Section 2090.12 - Legislative findings and purposeIt is hereby determined and declared as a matter of legislative finding that:
(1) A substantial number of living units in this Commonwealth are in deteriorating condition, with many residents of this Commonwealth residing in homes which do not conform to applicable health and safety ordinances. This situation impedes the development of healthy, safe and viable communities in this Commonwealth.(2) The problems of declining neighborhoods, including deteriorating housing with a concomitant loss of property values and erosion of the tax bases of the affected communities, negatively impact on the health, safety and welfare of residents of this Commonwealth.(3) The encouragement of public-private partnerships between State and municipal governmental entities and private financial and corporate institutions to coordinate and optimize their respective resources is critical to any serious effort to halt deterioration and revitalize declining neighborhoods.(4) The Commonwealth can maximize the number of low-income and moderate-income housing units by encouraging the rehabilitation of existing structures.(5) The Neighborhood Housing Services Programs, as organized and supported by the Federal Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, have proven themselves as highly effective and innovative mechanisms for halting the decline of neighborhoods and stemming the deterioration of housing units by bringing together the public and private sectors in a partnership dedicated to the rehabilitation of existing housing and the restoration of self-worth and self-reliance to neighborhoods.(6) State support for the Neighborhood Housing Services Programs holds promise for the improvement of the quality of life in those neighborhoods beset with the problems associated with deteriorating and substandard housing, and these programs can serve as a model of an effective and innovative strategy to remedy these problems. Therefore, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to promote the health, safety and welfare of its inhabitants by the creation of the Pennsylvania Neighborhood Housing Services Program. This program will provide funds to assist in the creation, expansion and support of Neighborhood Housing Services Programs to stem deterioration and decline in identified neighborhoods, which impair economic value, and public revenues, discourage private investment and detract from the overall quality of life in this Commonwealth.
1990, July 11, P.L. 421, No. 102, § 2, imd. effective.