TITLE
RESOLUTION REQUESTING AN ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARY MODIFICATION TO THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ENTERPRISE ZONE AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARY MODIFICATION OF THE ENTERPRISE ZONE

BODY
WHEREAS, this Board finds that economic and community development of distressed areas is a public purpose, and that local residents and the private sector should be assisted to revitalize such areas; and

WHEREAS, the State Legislature adopted the House Bill 1725 relating to the Florida Enterprise Zone Act (the “Act”), which provides for appropriate investments, tax benefits, and regulatory relief to provide the necessary means to assist local communities, their residents and the private sector in creating the proper economic environment to induce the investment of private resources; and

WHEREAS, this Board desires to continue in the Florida Enterprise Zone Program pursuant to 2005 Florida Statutes, Chapter 290 to induce the investment of private resources in productive business enterprises located in distressed areas; and

WHEREAS, this Board desires to apply for a boundary modification of the Enterprise Zone of Miami-Dade County and finds the geographical areas nominated meet the requirements of the Florida Statutes Chapter 290; and

WHEREAS, this Board finds that the areas being recommended to be added to the enterprise zone within the corporate boundaries of Miami-Dade County exhibit extreme and unacceptable levels of poverty, unemployment, physical deterioration, and economic disinvestment; and

WHEREAS, the rehabilitation, conservation, revitalization or redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of such areas is necessary in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Miami-Dade County; and

WHEREAS, the revitalization of such areas can occur only if the private sector can be induced to invest its own resources in productive enterprises that build or rebuild the economic viability of the areas; and

WHEREAS, this Board desires to accomplish the purpose outlined in the accompanying memorandum, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:

Section 1. The Mayor or his designee is authorized to apply to the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development for a boundary modification of the County’s Enterprise Zone consistent with Enterprise Zone Program authorized by House Bill 1725.

Section 2. The Board does hereby direct the Mayor or his designee to submit an updated census profile of the zone, a Board of County Commission resolution authorizing the boundary modification in accordance with Section 290.0055 Florida Statutes and authorizes the Mayor or his designee to request from the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, pursuant to Section 290.0065 Florida Statutes, the boundary modification.

HEADER
Date:



To: Honorable Chairman, Bruno A. Barreiro
and Members, Board of County Commissioners



From: George M. Burgess
County Manager



Subject: Resolution to Submit an Application to the State of Florida for an Administrative Boundary Change to the Miami-Dade County Enterprise Zone

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approve the attached resolution that authorizes the filing of an application with the State of Florida for an Administrative Boundary Change to the Miami-Dade County Enterprise Zone (EZ). The Administrative Boundary Change is recommended as a result of six applications, of which four were deemed responsive to the Request for Application (RFA) authorized by the BCC on January 22, 2008 (Resolution No. 84-08).



The EZ is a State of Florida program which provides business assistance to stimulate capital investment and job growth in distressed areas using State of Florida and County business incentives. It is not to be confused with the federal Empowerment Zone.



Scope
The maps of the proposed modifications which include both additions and deletions to the EZ are included as Attachment 1. The recommended additions are: the Biscayne Landing site located east of Biscayne Boulevard between NE 137 Street and NE 151 Street (District 4); the Ikon Brickell site located at 475 Brickell Avenue (District 5); the Quantum on the Bay site located at 1852 and 1900 N. Bayshore Drive (District 3); and the 22nd Avenue Corridor site located on the eastside of SW 22nd Avenue from Flagler Street to SW 8th Street (District 5).



The proposed deletions are 200.17 acres of the Miami International Airport runways (District 6) and the following City of Miami sites: Henderson Park (District 5), the City of Miami Cemetery, Eaton Park and Jorge Mas Canosa Park (all located in District 3).



Fiscal Impact / Funding Source
If the proposed areas are approved to become part of the Enterprise Zone, the businesses in the areas will benefit from the State of Florida incentives and the County’s Municipal Tax Exemption on Electricity. Incentives on any County taxes paid are presently not part of this program.



The projects recommended to be included in the EZ will generate additional tax revenues to the County, and the owners will be required to make a contribution to the County’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the amount of ten percent of the accrued benefit realized through the State tax savings. It is estimated that approximately $4.4 million will be contributed to the Trust Fund.





Track Record/Monitor
Miami-Dade County has participated in the Enterprise Zone Program for 21 years, providing tax credits and refunds to businesses. The Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) is the local EZ coordinating agency, managing the program for the entire County. The Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED) in the Office of the Governor administers the program for the state.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
The Enterprise Zone Program is a joint State and County business assistance program that provides incentives to: 1) stimulate economic growth in distressed areas, 2) stimulate economic development through private investment, and 3) create jobs within the enterprise zone boundaries. The Enterprise Zone Program has been an integral part of the County’s economic development strategy and is one of the major business inducement incentives marketed by the Beacon Council. The zone measures 53.1 square miles of three non-contiguous sections within geographic Miami-Dade.

In November 2005, through Resolution R-1305-05, the County reauthorized its Enterprise Zone Program for ten additional years. The state approved the County’s application, pursuant to the Florida Enterprise Zone Act of 2005, with an effective date of January 1, 2006.

Under the program, and as described in Florida Statute §290.0055, the governing body of the jurisdiction which authorized the application for an Enterprise Zone, which in this case is the Board of County Commissioners, may apply to the OTTED for a change in boundary once every three years. However, this change cannot increase the overall geographical size of the County’s EZ. Therefore, any modification done administratively requires an area “swap” to ensure that the EZ is no more than 53.1 square miles. Suggested areas for a swap are lakes, airport runways and any other areas deemed non-developable. Proposed modifications must meet the eligibility criteria of the Florida Statutes 290.0058 and 290.0065.

RFA Process
The RFA for an Administrative Boundary Modification to the Enterprise Zone was approved by the BCC on January 22, 2008 and the successful applicants serve as the basis of the County’s application to the State. The RFA (Attachment 2) was made available on February 6, 2008 with proposals due no later than February 29, 2008. On February 12, 2008, OCED held a pre-submission workshop to clarify and answer questions from interested parties and municipalities, that anticipated responding to the RFA.

The RFA yielded the following six (6) proposals:

* Ikon Brickell by the Related Group
* Quantum on the Bay by the Terra Group
* Floridian Key by 5 Star Builders Group
* Biscayne Landing by Biscayne Landing, LLC
* 22nd Avenue Corridor by B. Developments
* Terrazas Coconut Grove by B. Developments




As with all previous modifications to the County’s EZ, the County’s Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) analyzed the census data of the proposed area(s) to be added to confirm compliance with Florida Statutes §290.0058 (see Attachment 3 containing individual analysis) in terms of unemployment, poverty and general distress. The analysis also included a demographic assessment of the proposed area(s) to maintain the required income mix of more than 50 percent of the census block groups with poverty rates higher than 30 percent. In addition, DPZ confirmed that areas suggested for a swap are in fact undeveloped and eligible to be swapped.

Based on the analysis prepared by DPZ, the proposal submitted by 5 Star Builders Group for the Floridian Key project was deemed non-responsive because it failed to identify the area to be swapped out of the Enterprise Zone, as required by the RFA. In addition, OCED also deemed the proposal from Terrazas Coconut Grove as non-responsive. This application failed to include significant information as required by the RFA such as having a specific project, project financing, site control, and estimated tax savings.

As part of the evaluation process, OCED formed a Selection Committee to score and rank the proposals. The Committee consisted of representatives from the Beacon Council, DPZ, and OCED. The Selection Committee met on April 8, 2008 and ranked the responsive four proposals and concurred with declaring the two proposals previously ruled as non-responsive. The average scores based on a maximum total of 100 and the concurrent rankings of the four responsive proposals are listed below:

* Biscayne Landing - 91 (1)
* Ikon Brickell - 66 (2)
* Quantum on the Bay - 57 (3)
* 22nd Ave. Corridor - 35 (4)

The responsive proposals were scored and ranked based on criteria included in the RFA. Among the variables considered were: amount of capital investment, permanent jobs expected after project completion, proof of financing, proof of site control, projected savings from the State EZ incentives, and projected tax revenues.

All four responsive proposals met the statutory criteria of the Florida Statutes §290.0058 for poverty and unemployment. Three out of the four proposals are located either within a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) or in a target area and meet the general distress statutory criteria.

The Ikon Brickell development meets the statutory requirements of the “general distress factor” criteria discussed earlier in this document. However, it cannot be established by referencing a distressed area category such as a CRA or a target area. Currently the specific development area has zero population and is undeveloped. Both of these factors meet the definition of “general distress”. Based on the analyses and the indicators of general distress, and the census tracking from DPZ, it is recommended that all areas proposed be swapped into the EZ and included in the application for the boundary modification of the EZ.




None of the areas proposed to be “swapped out” through the boundary modification are currently developed and therefore no businesses will be negatively impacted or penalized by the modification.

Contributions to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (Trust Fund) and Other Public Benefits
All the recommended projects will be making a monetary contribution to the County’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The developers will be required to make a non refundable, lump sum payment within six months of state approval of the modification. The County will receive 10 percent of the tax savings resulting from the State incentives. It is estimated that approximately $4.4 million will be contributed to the Trust Fund.

A separate BCC item will be brought to the Board in the near future laying out a strategy and a plan for the use of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

In addition to the Trust Fund contributions, the four projects will also have other public benefits. For example, permanent jobs will be created resulting from the proposed development of two hotels and the retail space. The four projects will include commercial development components; and in the case of Biscayne Landing will result in approximately 6,000 units of affordable housing.

Enterprise Zone Advisory Council (EZAC)
The Enterprise Zone Advisory Council, a BCC appointed body with oversight of the Enterprise Zone Program of the County, at its meeting of April 15, 2008, endorsed the RFA process, and the recommendations of the Selection Committee, and approved proceeding to the BCC for Board action on submittal of the application to amend the boundaries of the EZ of Miami-Dade County.

Prior to submitting the application to the State of Florida, all city resolutions of support for the projects located in municipal sections of the EZ will be made part of the application package to be sent to OTTED for the state’s approval.

Attachments




_______________________________
Cynthia W. Curry
Senior Advisor to the County Manager