135.210. Designation as enterprise zone, procedure--maximum number, exceptions--report required from all zones--cancellation of zone, procedure.
Designation as enterprise zone, procedure--maximum number,exceptions--report required from all zones--cancellation of zone,procedure.
135.210. 1. Any governing authority which desires to have anyportion of a city or unincorporated area of a county under its controldesignated as an enterprise zone shall hold a public hearing for thepurpose of obtaining the opinion and suggestions of those persons who willbe affected by such designation. The governing authority shall notify thedirector of such hearing at least thirty days prior thereto and shallpublish notice of such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in thearea to be affected by such designation at least twenty days prior to thedate of the hearing but not more than thirty days prior to such hearing.Such notice shall state the time, location, date and purpose of thehearing. The director, or the director's designee, shall attend suchhearing.
2. After a public hearing is held as required in subsection 1 of thissection, the governing authority may file a petition with the departmentrequesting the designation of a specific area as an enterprise zone. Suchpetition shall include, in addition to a description of the physical,social, and economic characteristics of the area:
(1) A plan to provide adequate police protection within the area;
(2) A specific and practical process for individual businesses toobtain waivers from burdensome local regulations, ordinances, and orderswhich serve to discourage economic development within the area to bedesignated an enterprise zone; except that, such waivers shall notsubstantially endanger the health or safety of the employees of any suchbusiness or the residents of the area;
(3) A description of what other specific actions will be taken tosupport and encourage private investment within the area;
(4) A plan to ensure that resources are available to assist arearesidents to participate in increased development through self-help effortsand in ameliorating any negative effects of designation of the area as anenterprise zone;
(5) A statement describing the projected positive and negativeeffects of designation of the area as an enterprise zone; and
(6) A specific plan to provide assistance to any person or businessdislocated as a result of activities within the zone. Such plan shalldetermine the need of dislocated persons for relocation assistance;provide, prior to displacement, information about the type, location andprice of comparable housing or commercial property; provide informationconcerning state and federal programs for relocation assistance and provideother advisory services to displaced persons. Public agencies may chooseto provide assistance under the Uniform Relocation and Real PropertyAcquisition Act, 42 U.S.C. section 4601, et seq. to meet the requirementsof this subdivision.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 135.250, the director ofthe department of economic development shall, prior to the designation ofany enterprise zone, submit to the joint committee on economic developmentpolicy and planning, established in section 620.602, RSMo, rules andregulations pertaining to the designation of enterprise zones. Followingapproval by the joint committee, such rules and regulations shall be issuedpursuant to the provisions of section 536.021, RSMo. Upon approval of anenterprise zone designation by the department, the director shall submitsuch enterprise zone designation to the joint committee for its approval.An enterprise zone designation shall be effective upon such approval by thejoint committee. The director shall report annually to the joint committeethe number and location of all enterprise zones designated, together withthe business activity within each designated enterprise zone.
4. No more than fifty such areas may be designated by the director asan enterprise zone under the provisions of this subsection, except that anyenterprise zones authorized apart from this subsection by specificlegislative enactment, on or after August 28, 1991, shall not be countedtoward the limitation set forth in this subsection. After fifty enterprisezones, plus any others authorized apart from this subsection by specificlegislative enactment first designated on or after August 28, 1991, havebeen designated by the director, additional enterprise zones may beauthorized apart from this subsection by specific legislative enactment,except that if an enterprise zone designation is canceled under theprovision of subsection 5 of this section, the director may designate onearea as an enterprise zone for each enterprise zone designation which iscanceled.
5. Each designated enterprise zone or satellite zone must report tothe director on an annual basis regarding the status of the zone andbusiness activity within the zone. On the fifth anniversary of thedesignation of each zone after August 8, 1989, and each five yearsthereafter, the director shall evaluate the activity which has occurredwithin the zone during the previous five-year period, including businessinvestments and the creation of new jobs. The director shall present thedirector's evaluation to the joint legislative committee on economicdevelopment policy and planning. If the director finds that the planoutlined in the application for designation was not implemented in goodfaith, or if such zone no longer qualifies under the original criteria, orif the director finds that the zone is not being effectively promoted ordeveloped, the director may recommend to the committee that the designationof that area as an enterprise zone be canceled. All agreements negotiatedunder the benefits of such zone shall remain in effect for the originallyagreed upon duration. The committee shall schedule a hearing on suchrecommendation for not later than sixty days after the recommendation isfiled with it. At the hearing, interested parties, including the director,may present witnesses and evidence as to why the enterprise zonedesignation for that particular area should be continued or canceled.Within thirty days after the hearing the committee shall determine whetheror not the designation should be continued. If it is not continued, thedirector shall remove the designation from the area and, following theprocedures outlined in this section, award the designation of an enterprisezone to another applicant. If an area has requested a designatedenterprise zone, and met all existing statutory requirements, but has notbeen designated such, then the applicant may appeal to the jointlegislative committee on economic development policy and planning for ahearing to determine its eligibility for such a designation. The review ofthe director's evaluation and the hearing thereon, and any appeal asprovided for in this subsection, by the joint legislative committee oneconomic development policy and planning shall be an additional duty forthat body.
(L. 1982 H.B. 1713, et al. § 4, A.L. 1983 H.B. 559, A.L. 1985 H.B. 416, A.L. 1986 S.B. 727, A.L. 1989 S.B. 59, A.L. 1991 H.B. 294 & 405 merged with S.B. 289, A.L. 1995 H.B. 414)Effective 1-1-96