P.R. Laws tit. 17, § 102
It is hereby found and declared:
(a) That there exist in many communities within Puerto Rico blighted areas (as defined herein) or areas in the process of becoming blighted;
(b) that such areas impair economic values and tax revenues; that such areas cause an increase in and spread of diseases and crime and constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the residents of Puerto Rico, that these conditions necessitate excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for crime prevention and punishment, public health and safety, fire and accident protection, and other public services and facilities;
(c) that the clearance, replanning, and preparation for rebuilding of these areas, and the prevention or the reduction of blight and its causes, are public uses and purposes for which public money may be spent and private property acquired and are governmental functions of grave concern to Puerto Rico;
(d) that there are also certain areas where the condition of the title, the diverse ownership of the land to be assembled, the street or lot layouts, or other conditions prevent a proper development of the land, and that it is in the public interest that such areas, as well as blighted areas, be acquired by eminent domain and made available for sound and wholesome development and that the exercise of the power of eminent domain and the financing of the acquisition and preparation of land by a public agency for such redevelopment is likewise a public use and purpose;
(e) that redevelopment activities will stimulate residential construction which is closely correlated with general economic activity; and that such undertakings authorized by §§ 101—119 of this title will aid the production of better housing and more desirable neighborhood and community development and will make possible a more stable and larger volume of residential construction at lower costs, which will assist materially in achieving and maintaining full employment, and
(f) that it is in the public interest that advance preparation for such projects and activities be made now, and that the necessity in the public interest for the provisions hereinafter enacted is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.
History —May 9, 1947, No. 97, p. 226, § 1.