§ 694. Urban development action area project and approval thereof. 1.
Following or in conjunction with the designation of an area or the
waiver of an area designation pursuant to section six hundred
ninety-three of this article, the agency shall prepare or cause to be
prepared, with provisions which, where appropriate, are expressly
designed to encourage and stimulate businesses experienced in the
development of one to four family low-rise residential structures or
minority or women-owned business enterprises in proposed projects, a
project summary for a proposed urban development action area project.

2. A proposal for an urban development action area or for a part or
portion of such area, shall be submitted to the commission which shall
certify, after a public hearing held on due notice, its unqualified
approval, its disapproval, or its qualified approval with
recommendations for modifications therein. The commission shall forward
its certification to the governing body.

3. Following receipt of the commission's certification after a public
hearing held on due notice, the governing body may:

(a) if the commission shall have certified its unqualified approval,
approve the area designation by a majority vote;

(b) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval
nevertheless approve the area designation, but only by a three-fourths
vote;

(c) if the commission shall have certified its qualified approval
together with recommendations for modifications, approve the area
designation together with the modifications recommended by the
commission by a majority vote, or approve the area designation without
such modifications but only by a three-fourths vote.

4. In order to approve the proposal for an urban development action
area the governing body must by resolution first find that: (a) the
present status of the area tends to impair or arrest the sound growth
and development of the municipality;

(b) the financial aid in the form of tax incentives, if any, to be
provided by the municipality pursuant to section six hundred ninety-six
of this article, is necessary to enable the project to be undertaken;
and

(c) the area designation is consistent with the policy and purposes
stated in section six hundred ninety-one of this article.

5. Any approval of an urban development action area project shall be
in conformance with the standards and procedures required for all land
use determinations pursuant to general, special or local law or charter.
In a city having a population of one million or more, the governing body
may require that the agency incorporate into the project any or all of
the following: (i) the proposed number of residential units; (ii)
whether such units are home ownership units, rental units or condominium
or cooperative units; (iii) a best estimate of the initial rents or
selling prices for such units; (iv) the proposed income restrictions, if
any, on renters or purchasers of such units; and (v) the basis on which
the consideration for the sale or lease of the property is to be
determined. Provided, however, that if the proposed urban development
action area project consists solely of the rehabilitation or
conservation of existing private or multiple dwellings or the
construction of one to four unit dwellings or, until June thirtieth, two
thousand twenty-four, for up to six urban development action area
projects in any calendar year, the construction of up to ninety dwelling
units financed by the federal government and restricted to occupancy by
the elderly or by persons with disabilities without any change in land
use permitted by local zoning, the governing body, or the commission
where so authorized to act by the governing body, may waive any such
standards and procedures required by local law or charter.