegated to it by the governing body, notwithstanding the failure to certify any conservation plan as adopted. (Source: P. A. 77‑124.)

    (315 ILCS 30/22)(from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 91.122)
    Sec. 22. The Department of a municipality shall have the power to acquire by purchase, condemnation or otherwise any improved or unimproved real property the acquisition of which is necessary or appropriate for the implementation of a conservation plan for a conservation area as defined herein; to remove or demolish substandard or other buildings and structures from the property so acquired; to hold, improve, mortgage and manage such properties; and to sell, lease, or exchange such properties, provided that contracts for repair, improvement or rehabilitation of existing improvements as may be required by the conservation plan to be done by the Department involving in excess of $1,000.00 shall be let by free and competitive bidding to the lowest responsible bidder upon such bond and subject to such regulations as may be set by the Department, and provided further that all new construction for occupancy and use other than by any municipal corporation or subdivision thereof shall be on land privately owned. The acquisition, use or disposition of any real property in pursuance of this section must conform to a conservation plan developed in the manner hereinafter set forth. In case of the sale or lease of any real property acquired under the provisions of this Act such buyer or lessee must as a condition of sale or lease, agree to improve and use such property according to the conservation plan, and such agreement may be made a covenant running with the land and on order of the governing body such agreement shall be made a covenant running with the land. The Department shall by public notice by publication once each week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the municipality prior to the execution of any contract to sell, lease or otherwise transfer real property and prior to the delivery of any instrument of conveyance with respect thereto, invite proposals from and make available all pertinent information to redevelopers or any person interested in undertaking to redevelop or rehabilitate a conservation area, or any part thereof, provided that, in municipalities in which no newspaper is published, publication may be made by posting a notice in 3 prominent places within the municipality. Such notice shall contain a description of the conservation area, the details of the conservation plan relating to the property which the purchaser shall undertake in writing to carry out and such undertakings as the Department may deem necessary to obligate the purchaser, his successors and assigns (1) to use the property for the purposes designated in the conservation plan, (2) to commence and complete the improvement, repair, rehabilitation, or construction of the improvements within the periods of time which the Department fixes as reasonable and (3) to comply with such other conditions as are necessary to carry out the purposes of the Act. The Department may negotiate with any persons for proposals for the purchase, lease or other transfer of any real property acquired pursuant to this Act and shall consider all redevelopment and rehabilitation proposals submitted to it and the financial and legal ability of the persons making such proposals to carry them out. The Department, as agent for the municipality, at a public meeting, notice of which shall have been published in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality at least 15 but not more than 30 days prior to such meeting, may accept such proposals as it deems to be in the public interest and in furtherance of the purposes of this Act; provided that, all sales or leases of real property shall be made at not less than fair use value.
    Condemnation proceedings instituted hereunder shall be brought by and in the name of the municipality and shall be in all respects in the manner provided for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain Act.
    No property shall be held for more than 5 years, after which period such property shall be sold to the highest bidder at public sale. The Department may employ competent private real estate management firms to manage such properties as may be acquired, or the Department may manage such properties.
(Source: P.A. 94‑1055, eff. 1‑1‑07.)

(315 ILCS 30/23) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 91.123)     Sec. 23. If any owner or agent of improved private property within a conservation area as designated under this Act, shall after notice to owner or agent and to mortgagee to comply and opportunity to be heard, fail to make such property conform to minimum standards as set forth in the governing ordinances of the municipality, the corporate authorities of a municipality upon the request of the Department, shall apply to the Circuit Court of the county in which the property is located for an order of court permitting the corporate authorities to make such improved property conform to such minimum standards and to charge and collect from the owners of and persons interested in such property the reasonable cost and expense of making such repairs or improvements as are necessary to bring the property up to the minimum standards of such ordinances. This cost and expense is a lien upon the real estate affected, subordinate to all prior existing liens and encumbrances, provided that within 60 days after the cost and expense is incurred the municipality or person performing the service by authority of the municipality, in his or its own name, shall file notice of lien in the office of the recorder in the county in which said real estate is located or in the office of the Registrar of Titles of such county if the real estate affected is registered under "An Act concerning land titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended. The notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out (1) a description of the real estate sufficient for identification thereof; (2) the amount of money representing the cost and expense incurred or payable for the services; (3) the date or dates when said cost and expense was incurred by the municipality. However, the lien of such municipality shall not be valid as to any purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor whose rights in and to said real estate have arisen subsequent to such repair or improvements and prior to the filing of the notice of such lien, in the office of the recorder, or in the office of the Registrar of Titles, as aforesaid. Upon payment of said cost and expense by the owner of or a person interested in said property, after notice of lien has been filed, the lien shall be released by the municipality or person in whose name the lien has been filed and said release may be filed of record as in the case of filing notice of lien. The lien may be enforced by proceedings to foreclose as in case of mortgages or mechanics liens. Suit to foreclose this lien shall be commenced within 3 years after the date of filing notice of lien. (Source: P.A. 83‑358.)