1472                             Laws of Maryland                        [Ch. 826

mental to the public welfare, or otherwise to remove or prevent the
spread of blight or deterioration, or to provide land for needed
public facilities; and

7) the preservation, improvement or embellishment of historic
structures or monuments.

e)  "Urban Renewal Area" shall mean a slum area or a blighted
area or a combination thereof which the municipality designates as
appropriate for an urban renewal project.

f)  "Urban Renewal Plan" shall mean a plan, as it exists from time
to time, for an urban renewal project, which plan (1) SHALL SUB-
STANTIALLY CONFORM TO THE MASTER PLAN OF THE
MUNICIPALITY AS A WHOLE, AND (2) shall be sufficiently
complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition and removal
of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as
may be proposed to be carried out in the urban renewal area, zoning
and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum density and build-
ing requirements.

g)  "Bonds" shall mean any bonds (including refunding bonds),
notes, interim certificates, certificates of indebtedness, debentures or
other obligations.

h) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, corpo-
ration, company, association, joint stock association, or body politic;
and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other person
acting in similar representative capacity.

j) "Municipality" shall mean the Mayor and Council of Rockville,
a municipal corporation of this State.

Section 2. Powers.

The municipality is hereby authorized and empowered to carry
out urban renewal projects which shall be limited to slum clearance
in slum or blighted areas and redevelopment or the rehabilitation of
slum or blighted areas; to acquire in connection with such projects,
within the corporate limits of the municipality, land and property
of every kind and any right, interest, franchise, easement or privilege
therein, INCLUDING LAND OR PROPERTY AND ANY RIGHT
OR INTEREST THEREIN ALREADY DEVOTED TO PUBLIC
USE, by purchase, lease, gift, condemnation or any other legal
means; to sell, lease, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of any
of said land or property, regardless of whether or not it has been
developed, redeveloped, altered or improved and irrespective of the
manner or means in or by which it may have been acquired, to any
private, public or quasi public corporation, partnership, association,
person or other legal entity. No land or property taken by the
municipality for any of the aforementioned purposes or in connection
with the exercise of any of the powers which by this Article are
granted to the municipality by exercising the power of eminent
domain shall be taken without just compensation, as agreed upon
between the parties, or awarded by a jury, being first paid or ten-
dered to the party entitled to such compensation. All land or prop-
erty needed or taken by the exercise of the power of eminent domain
by the municipality for any of the aforementioned purposes or in
connection with the exercise of any of the powers granted by this
Article is hereby declared to be needed or taken for public uses and