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Orange County IDA updates pipeline, revises UTEP and readies brownfields assessments
Summary
The Orange County Industrial Development Agency updated county officials on several prospective projects, its newly revised Uniform Tax Exemption Policy and a $500,000 EPA brownfields assessment grant that will fund Phase 1/2 studies of prioritized contaminated properties.
Bill Fiorante, chief executive officer of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, told county officials on July 17 that the agency is advancing a number of economic-development applications, has adopted an updated Uniform Tax Exemption Policy and will begin EPA-funded brownfields assessments this summer. “We received a $500,000 grant from the EPA to assess contaminated properties around the county,” Fiorante said.
The UTEP, the standard local policy that guides IDA incentives, now lists priority industries including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and biotech, Fiorante said. The policy also includes a 15-year pilot option for housing projects and a separate “jobs cap” category that makes projects creating more than 100 permanent jobs eligible for a 20‑year pilot. Fiorante said the Amazon-related Scannell project had been eligible under that jobs category but is currently on hold after an unsuccessful local zoning board variance for building height.
Why it matters: The IDA’s policy defines how the agency can offer tax-exemption pilots that reduce property tax payments for developers in…
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