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DCA: enterprise zones are local tools; DCA is repository but not administrator
Summary
Haywood told the committee enterprise zones are adopted by local ordinance and can offer local property-tax or fee abatements and regulatory adjustments; communities meeting at least three of five distress criteria may adopt zones and must submit ordinances to DCA as the repository.
Rusty Haywood explained that enterprise zones are local designations administered by cities and counties to encourage investment and reinvestment in distressed areas.
Haywood said benefits commonly used in enterprise-zone ordinances include property tax exemptions, abatements of occupational or regulatory fees, and local modifications to development regulations. He emphasized this is a tool for local governments — DCA does not administer enterprise zones but is statutorily required to be the repository for submitted ordinances.
To qualify, a local area must meet at least three of five criteria (pervasive poverty, elevated unemployment, general distress/underdevelopment, blight and related measures). Local governments control the ordinance language and the instruments used to encourage redevelopment; sales tax exemptions are not available through this mechanism, Haywood said.
"This is done by a local ordinance... This is something that's entirely in the hands of the local governing body," Haywood said. He added joint city-county enterprise zones are possible when jurisdictions choose to cooperate.
