The General Assembly finds that: (1) there is unsafe and unsanitary housing in the county and there is a critical shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary housing that persons of eligible income can afford to rent or buy; (2) as a result, persons of eligible income must occupy overcrowded and congested housing or must pay too much of their income for shelter; (3) these conditions cause too much public money to be spent for crime prevention and punishment, public health and safety, fire and accident protection, and other public services and facilities; (4) there is a public emergency in the county caused in part by rapidly rising construction costs, operating and maintenance expenses, and the increase in conversions of rental housing to condominiums; (5) the serious problems created by these inflationary conditions and conversions include: (i) a major displacement of large numbers of tenants, including elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities, from their housing; (ii) a scarcity of low and moderate income housing on the market as demand for such housing increases; (iii) too few rental units available, planned, or under construction to replace the rental units being converted into condominiums; and (iv) frustration of general plan concepts of balanced housing mix and adequate housing for all economic segments of the community; (6) the shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary housing cannot be wholly relieved through private enterprise, and therefore building housing for persons of eligible income and spending public money to help get it built or ready for use do not compete with private enterprise; (7) to remedy these conditions, construction and operation of such housing as set forth in this title are valid public purposes and essential government functions for which public money may be spent; and (8) this title is necessary in the public interest.
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