{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-38-101","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-38-101","heading":"Definitions and applicability","body":"The provisions of this article shall apply to all municipalities\n\nin this state except as otherwise provided. The following terms\n\nwhenever used or referred to in Sections 38-101 through 38-119 of\n\nthis title shall have the following meanings, unless a different\n\nmeaning is clearly indicated by the context:\n\n1. \"Authority\" or \"Urban Renewal Authority\" shall mean a public\n\nbody corporate created by Section 38-107 of this title;\n\n2. \"Public body\" shall mean the state or any incorporated city,\n\ntown, board, commission, authority, district, or any subdivision or\n\npublic body of the state;\n\n3. \"Municipality\" shall mean any incorporated city or town;\n\n4. \"Municipal governing body\" shall mean the council, board of\n\ntrustees, or other body duly charged with governing a municipality;\n\n5. \"Mayor\" shall mean the mayor of a municipality or other\n\nofficer or body having the duties customarily imposed upon the\n\nexecutive head of a municipality;\n\n6. \"Clerk\" shall mean the clerk or other official of a\n\nmunicipality who is the custodian of the official records of the\n\nmunicipality;\n\n7. \"Federal Government\" shall include the United States of\n\nAmerica or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of\n\nthe United States of America;\n\n8. \"Blighted area\" shall mean an area in which there are\n\nproperties, buildings, or improvements, whether occupied or vacant,\n\nwhether residential or nonresidential, which by reason of\n\ndilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate\n\nprovision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation or open spaces;\n\nimproper subdivision or obsolete platting of land; deterioration or\n\ndemolition of structures without repair, replacement or\n\nreinvestment; improper street layout in terms of existing or\n\nprojected traffic needs, traffic congestion or lack of parking or\n\nterminal facilities needed for existing or proposed land uses in the\n\narea, predominance of defective or inadequate street layouts; faulty\n\nlot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility or\n\nusefulness; insanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site\n\nor other improvements; diversity of ownership, tax or special\n\nassessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land;\n\ndefective or unusual conditions of title including, but not limited\n\nto, highly fragmented interests; any one or combination of such\n\nconditions which the municipal governing body determines\n\nsubstantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the\n\nmunicipality and constitutes a substantial liability, or which\n\nendangers life or property by fire or other causes, or is conducive\n\nto ill health, transmission of disease, mortality, juvenile\n\ndelinquency, or crime and by reason thereof, is detrimental to the\n\npublic health, safety, morals or welfare;\n\n9. \"Urban renewal project\" or \"redevelopment project\" may\n\ninclude undertakings and activities of a municipality, an urban\n\nrenewal authority, redevelopment corporation, person or other\n\ncorporation, in an urban renewal area for the elimination and for\n\nthe prevention of the development or spread of blight, and may\n\ninvolve clearance and redevelopment in an urban renewal area, or\n\nrehabilitation or conservation in an urban renewal area, or any\n\ncombination or part thereof in accordance with an urban renewal\n\nplan. Such undertakings may include:\n\na. acquisition of a blighted area or portions thereof,\n\nb. demolition and removal of buildings and improvements,\n\nc. installation, construction or reconstruction of\n\nstreets, off-street parking facilities, utilities,\n\nparks, playgrounds, and other improvements necessary\n\nfor carrying out in the urban renewal area the urban\n\nrenewal objectives of this article in accordance with\n\nthe urban renewal plan,\n\nd. disposition of any property for uses in the urban\n\nrenewal area or the leasing or retention of such\n\nproperty for uses in accordance with the urban renewal\nstreets, off-street parking facilities, utilities,\n\nparks, playgrounds, and other improvements necessary\n\nfor carrying out in the urban renewal area the urban\n\nrenewal objectives of this article in accordance with\n\nthe urban renewal plan,\n\nd. disposition of any property for uses in the urban\n\nrenewal area or the leasing or retention of such\n\nproperty for uses in accordance with the urban renewal\n\nplan,\n\ne. carrying out plans for a program of voluntary or\n\ncompulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings or\n\nother improvements in accordance with the urban\n\nrenewal plan, or\n\nf. acquisition of any other real property in the area\n\nwhere necessary to eliminate unhealthful, insanitary\n\nor unsafe conditions, lessen density, eliminate\n\nobsolete or other uses detrimental to the public\n\nwelfare, or otherwise to remove or prevent the spread\n\nof blight or deterioration, or to provide land for\n\nneeded public facilities;\n\n10. \"Urban renewal area\" means a blighted area within which the\n\ngoverning body of a municipality designates an area appropriate for\n\nan urban renewal project;\n\n11. \"Urban renewal plan\" means a plan officially adopted by the\n\nmunicipal governing body, as it exists or is changed from time to\n\ntime, for an urban renewal project, which plan shall:\n\na. conform to the general plan for the municipality as a\n\nwhole except as provided in subsection K of Section\n\n38-106 of this title, and\n\nb. be sufficiently complete to indicate such land\n\nacquisition, demolition and removal of structures,\n\nredevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as may\n\nbe proposed to be carried out in the urban renewal\n\narea, zoning and planning changes, if any, land uses,\n\nmaximum densities, building requirements, and the\n\nplan's relationship to definite local objectives\n\nrespecting appropriate land uses, traffic, public\n\ntransportation, public utilities, recreational and\n\ncommunity facilities, and other public improvements,\n\nand plans for financing the project, and plans for the\n\nrelocation of families and businesses to be displaced;\n\n12. \"Real property\" shall include all lands, including\n\nimprovements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature\n\nappurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every\n\nestate, interest, right and use, legal or equitable, therein,\n\nincluding terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage or\n\notherwise;\n\n13. \"Notes\" shall mean any notes (including refunding notes),\n\ninterim certificates of indebtedness, debentures or other\n\nobligations;\n\n14. \"Obligee\" shall include any bondholder, agents or trustees\n\nfor any bondholders, or lessor demising to the municipality property\n\nused in connection with an urban renewal project, or any assignee or\n\nassignees of such lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the\n\nFederal Government when it is a party to any contract with the Urban\n\nRenewal Authority or the municipality;\n\n15. \"Person\" shall mean any individual, firm, partnership,\n\ncorporation, company, association, joint stock association, or body\n\npolitic; and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other\n\nperson acting in a similar representative capacity;\n\n16. \"Area of operation\" shall mean the area within the\n\ncorporate limits of the municipality;\n\n17. \"Board\" or \"Commission\" shall mean a board, commission,\n\ndepartment, division, office, body or other unit of the\n\nmunicipality;\n\n18. \"Public officer\" shall mean any officer who is in charge of\n\nany department or branch of the government of a municipality\n\nrelating to health, fire, building regulations, or to other\n\nactivities concerning dwellings in its area of operation; and\n\n19. \"Redevelopment corporation\" shall mean a corporation\n\norganized under the provisions of Section 38-117 of this title.","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"937a3a746cce576e3c986eb81568933224b01803b614524fd9e1812e5d1ea039","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-37-502","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-38-102"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}