OAR 123-650-4200: Temporary rule language in effect until 12/01/2026. Mandatory Economic Development Need for Zone Designation

(1) For purposes of designation or re-designation of an enterprise zone, the enterprise zone must be located in a Local Area in which the cities, counties or ports designating the enterprise zone provide satisfactory evidence demonstrating to the Department a need for economic development in the Local Area. (2) The zone sponsor(s) must determine the geographic area of the Local Area in association with the enterprise zone boundary to establish applicable evidence to demonstrate a need for economic development to support the enterprise zone designation. The evidence submitted to the Department may be quantitative or qualitative data points or a combination. Evidence may include but is not limited to data and statistics that is sponsor-collected survey or economic data; non-sponsor data collected by a city, county, state, or tribe, or other economic development partner; and data collected through the most recent 5-year American Community Survey data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. (3) The zone sponsor(s) demonstrates a need for economic development in the Local Area by providing satisfactory evidence of one or more of the economic development need conditions listed in 285C.090(1): (a) Economic transition or restructuring, including but not limited to significant job losses, industry contraction, supply chain realignment, automation impacts and shifts in regional economic specialization, and lack of high-wage jobs in the Local Area. (b) The presence of underutilized, vacant or redevelopment-ready industrial or employment land, including brownfields, legacy industrial sites and properties requiring modernization to support productive use. (A) “Redevelopment-ready industrial” means land that can be developed within one year of a permit application or request for service extension that may be zoned for industrial use. (B) “Employment land” means land designated to accommodate a broad range of commercial and industrial uses. (C) "Brownfield" means real property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination as defined in ORS 285A.185(1). (D) “Properties requiring modernization to support productive use” means land sites that do not create significant value, income or goods, due to missing or inadequate physical, infrastructural, regulatory, or environmental components. Examples include, but are not limited to, sites that: (i) Lack reliable or adequate broadband, fiber, or modern connectivity; (ii) Lack reliable or adequate water or wastewater; (iii) Have inadequate access, including roads; (iv) Have unfavorable zoning regulations or fail to meet regulatory or operational needs, including but not limited to code compliance; or (v) Lack adequate energy supply. (c) Alignment with adopted local, regional or statewide economic development strategies, land-use plans, infrastructure plans, workforce strategies or climate and energy transition goals, where enterprise zone designation would materially advance implementation. (d) Demonstrated opportunity to: (A) Support emerging, traded sector or innovation-driven industries; (B) Retain, reinvest in or modernize existing industries or facilities; or (C) Make investments that improve productivity, competitiveness, supply chain resilience or workforce quality; or (e) Demonstrated a performance-based development approach, including measurable objectives related to capital investment, wages, workforce development, retention or modernization outcomes, productivity improvement, redevelopment outcomes or other economic performance indicators. (A) Other economic performance indicators will be considered based on proposals from zone sponsors to the Department. Proposed indicators must align with an established local or regional economic strategy. (B) A performance‑based development approach must document baseline (existing) performance levels for each selected measurable outcome and must establish target performance thresholds. (f) Community-defined indicators of economic need or development potential. Examples of community-defined indicators of economic need or development potential may include unemployment rate, poverty rate, median family income, job creation, or vacancy rates for industrial or commercial spaces in the Local Area. (4) If a zone sponsor is pursuing a designation or redesignation based on multiple economic development need criteria, the zone sponsors shall provide sufficient evidence and documentation to the Department for each will need to provide sufficient evidence and documentation for all criteria.