1314                             Laws of Maryland                        [Ch. 755

4. Initiation of Project

In order to initiate an urban renewal project, the legislative body
of the municipality THE MAYOR AND ALDERMEN BY A TWO-
THIRDS VOTE shall adopt a resolution which

(1)  finds that one or more slum or blighted areas exist in such
municipality;

(2)  locates and defines the said slum or blighted areas;

(3) finds that the rehabilitation, redevelopment, or a combination
thereof, of such area or areas, is necessary in the interest of the pub-
lic health, safety, morals or welfare of the residents of such munici-
pality.

5. Preparation and approval of Plan for Urban Renewal Project

(a) (1) The municipality, in order to carry out the purposes of this
sub-heading, shall prepare or cause to be prepared an urban renewal
plan for slum or blighted areas in the municipality, and shall formally
approve such plan. Prior to its approval of an urban renewal project,
the municipality shall submit such plan to the planning body of the
municipality, for review and recommendations as to its conformity
with the master plan for the development of the municipality as a
whole. The planning body shall submit its written recommendation
with respect to the proposed urban renewal plan to the municipality
within sixty days after receipt of the plan for review; upon receipt
of the recommendations of the planning body or, if no recommenda-
tions are received within said sixty days, then without such recom-
mendations, the municipality may proceed with a public hearing on
the proposed urban renewal project. The municipality shall hold a
public hearing on an urban renewal project after public notice thereof
by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation within
the corporate limits of the municipality. The notice shall describe
the time, date, place and purpose of the hearing, shall generally
identify the urban renewal area covered by the plan, and shall outline
the general scope of the urban renewal project under consideration.
Following such hearing, the municipality may approve an urban re-
newal project and the plan therefor if it finds that: (1) a feasible
method exists for the location of any families who will be displaced
from the urban renewal area in decent, safe and sanitary dwelling
accommodations within their means and without undue hardship to
such families; (2) the urban renewal plan substantially conforms
to the master plan of the municipality as a whole; and (3) the urban
renewal plan will afford maximum opportunity, consistent with the
sound needs of the municipality as a whole, for the rehabilitation or
redevelopment of the urban renewal area by private enterprise.

(2) NO ORIGINAL URBAN RENEWAL PLAN SHALL TAKE
EFFECT UNTIL THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF
THE PROCEDURE SET FORTH IN SECTION 5 (A) (1) OF THIS
SUB-HEADING. IF DURING SUCH THIRTY DAY PERIOD A
PETITION IS PRESENTED TO THE MAYOR AND ALDER-
MEN SIGNED BY TEN PERCENT OF THE QUALIFIED VOT-
ERS OF THE CITY OF ANNAPOLIS REQUESTING A REFER-
ENDUM OF THE ORIGINAL URBAN RENEWAL PLAN, THEN
IT SHALL BE THE DUTY OF THE MAYOR AND ALDERMEN
TO SUBMIT THE PLAN, FOR APPROVAL OR REJECTION, TO