15E.194 - DISTRESS CRITERIA.
15E.194 DISTRESS CRITERIA.
1. An enterprise zone may be designated by a county which meets
at least two of the following criteria:
a. The county has an average weekly wage that ranks among the
bottom twenty-five counties in the state based on the 2000 annual
average weekly wage for employees in private business.
b. The county has a family poverty rate that ranks among the
top twenty-five counties in the state based on the 2000 census.
c. The county has experienced a percentage population loss
that ranks among the top twenty-five counties in the state between
1995 and 2000.
(1) For purposes of this paragraph "c", prison population
shall be excluded in the population loss calculations.
(2) If a county not otherwise qualified to participate in the
enterprise zone program qualifies as a result of excluding the
county's prison population, a business engaged in the production of
ethanol or biodiesel in the county, notwithstanding its status as an
eligible business under section 15E.193, shall not be eligible for
assistance under section 15E.196.
d. The county has a percentage of persons sixty-five years of
age or older that ranks among the top twenty-five counties in the
state based on the 2000 census.
2. An enterprise zone may be designated by a city which meets at
least two of the following criteria:
a. The area has a per capita income of twelve thousand six
hundred forty-eight dollars or less based on the 2000 census.
b. The area has a family poverty rate of twelve percent or
higher based on the 2000 census.
c. Ten percent or more of the housing units are vacant in the
area.
d. The valuations of each class of property in the designated
area is seventy-five percent or less of the citywide average for that
classification based upon the most recent valuations for property tax
purposes.
e. The area is a blighted area, as defined in section 403.17.
3. a. A city may designate an area of up to four square miles
to be an enterprise zone if the area is a blighted area as defined in
section 403.17 and the area includes or is located within four miles
of at least three of the following:
(1) A commercial service airport.
(2) A barge terminal or a navigable waterway.
(3) Entry to a rail line.
(4) Entry to an interstate highway.
(5) Entry to a commercial and industrial highway network as
identified pursuant to section 313.2A.
b. An eligible housing business under section 15E.193B shall
not receive incentives or assistance for a home or multiple dwelling
unit built or rehabilitated in an enterprise zone designated pursuant
to this subsection.
4. The department of economic development shall certify eligible
enterprise zones that meet the requirements of subsection 1 upon
request by the county, subsection 2 upon request by the city, or
subsection 3 upon request by the city, as applicable.
5. a. A city of any size or any county may designate an
enterprise zone at any time prior to July 1, 2010, when a business
closure or permanent layoff occurs. The business closure or
permanent layoff must involve the loss of full-time employees, not
including retail employees, at one place of business totaling at
least one thousand employees or four percent or more of the county's
resident labor force based on the most recent annual resident labor
force statistics from the department of workforce development,
whichever is lower. A permanent layoff does not include a layoff of
seasonal employees or a layoff that is seasonal in nature. For
purposes of this paragraph, "permanent layoff" means the loss of
jobs to an out-of-state location, the cessation of one or more
production lines, the removal of manufacturing machinery and
equipment, or similar actions determined to be equivalent in nature
by the department. A permanent layoff must occur on or after
February 1, 2007. The enterprise zone may be established on the
property of the place of business that has closed or imposed a
permanent layoff and the enterprise zone may include an area up to an
additional three miles adjacent to the property. The area meeting
the requirements for enterprise zone eligibility under this
subsection shall not be included for the purpose of determining the
area limitation pursuant to section 15E.192, subsection 4. The
closing business or business creating a permanent layoff shall not be
eligible to receive incentives or assistance under this division. An
eligible housing business under section 15E.193B shall not receive
incentives or assistance for a home or multiple dwelling unit built
or rehabilitated in an enterprise zone designated pursuant to this
subsection.
b. The area included in an enterprise zone designated under
this subsection on or after June 1, 2000, may be amended to change
the boundaries of the enterprise zone. Such an amendment must be
approved by the department within three years of the date the
enterprise zone was certified. Section History: Recent Form
97 Acts, ch 144, §4; 2000 Acts, ch 1213, §9, 10; 2002 Acts, ch
1145, §6; 2006 Acts, ch 1133, §6, 7, 10; 2007 Acts, ch 183, §1; 2008
Acts, ch 1032, § 201; 2008 Acts, ch 1039, §1
Referred to in § 15.119, 15A.1, 15E.192, 15E.193B, 15E.195, 15H.5