CHAPTER 585
ENTERPRISE ZONES, ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS
AND ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR ZONES
Table of Contents
Sec. 32-70d. Community enterprise zone boards.
Sec. 32-80. Enterprise corridor zones.
Sec. 32-70d. Community enterprise zone boards. Within thirty days after the
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development approves the designation of
an area as an enterprise zone in a municipality under subdivision (2) of subsection (c)
of section 32-70, the municipality shall establish a community enterprise zone board.
The board shall establish policy for the promotion and development of the zone, coordinate economic development programs in the zone with related job training and social
services programs and adopt an enterprise zone revitalization plan. The plan shall specify
goals and objectives for the enterprise zone, describe strategies to attain such goals and
establish an implementation schedule. The municipality shall submit its plan to the
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for review and comment.
The board shall consist of (1) the following officials of such municipality, or designees
of such officials: The official responsible for economic development programs; the chief
executive official, or his designee; a representative of the legislative body, who shall
be appointed by such body; the chief of police, or his designee; the housing administrator,
or his designee; and a representative of the school board, who shall be appointed by
such board; (2) a representative of the regional community-technical college serving
the region in which the municipality is located, if applicable, who shall be appointed
by the chief executive officer of such college; (3) two representatives of the business
community of the municipality, one of whom shall be a member of the chamber of
commerce from the municipality; (4) two persons who own businesses located in the
enterprise zone; and (5) two representatives of neighborhood community organizations
serving the area in which the zone is located or, if no such organization exists, two
residents of said area. The board members described in subdivisions (3), (4) and (5) of
this section shall be appointed by the chief executive official of the municipality.
(P.A. 93-331, S. 2; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 05-288, S. 141.)
History: P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change, effective
July 13, 2005.
Sec. 32-80. Enterprise corridor zones. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.
(2) "Public investment communities" shall have the same meaning as "public investment communities", as defined in section 7-545.
(3) "Distressed municipality" shall have the same meaning as "distressed municipality", as defined in section 32-9p.
(4) "Eligible municipality" means a municipality that is a distressed municipality
and a public investment community, has a population of not more than forty thousand,
has an unemployment rate that is more than the unemployment rate of the state, and for
which the per capita income is less than the per capita income of the state.
(5) "Unemployment rate" means the average unemployment rate of a municipality
or the state, as the case may be, as reported by the Labor Commissioner on the preceding
July first for the latest available twelve-month period.
(6) "Per capita income" means the average per capita income of a municipality or
the state, as the case may be, that is enumerated in the most recent (A) federal decennial
census of population, or (B) current population report series issued by the United States
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census available on the preceding January
first, whichever is most recent.
(b) (1) Before July 1, 2005, the legislative bodies of three or more contiguous municipalities, each of which is a public investment community and has a population of
not more than sixty thousand, and at least fifty per cent of which municipalities are
located along the same interstate highway, limited access state highway or intersecting
interstate or limited access state highways, may, with the approval of the commissioner,
designate industrial districts in such municipalities as an enterprise corridor zone. (2)
On or after July 1, 2005, the legislative bodies of two or more contiguous eligible municipalities, at least one of which is located along an interstate highway, limited access state
highway or intersecting interstate or limited access state highways and is designated as
a regional center in the locational guide map included in the state plan of conservation
and development adopted pursuant to chapter 297, may, with the approval of the commissioner, designate such municipalities as an enterprise corridor zone.
(c) Municipalities seeking the approval of the commissioner for such designation
shall execute an intermunicipal agreement specifying how they would cooperatively
share in the marketing, promotion and development of the industrial districts that would
comprise the enterprise corridor zones, and shall file with the commissioner a preliminary application which includes such executed agreement. Not later than sixty days
after receipt of such preliminary application, the commissioner shall indicate to the
municipalities, in writing, any recommendations for improving the municipalities' application. Not later than sixty days after receipt of the commissioner's written response,
the municipalities shall file a final application with the commissioner.
(d) The commissioner shall approve the designation of at least two areas as enterprise corridor zones. The commissioner may remove the designation of any area he has
approved as an enterprise corridor zone if such area no longer meets the criteria for such
designation, provided no such designation shall be removed less than ten years after the
date that such area no longer meets such criteria.
(e) Businesses located within an enterprise corridor zone shall be entitled to the same
benefits, subject to the same conditions, under the general statutes for which businesses
located in an enterprise zone qualify.
(f) The commissioner may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of
chapter 54 to carry out the purposes of this section.
(P.A. 94-241, S. 1, 4; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; 96-239, S. 1, 17; P.A. 00-194, S. 2, 3; P.A. 05-194, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 94-241 effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of
Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 96-239
substituted "thirty-five thousand" population maximum for "thirty thousand" in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1996; P.A.
00-194 amended Subsec. (b) to provide for enterprise corridor zones comprised of municipalities with populations up to
sixty thousand, effective June 1, 2000; P.A. 05-194 amended Subsec. (a) by defining "distressed municipality", "eligible
municipality", "unemployment rate" and "per capita income", amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provisions as
Subdiv. (1), making Subdiv. (1) applicable before July 1, 2005, and adding Subdiv. (2) re enterprise corridor zone eligibility
on or after July 1, 2005, and amended Subsec. (d) by substituting "after the date that such area no longer meets such criteria"
for "from the date of approval of such zone", effective July 1, 2005.