Section 506. Acquisition of property

1. (a) A municipality, acting through
  its governing body,  may  acquire  by  purchase,  gift,  devise,  lease,
  condemnation  or  otherwise,  in  accordance  with the provisions of the
  appropriate general, special or local law applicable to the  acquisition
  of  real  property  by  such municipality, real property or any interest
  therein, including but not limited to air rights, and easements or other
  rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights,
  to be developed as air rights sites for the elimination of the blighting
  influences of an  area  or  areas  consisting  principally  of  land  in
  streets,  alleys,  highways,  and other public rights of way, railway or
  subway tracks, bridge  or  tunnel  approaches  or  entrances,  or  other
  similar  facilities  which have a blighting influence on the surrounding
  area, necessary for or incidental to a  program  of  urban  renewal  for
  residential,  commercial,  industrial, public, semi-public, community or
  other uses or combinations of such uses  in  accordance  with  an  urban
  renewal  plan  for  a  designated area, or for a part or portion of such
  area, provided, however, that the acquisition of  any  air  rights  over
  railroad  tracks,  rights  of  way  or facilities and easements or other
  rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air  rights
  are  to  be  subject  to  the  provision  of  section fifty-one-a of the
  railroad law. The acquisition of real property within a designated urban
  renewal area shall in every case  be  deemed  to  be  and  constitute  a
  continuous rather than separate takings.
    (b)  Property  so  acquired  by  a  municipality  shall be exempt from
  taxation until sold, leased for a term not exceeding  ninety-nine  years
  or  otherwise  disposed  of  in  accordance  with the provisions of this
  article of this chapter; provided however, that  any  such  municipality
  shall  have  the  power and authority, with respect to such property, to
  pay or transfer, out of funds available to it for  the  effectuating  of
  such  urban  renewal program, annual sums in lieu of taxes to any taxing
  jurisdiction providing services to the urban renewal  area,  or  to  the
  part  or  portion thereof within such taxing jurisdiction, in order that
  no such taxing jurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of  revenue
  by  virtue  of  such  urban renewal program; provided, further, that the
  amount so paid or transferred for any year  with  respect  to  any  such
  property  shall not exceed the lesser of (1) the sum last levied for the
  benefit of such taxing jurisdiction as an annual tax  on  such  property
  prior  to  the time of its acquisition for urban renewal purposes or (2)
  such amount as shall be approved by the commissioner, pursuant  to  such
  rules,  regulations,  limitations and conditions as he may prescribe, as
  an eligible and proper charge against such urban renewal  program.  Upon
  the  sale,  lease or disposition of such property to any person, firm or
  corporation not entitled to an exemption from taxation  or  entitled  to
  only  a  partial  tax  exemption  such property shall immediately become
  subject to taxation in whole or in part, as the case may be,  and  shall
  be taxed pro rata for the unexpired portion of the taxable year.
    As  used  in  this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any
  municipal corporation or  district  corporation,  including  any  school
  district  or  any  special district, having the power to levy or collect
  taxes and benefit assessments upon real property,  or  in  whose  behalf
  such taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.
    c.   Notwithstanding   any   other   provisions  of  this  article,  a
  municipality may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease,  condemnation
  or  otherwise,  upon recommendation of the agency and in accordance with
  the appropriate provisions of any  general,  special  or  local  law  or
  charter   applicable  to  the  acquisition  of  real  property  by  such
  municipality, such real property or any interest therein, within an area
  designated pursuant to this article as appropriate for urban renewal, as

  it may deem ultimately necessary or proper to effectuate the purposes of
  this article  although  temporarily  not  required  for  such  purposes,
  provided  that  the  early  acquisition  of such property is approved as
  follows:
    (1) In a municipality where there is a planning commission, the agency
  shall  submit  the  proposal for early acquisition to the commission for
  its approval. Such planning commission shall, not later than  ten  weeks
  from  the  date  of  the  referral of the proposal to it, after a public
  hearing held on due notice, submit its  report  to  the  governing  body
  certifying  its  unqualified  consent, its disapproval, or its qualified
  consent with recommendations for modifications of the proposal.
    After public hearing held on due notice after the report  is  received
  or due from the planning commission, the governing body may:
    (i)  if  the  commission shall have certified its unqualified consent,
  approve the proposal by a majority vote:
    (ii) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval  or  shall
  have  failed  to  make  its  report  within ten weeks from the date such
  proposal was submitted to it by the  agency,  nevertheless  approve  the
  proposal, but only by a three-fourths vote:
    (iii)  if  the  commission  shall have certified its qualified consent
  together with recommendations for modifications of the proposal, approve
  the  proposal  together  with  the  modifications  recommended  by   the
  commission  by  a  majority  vote,  or approve the proposal without such
  modifications but only by a three-fourths vote.
    (2) In a municipality where  there  is  no  planning  commission,  the
  agency  shall  submit  the  proposal  to the governing body which, after
  public hearing held on due notice, may either approve or disapprove  the
  proposal.