Section 7073.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), any city, county, or city and county with an eligible area within its jurisdiction may complete a preliminary application for designation as an enterprise zone. The applying entity shall establish definitive boundaries for the proposed enterprise zone and the targeted employment area.

(b) (1) In designating enterprise zones, the department shall select from the applications submitted those proposed enterprise zones that, upon a comparison of all of the applications submitted, indicate that they propose the most appropriate, innovative, and comprehensive regulatory, tax, program, and other incentives in attracting private sector investment in the zone proposed.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, regulatory incentives include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) The suspension or relaxation of locally originated or modified building codes, zoning laws, general development plans, or rent controls.

(B) The elimination or reduction of fees for applications, permits, and local government services.

(C) The establishment of a streamlined permit process.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, tax incentives include, but are not limited to, the elimination or reduction of construction taxes or business license taxes.

(4) For the purposes of this subdivision, program and other incentives may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) The provision or expansion of infrastructure.

(B) The targeting of federal block grant moneys, including small cities, education, and health and welfare block grants.

(C) The targeting of economic development grants and loan moneys, including grant and loan moneys provided by the federal Urban Development Action Grant program and the federal Economic Development Administration.

(D) The targeting of state and federal job disadvantaged and vocational education grant moneys, including moneys provided by the federal Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-300).

(E) The targeting of federal or state transportation grant moneys.

(F) The targeting of federal or state low-income housing and rental assistance moneys.

(G) The use of tax allocation bonds, special assessment bonds, bonds under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 53311) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5), industrial development bonds, revenue bonds, private activity bonds, housing bonds, bonds issued pursuant to the Marks-Roos Local Bond Pooling Act of 1985 (Article 4 (commencing with Section 6584) of Chapter 5), certificates of participation, hospital bonds, redevelopment bonds, school bonds, and all special provisions provided for under federal tax law for enterprise community or empowerment zone bonds.

(5) In the process of designating new enterprise zones, the department shall take into consideration the location of existing zones and make every effort to locate new zones in a manner that will not adversely affect any existing zones.

(6) In designating new enterprise zones, the department shall include in its criteria the fact that jurisdictions have been declared disaster areas by the President of the United States within the last seven years.

(7) When reviewing and ranking new enterprise zone applications, the department shall give special consideration or bonus points, or both, to applications from jurisdictions that meet at least two of the following criteria:

(A) The percentage of households within the census tracts of the proposed enterprise zone area, the income of which is below the poverty level, is at least 17.5 percent.

(B) The average unemployment rate for the census tracts of the proposed enterprise zone area was not less than five percentage points above the statewide average for the most recent calendar year as determined by the Employment Development Department.

(C) The applicant jurisdiction has, and can document that it has, a unique distress factor affecting long-term economic development, including, but not limited to, resource depletion, plant closure, industry recession, natural disaster, or military base closure.

(c) In evaluating applications for designation, the department shall ensure that applications are not disqualified solely because of technical deficiencies, and shall provide applicants with an opportunity to correct the deficiencies. Applications shall be disqualified if the deficiencies are not corrected within two weeks.

(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), or upon dedesignation pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 7076.1 or Section 7076.2, a designation made by the department shall be binding for a period of 15 years from the date of the original designation.

(2) The designation period for any zone designated pursuant to either Section 7073 or 7085 prior to 1990 may total 20 years, subject to possible dedesignation pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 7076.1 or Section 7076.2, if the following requirements are met:

(A) The zone receives a superior or passing audit pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 7076.1.

(B) The local jurisdictions comprising the zone submit an updated economic development plan to the department justifying the need for an additional five years by defining goals and objectives that still need to be achieved and indicating what actions are to be taken to achieve these goals and objectives.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any area designated as an enterprise zone pursuant to Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, or as a targeted economic development area, neighborhood economic development area, or program area pursuant to Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 7080) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, or any program area or part of a program area deemed designated as an enterprise zone pursuant to Section 7085.5 as it read prior to January 1, 1997, shall be deemed to be designated as an enterprise zone pursuant to this chapter. The effective date of designation of the enterprise zone shall be that of the original designation of the enterprise zone pursuant to Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, or of the program area pursuant to Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 7080) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, and in no event may the total designation period exceed 15 years, except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any enterprise zone authorized, but not designated, pursuant to Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, shall be allowed to complete the application process started pursuant to that chapter, and to receive final designation as an enterprise zone pursuant to this chapter.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any expansion of a designated enterprise zone or program area authorized pursuant to Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, or Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 7080) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, shall be deemed to be authorized as an expansion for a designated enterprise zone pursuant to this chapter.

(4) No part of this chapter may be construed to require a new application for designation by an enterprise zone designated pursuant to Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070) as it read prior to January 1, 1997, or a targeted economic development area, neighborhood economic development area, or program area designated pursuant to Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 7080) as it read prior to January 1, 1997.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a city, county, or city and county may designate a joint powers authority to administer the enterprise zone.

(g) This section shall only apply to enterprise zone applications for which the department has issued a solicitation for new enterprise zone designations prior to January 1, 2007.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 718, Sec. 2. Effective September 29, 2006. Repealed as of January 1, 2014, pursuant to Section 7090.)