(a) After approval of the development plan as provided in this chapter, the development agency may proceed by purchase, lease, exchange or gift with the acquisition or rental of real property within the project area and real property and interests therein for rights-of-way and other easements to and from the project area.

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(b) (1) The development agency may, with the approval of the legislative body in accordance with this subsection, and in the name of the municipality, acquire by eminent domain real property located within the project area and real property and interests therein for rights-of-way and other easements to and from the project area, in the same manner that a redevelopment agency may acquire real property under sections 8-128 to 8-133, inclusive, as if said sections specifically applied to development agencies, except that no real property may be acquired by eminent domain pursuant to this subsection for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenue.

(2) The development agency shall conduct a public hearing on any proposed acquisition of real property by eminent domain. The development agency shall cause notice of the time, place and subject of the hearing to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the municipality not more than ten days before the date set for the hearing. Not less than ten days before the date of the hearing, the development agency shall send, by first class mail, notice of the time, place and subject of the hearing to the owners of record of the real property and to all owners of real property within one hundred feet of the real property to be acquired by eminent domain.

(3) (A) No parcel of real property may be acquired by eminent domain under this section except by approval by vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the legislative body of the municipality or, in the case of a municipality for which the legislative body is a town meeting or a representative town meeting, the board of selectmen. Such approval shall be by (i) separate vote on each parcel of real property to be acquired, or (ii) a vote on one or more groups of such parcels, provided each parcel to be acquired is identified for the purposes of a vote on a group of such parcels under this subparagraph. The legislative body or the board of selectmen, as the case may be, shall not approve the use of eminent domain by the development agency unless the legislative body or board of selectmen has (I) considered the benefits to the public and any private entity that will result from the development project and determined that the public benefits outweigh any private benefits, (II) determined that the current use of the real property cannot be feasibly integrated into the overall development plan, and (III) determined that the acquisition of the real property by eminent domain is reasonably necessary to successfully achieve the objectives of the development plan.

(B) The municipality shall cause notice of any approved acquisition by eminent domain under this subdivision to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the municipality not more than ten days after such approval.

(C) (i) The development agency shall acquire any property identified in the plan as property to be acquired by eminent domain by a date that is five years after the date the first property is acquired by eminent domain under the plan unless the development agency approves an extension of the time for acquisition, except that no property may be acquired by eminent domain under the plan more than ten years after the first property is acquired by eminent domain under the plan.

(ii) With respect to a development plan for a project that is funded in whole or in part by federal funds, the provisions of this subparagraph shall not apply to the extent that such provisions are prohibited by federal law.

(4) The owner-occupant of property acquired by eminent domain under this section may file an application in the superior court for the judicial district in which the municipality is located to enjoin the acquisition of such property. The court may issue such injunction if the court finds that the development agency or municipality failed to comply with the requirements of this chapter. The filing of an application to enjoin the acquisition of property by eminent domain, in a court of competent jurisdiction, shall toll the five-year period or ten-year period set forth in subparagraph (C) of subdivision (3) of this subsection with respect to such property until the date a final judgment is entered in any such action, or any appeal thereof, whichever date is later.

(c) (1) With respect to real property acquired by eminent domain pursuant to this section on or after June 25, 2007, if the municipality does not use the real property for the purpose for which it was acquired or for some other public use and seeks to sell the property, the municipality shall first offer the real property for sale pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection to the person from whom the real property was acquired, or heirs of the person designated pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, if any, for a price not to exceed the lesser of (A) the amount paid by the development agency to acquire the property, or (B) the fair market value of the property at the time of any sale under this subsection. After the municipality provides notice pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, the municipality may not sell such property to a third party unless the municipality has permitted the person or named heirs six months during which to exercise the right to purchase the property, and an additional six months to finalize the purchase if the person or named heirs provide the municipality with notice of intent to purchase the property within the initial six-month period.

(2) For the purposes of any offer of sale pursuant to this subsection, the municipality shall provide a form to any person whose property is acquired by eminent domain pursuant to this section to permit such person to provide an address for notice of sale to be sent, or to provide the name and address of an agent to receive such notice. Such form shall be designed to permit the person to designate heirs of the person who shall be eligible to purchase such property pursuant to this subsection. The person or agent shall update information in the form in writing. If the person or agent does not provide or update the information in the form in a manner that permits the municipality to send notice of sale pursuant to this subsection, no such notice shall be required.

(3) With respect to a development plan for a project that is funded in whole or in part by federal funds, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the extent that such provisions are prohibited by federal law.

(d) The development agency may, with the approval of the legislative body and, of the commissioner if any grants were made by the state under section 8-190 or 8-195 for such development project, and in the name of such municipality, transfer by sale or lease at fair market value or fair rental value, as the case may be, the whole or any part of the real property in the project area to any person, in accordance with the project plan and such disposition plans as may have been determined by the commissioner.

(e) A development agency shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to undertake and carry out development plans and development projects, including the power to clear, demolish, repair, rehabilitate, operate, or insure real property while it is in its possession, to make site improvements essential to the preparation of land for its use in accordance with the development plan, to install, construct or reconstruct streets, utilities and other improvements necessary for carrying out the objectives of the development project, and, in distressed municipalities, as defined in section 32-9p, to lend funds to businesses and industries in a manner approved by the commissioner.