Section 162-N:2 Designation of Economic Revitalization Zone.
I. ""Economic revitalization zone'' means a zone with a single continuous boundary, comprised of one or more contiguous census tracts or blocks or smaller recognizable physical areas, designated in accordance with the rules adopted under RSA 162-N:8, and certified by the commissioner of resources and economic development as being a brownfields site as defined under RSA 147-F, or having at least one of the following characteristics:
(a) The population of the municipality or municipalities in which the zone is located, according to the most recent federal census, decreased during the 20 years prior to the census.
(b) The median household income in the census tract or tracts in which the zone is located is less than $40,500 according to the most recent federal decennial census.
(c) At least 20 percent of households in the census tract or tracts in which the zone is located have a median income below the federal poverty level.
(d)(1) The zone contains either:
(A) Unused or underutilized industrial parks; or
(B) Vacant land or structures previously used for industrial, commercial, or retail purposes but currently not so used due to demolition, age, obsolescence, deterioration, relocation of the former occupant's operations, or cessation of operation resulting from unfavorable economic conditions either generally or in a specific economic sector; and
(2) Certification of the zone as an economic revitalization zone would likely result in the reduction of the rate of vacant or demolished structures or the rate of tax delinquency in the zone.
II. Economic revitalization zones shall be designated by the commissioner of resources and economic development only upon petition by the local governing body, as defined by RSA 672:6, or the town council. The commissioner of resources and economic development shall certify that the economic revitalization zone meets the criteria required in paragraph I.
III. The commissioner of resources and economic development is authorized to establish an advisory board for each economic revitalization zone established under this chapter.
Source. 2003, 301:2, eff. July 1, 2003. 2007, 263:120, eff. July 1, 2007; 263:123, I, eff. July 1, 2011.