Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024
For purposes of ORS 285C.105(1)(b) and local incentives that an
enterprise zone sponsor or cosponsor elects by policy to provide to authorized
business firms qualifying for the standard property tax exemption (OAR 123-674)
within its jurisdiction or service territory:
(1) Such local incentives include but are not
limited to:
(a) Enhanced availability or
efficiency of local public services, such as utilities, transportation access
and public safety protection;
(b)
Waivers, discounts or credits from local fees, charges, business/license taxes
and so forth; or
(c) Regulatory
flexibility, expedited/simplified permitting, special zoning designations,
exceptions from ordinances, or the like that do not significantly undermine
regulations pertaining to health and safety.
(2) Unless clearly stipulated in the
sponsor's policy as discretionary, any such incentive is binding on that
sponsoring government and must be implemented (for example, by ordinance as
necessary) and made regularly available to any business firm that makes
application for authorization on or after the effective date that the
co/sponsor adopted its policy to provide the incentive. An incentive's status
as binding in the enterprise zone for purposes of this rule is not altered by
its being generally offered or available to other (non-enterprise zone)
business firms within the sponsor's jurisdiction or service
territory.
(3) With respect to any
such binding incentive but not necessarily one that is discretionary:
(a) It shall be available or provided to any
authorized or qualified business firm on an equal basis within that portion of
the enterprise zone exclusive to the relevant jurisdiction or service territory
of the respective cosponsor, except that a city or county cosponsor may
formally differentiate the incentives available to authorized business firms
operated as a hotel, motel or destination resort.
(b) The zone sponsor shall actively help such
firms to understand, access and use any such incentive.
(c) The Department may recognize it in the
context of benefits customarily associated with the enterprise zone for
purposes of generally promoting the zone.
(d) By virtue of the sponsoring government's
policy for further inducing authorized or qualified business firms at locations
inside the enterprise zone under ORS 285C.105(1)(b): Relative exceptions or
variance from the normal provision of services, charging of fees, imposition of
regulations, etc. are operative within the zone. In contrast, any discretionary
incentive (even if exclusively for qualified business firms in the zone) needs
to conform to applicable state or local laws, charters, ordinances or
conventions for the affected charge, fee, service, regulation, etc.
(4) For purposes of a zone
sponsor's putting forward one or more new incentives to replace an incentive or
incentives that are binding according to this rule, in order to avoid
termination of the zone under ORS 285C.245(3)(b)(A):
(a) "Comparable value" means that the new
incentives or incentives, as a whole, need to provide not only an equivalent
level of direct financial benefit to business firms, but also exhibit
similarity in terms of other factors such as convenience.
(b) In determining whether "reasonable
corrections of shortcomings in existing local incentives" are being made, the
Department may consider the extent to which an existing incentive inordinately:
(A) Benefits some or all authorized or
qualified firms; or
(B) Burdens
local budgetary resources or utility capacity.
(5) A local incentive offered or binding in a
cosponsor's jurisdiction or territory has no bearing on the incentives:
(a) Of any other cosponsor in the same zone;
or
(b) That the jurisdiction may
offer in another enterprise zone that it also sponsors.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 285A.075 &
285C.060(1)
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 285C.105 &
285C.245
