Oregon Business Development Department
Chapter 123
Division 650
ENTERPRISE ZONE CREATION AND AMENDMENT
123-650-4200
Mandatory Economic Need for Zone Designation
For purposes of designation or re-designation, the local area of the enterprise zone must exhibit economic hardship, in that:
(1) Except as allowed in section (2) of this rule, an enterprise zone must meet one of the following relative measures in order to qualify for designation:
(a) The zone’s median income per household or mean income per capita is 80 percent or less of the equivalent statewide income;
(b) The zone’s unemployment rate is at least 2.0 percentage points higher than the corresponding statewide unemployment rate;
(c) The zone’s percentage of persons or families below the poverty level is at least five percentage points higher than the equivalent statewide percentage; or
(d) The change in Enterprise Zone Population during the most recent ten-year period is at least 15 percentage points less than the baseline growth for the statewide population. (For example, if the Enterprise Zone Population increased 10 percent, but the state’s population over the same ten-year period grew by 25 percent, the zone would meet this qualification)
(2) An enterprise zone may nevertheless qualify under ORS 285C.090(1)(c), if the Department finds based on evidence documented by the Sponsoring Government(s) that the zone will effectively serve communities with economic needs at least as severe as that represented in section (1) of this rule. This may include a combination of recently available facts and data for social and economic conditions, or for example, permanent closures or curtailments within 30 miles of the zone that are associated with heavy job losses by specified employers during the three years preceding designation.
(3) For purposes of subsections (1)(a), (b) or (c) and section (2) of this rule, economic statistics of the metropolitan statistical area that contains an enterprise zone may substitute for corresponding statewide figures as the basis of comparison.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 285A.075 & 285C.060(1)
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 285C.060, 285C.074 & 285C.090
History:
OBDD 15-2015, f. & cert. ef. 11-12-15