Oregon Business Development Department
Chapter 123
Division 668
LOCAL ENTERPRISE ZONE SPONSORSHIP
123-668-2400
Zone Sponsor Policies
In terms of the means and authority by which local additional requirements are put into effect:
(1) An enterprise zone sponsor shall consider a policy-making approach to achieve accountability and maintain consistency in imposing or setting such a requirement on business firms, especially in view of the following:
(a) Constitutional or other legal protections for business firms; and
(b) General principles of fairness and clarity regarding public purposes and intent.
(2) Such a policy may apply uniformly to the situations described in OAR 123-668-2000, or it may pertain to only certain situations.
(3) Such a policy is relevant to the sponsor’s rationale in granting or refusing special benefits or waivers, as well as the additional requirements imposed or sought when granting the benefit or waiver to a business firm.
(4) Except for conditions imposed by an urban enterprise zone under ORS 285C.150, such a policy does not need to be prospectively adopted, nor does it need to be based on formal documentation, and it may reflect the cumulative effect of the sponsor’s relevant past actions. A formal, explicit and prospective policy may be nevertheless preferable, especially when the following or comparable circumstances arise:
(a) Relevant requests by business firms are common or expected to become increasingly frequent;
(b) Sponsor would differentiate the basic decision to grant or refuse a special benefit or waiver, or to impose additional requirements, for example, with respect to the size of the business or investment or other factors;
(c) The requirements imposed are numerous, complicated or otherwise entail various contingencies or matters of judgment that definite standards would facilitate; or
(d) The sponsor would depart from an apparent pattern in terms of granting a special benefit or waiver or imposing certain corresponding requirements.
(5) For an urban enterprise zone sponsor that has adopted a policy under ORS 285C.150, as described in OAR 123-668-2500, any additional requirements imposed with other situations described in OAR 123-668-2000(2) must:
(a) Formally relate to the policy and standards adopted in the urban zone policy; and
(b) Effectively supplement and not replace any condition normally imposed.
(6) A city, port or county government that sponsors two or more enterprise zones is free to have different policies or to seek different local additional requirements among those zones.
(7) In an enterprise zone sponsored by more than one city, port or county, the cosponsors must all jointly in some manner:
(a) Adopt the same policy, standards, established local conditions and so forth under equivalent authority or method for purposes of this rule and the enterprise zone; and
(b) Approve the same requisite written agreement in each case (though not necessarily in the same way, see OAR 123-668-2450).
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 285A.075 & 285C.060(1)
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 285C.105, 285C.150, 285C.155, 285C.160 & 285C.403
History:
OBDD 21-2023, minor correction filed 08/24/2023, effective 08/24/2023
OBDD 13-2023, amend filed 07/05/2023, effective 07/05/2023
OBDD 13-2015, f. & cert. ef. 11-12-15
OBDD 26-2010, f. & cert. ef. 6-14-10