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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 03 Resolution to Expand the Springfield Community Rural Enterprise Zone. AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 10/27/2014 Meeting Type: Work Session/Reg. Mtg Staff Contact/Dept.: John Tamulonis, CMO Staff Phone No: 541-726-3656 Estimated Time: 30 Minutes/20 Minutes S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Encourage Economic Development and Revitalization through Community Partnerships ITEM TITLE: RESOLUTION TO EXPAND THE SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY RURAL ENTERPRISE ZONE ACTION REQUESTED: Adopt/not adopt the following: A RESOLUTION OF SPRINGFIELD REQUESTING THAT THE SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE ZONE BE EXPANDED AND AUTHORIZING THE SPRINGFIELD CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT THIS RESOLUTION TO THE STATE OF OREGON FOR APPROVAL ISSUE STATEMENT: The City of Springfield currently carries a Rural Enterprise Zone designation which allows an eligible business firm making a qualifying investment or expansion to receive a three- to five-year abatement on the property taxes otherwise levied on new facilities and equipment. Springfield, in partnership with Lane County, is proposing to expand the Springfield Community Rural Enterprise Zone to include areas in Glenwood, Jasper-Natron, North Gateway, and Goshen (Attachment 2). ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1 – Resolution Attachment 2 – Current Zone and Proposed Expansion Areas Attachment 3 – Sample Notice Sent to Local Taxing Districts DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: The current zone does not include all areas, but rather focuses on industrial areas most likely to appeal to industry within the city limits. As the City looks to the future for developable lands, an amendment to expand the current zone boundary to include those potential areas would offer incentives to businesses looking to locate. These areas include parcels both inside and outside the Springfield city limits and within the existing urban growth boundary. This eliminates the step needed for the State of Oregon to approve modifying the boundary each time land is annexed. Additionally, as part of the Springfield Enterprise Zone expansion, the City of Springfield and Lane County are proposing a partnership to include the Goshen area, located south of Glenwood. In June of 2013, Lane County Board of Commissioners adopted the Goshen Regional Employment and Transition (GREAT) Plan to support the development of the unincorporated Goshen community under urban industrial zoning. The goal is to enhance the economic viability of the region focusing on approximately 300 acres of underutilized industrial land along Interstate-5. Lane County has initiated a number of land use activities to allow for urban levels of industrial development on this existing rural industrial zoned land in Goshen. The addition of enterprise zone incentives would greatly help to realize the employment growth potential of Goshen. While Lane County would be added to the zone as a co-sponsor, the City would still remain zone manager. The addition of a co-sponsor would not change the process or benefits available to businesses within the enterprise zone. Should Springfield City Council and the Lane County Board of Commissioners jointly adopt the attached resolution, staff will submit the resolution to the State of Oregon for approval of the proposed zone boundary expansion. CITY OF SPRINGFIELD RESOLUTION NO. _______ A RESOLUTION OF SPRINGFIELD REQUESTING THAT THE SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE ZONE BE EXPANDED AND AUTHORIZING THE SPRINGFIELD CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT THIS RESOLUTION TO THE STATE OF OREGON FOR APPROVAL WHEREAS, the City of Springfield sponsors the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone more particularly described and set forth in Exhibit A; and WHEREAS, the Enterprise Zone is one of the most successful economic development tools for the City of Springfield, contributing to the establishment and expansion of diverse businesses and the creation of family wage jobs; and WHEREAS, the Enterprise Zone and the three- to five-year property tax exemption that it offers for new investments in plant and equipment by eligible business firms are critical elements of local efforts to increase employment opportunities, to raise local incomes, to attract investments by new and existing businesses and to secure and diversify the local economic base; and WHEREAS, Lane County is currently not a sponsoring government of the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone; this proposed change in the zone boundary includes areas within the jurisdiction of Lane County, and Lane County is requesting to join the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone as a cosponsor; and WHEREAS, officials of the City of Springfield and Lane County are agreed in requesting a change in the boundary of the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone that would add the areas indicated in the attached Exhibit A and legal description (Exhibit B), such that the amended Enterprise Zone would be configured according to the attached map and description (Exhibits C & D); and WHEREAS, special notification was sent to all affected taxing districts which could be impacted by the proposed change in zone boundary; and WHEREAS, the Council finds that such designation will provide additional financial/tax incentive for qualified business firms engaging in electronic commerce; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: 1. The City of Springfield requests a change in the boundary of the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone as shown in the attached maps and legal descriptions (Exhibits C & D); and Attachment 1, Page 1 of 2 2. The City of Springfield requests that Lane County be added to the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone as a cosponsor of the zone; and 3. The City Manager is hereby authorized to prepare and submit technical memoranda to the Business Oregon, along with this resolution and other necessary documents, verifying that the requested boundary change to the Springfield Community Enterprise Zone complies with the requirement of ORS 285C.115, so that the request herein may be approved by order of the department’s Director; and 3. This Resolution shall take effect upon its adoption by the Council and approval by the Mayor. ADOPTED by the Common Council of the City of Springfield this 27th day of October 2014 with a vote of _____ for and _____ against. ______________________________ Christine L. Lundberg Mayor ATTEST: _______________________ Amy Sowa City Recorder Attachment 1, Page 2 of 2 ATTACHMENT 1 PAGE 1 of 1 Sample Notice to Local Taxing District About Enterprise Zone Boundary Change {OAR 123-065-0330 & 123-065-1050} [DATE] Contact Person Affected Agency Address Address Re: Expansion of the Springfield Enterprise Zone Dear _____________________: This letter would inform you of the exciting opportunity available to our region for improving the local economic base, business climate and long-run community development. The City of Springfield and Lane County are seeking to add areas of North Gateway, Jasper-Natron, Glenwood, and Goshen to the Springfield Rural Enterprise Zone (which Lane County would also join as a cosponsor). The boundary change request will be submitted to Business Oregon for approval. At a joint public hearing on October 27th, 2014 at 5:30 pm in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room at 225 Fifth Street, Springfield OR 97477, the City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners are expected to consider a resolution requesting boundary amendment. The current Springfield Rural Enterprise Zone or proposed areas to be added include relevant tax codes, such that the zones could affect future property tax collections in your district. Therefore, you are being asked to comment on this proposal, either at the hearing or by sending comments directly to me at jtamulonis@springfield-or.gov or by phone, no later than October 10th, 2014. Please understand that an enterprise zone exempts only new property that a job-creating business might build or install in the enterprise zone at some future time. In addition, an enterprise zone exemption is temporary, usually lasting only three years, after which time the property induced by these incentives is available for assessment. An extension to four or five years in total is possible in some cases. As Springfield’s Zone is a Rural Enterprise Zone, longer-term incentives might be available, but only if our county meets certain economic criteria; these longer-term incentives also may include a tax credit, which triggers annual payments to local taxing districts by the state government. Both the extension and the long-term incentives need approval from the local city/county that sponsor the Springfield Rural Enterprise Zone. Finally, none of these property tax exemptions would be available to just any business. Most commercial/retail operations would not be eligible. Rather, the primary beneficiaries of enterprise zone benefits are manufacturing and other more industrially oriented facilities serving other businesses. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments: Email – jtamulonis@springfield-or.gov, Phone – (541)726-3656. Sincerely, John Tamulonis Community Development Manager City of Springfield ATTACHMENT 3 PAGE 1 of 1