270                                   LAWS OF MARYLAND                          [CH. 147

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 shall be suffi-
ciently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition and
removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilita-
tion as may be proposed to be carried out in the urban renewal area,
zoning and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum density
and building 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, cor-
poration, company, association, joint stock association, or body
politic; and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other
person acting in similar representative capacity.

(i) "Municipality" shall mean THE MAYOR AND COMMIS-
SIONERS OF WESTERNPORT, 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, 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 munici-
pality 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 tendered to the
party entitled to such compensation. All land or property needed or
taken by the exercise of the power of eminent domain by the munici-
pality 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 purposes. Any or
all of the activities authorized pursuant to this section shall constitute
governmental functions undertaken for public uses and purposes and