Section 520.220  Form of Application

An application shall be submitted on the standard application form provided by the Department.  An application shall include:

a)         Eligibility Criteria.  Information establishing that the necessary eligibility criteria as specified in Section 520.210 has been met;

b)         Characteristics of the Zone.  Information on the following physical, economic, and social characteristics of the zone:

1)         Master Plan.  A master plan or economic development plan for the area;

2)         Current Land Use Patterns.  A description of current land use patterns of the Enterprise Zone that includes an estimate of the proportion of land used for different purposes; and a coded map indicating current land use patterns of the proposed zone according to classifications (i.e., privately-held land, which includes business/commercial, industrial, institutional/special purpose, residential, and agricultural/undeveloped, or publicly-held land, which includes State/federal land, local public land in use, and undeveloped/underutilized local public land) or variation thereof;

3)         Map of the Zone.  A map of the Enterprise Zone locating and naming major employers, industrial parks and vacant facilities, and showing existing streets and highways;

4)         Employers in the Zone.  A listing of the local commercial and industrial employers in the proposed Enterprise Zone, which consists of the five major employers, the type of products or services they provide, and their number of employees;

5)         Industrial Parks in the Zone. A listing of the industrial parks in the proposed Enterprise Zone that have infrastructure in place, which includes description of infrastructure, estimated total square footage of buildings and percentage occupied, and a listing of areas of undeveloped land targeted for industrial park development, which includes the location of undeveloped land, number of acres, and zoning classification;

6)         Vacant Buildings in the Zone. A listing of the largest vacant or underutilized buildings by address and type of industry use, possible or suitable use (warehousing, light manufacturing, etc.), approximate square footage and percent occupied, and current or previous occupant;

7)         Federal Census Data.  A compilation of data on the proposed Enterprise Zone and the "larger geography" based on 2000 Federal Census information and the data collection techniques used in calculating the distress criteria, which includes: total population, median family income, median household income, total number of occupied housing units, number of occupied housing units renter-occupied, total number of vacant housing units, total number of persons in poverty, number of persons in civilian labor force, male civilian labor force population, employed male civilian labor force population, female civilian labor force population, and employed female civilian labor force population;

8)         Social and Economic Trends. A description of the local social and economic conditions and trends that impact economic development, such as:

A)        Areas of Zone Growth. The areas or sectors of recent local and zone area growth which include but are not limited to types of commercial activity or new industries;

B)        Areas of Zone Decline. The areas or sectors of recent local and zone area decline (i.e., the most significant layoffs, plant closings, and estimated jobs lost over the last 3 years, and the expectations for recovery or for stability);

C)        Reliance on Industries. The types of industries that the area may be heavily dependent on and that are currently in periods of significant change or that are highly subject to regional or national business cycles;

D)        Available Resources. The resources available to stimulate economic development (i.e., people or expertise, money, facilities, market assets, training and education programs, technical assistance related to financial packaging, marketing, etc., for entrepreneurs, small business, and women and minority-owned businesses); and

E)         Characteristics of the Community. The characteristics of the community, which include, but are not limited to, local government fiscal stability, local policy choices, bonding authority, and locational factors;

9)         Local Revitalization Efforts. A description of local revitalization efforts, which include public or private economic development related activities and commitments that have occurred within the past two years in the proposed Enterprise Zone;

c)         Economic Assets and Liabilities of the Zone. A statement and information concerning the economic assets and liabilities of the zone;

d)         Economic Development Goals of the Zone. A statement concerning the economic development goals and objectives of the zone, including:  specific three-year development goals and objectives of the zone, and a zone implementation plan describing the specific tasks, activities, and commitments that must be accomplished to achieve each three-year objective;

e)         Local Incentives and Programs. Information concerning each local incentive, program, special activity, or commitment to be provided in support of the zone, including:  a description of each, how it will be implemented, who will provide it, the estimated impact on the revenue of the local government, any special qualifications or conditions imposed on its applicability, and the period of availability and the effective date provided. However, each incentive, program, special activity, or commitment to be provided may not be offered on a case-by-case basis, and must assure that all taxpayers or participants eligible under similar circumstances are treated in a similar manner;

f)          Statement of Community Support. A statement describing the input, assistance, prior consultation, and community support for the zone from individuals, businesses, labor organizations, neighborhood organizations, and others;

g)         Role of the DZO. A statement describing the role of the DZO, including the functions, programs and services to be performed by the DZO;

h)         Municipality or County Incentives.  A statement detailing any tax, grant, and other financial incentives or benefits, and any programs, to be provided by the municipality or county to business enterprises within the zone, other than those provided in the designating ordinance, which are not provided throughout the municipality or county;

i)          Economic Impact of the Zone.  An estimate of the economic impact of the zone, considering all of the tax incentives, financial benefits and programs contemplated, upon the revenues of the municipality or county;

j)          Management Structure of the Zone.  A statement describing the management structure of the zone;

k)         Transcript of Public Hearings.  A transcript of all public hearings;

l)          Copy of Public Notice.  A copy of the public notice;

m)          Designating Ordinance.  A certified copy of the local government designating ordinance; and

n)         Joint Applicant Information.  In the case of a joint application, a statement detailing the need for a zone covering portions of more than one municipality or county, and a description of the agreement between joint applicants.

(Source:  Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 3282, effective February 14, 2003)