New members to be appointed to EZDA

Changes to Enterprise Zone boundaries to be adopted soon

 

  The Glades County Board of County Commissioners is expected to appoint two new members to

 the Enterprise Zone Development Agency (EZDA) at their regular  meeting Tuesday, June 12.

 Andrew Couse of First Bank of Clewiston will be appointed to represent the banking/insurance industry, while Sgt. Dave Hardin will replace Glades County Sheriff Stuart Whiddon on the EZDA board. Other EZDA board members, appointed to represent various constiuencies as required by statute include: Chairman John Ahern, representing the business community; vice chairman Wayne Aldrich, representing workforce development, Deputy County Manager Larry Hilton, representing Glades County; Carl Perry, representing the Glades County Chamber of Commerce;  Judge Kirby Sullivan, representing the Lions Club and other civic organizations and residential representative Erlie Burleson. Enterprise Zone coordinator Tracy Whirls is also expected to brief the Board of County Commissioners concerning proposed changes in Glades County’s 20 square mile enterprise zone.

 

  After nearly a year of special meetings aimed at refining the existing enterprise zone boundaries to include more areas of the county where new commercial and industrial development is expected to occur, and removing those areas which are already at build out, the EZDA board hopes to finalize the boundary changes at their next meeting, Thursday, June 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the conference room in the Planning and Zoning/Building Department annex next to the Glades County Jail, Moore Haven.

Among the areas proposed to be removed from the Enterprise Zone are:

• The Rinker and Ortona sand mines, which as mining operations continue are not expected to become the site of new commercial and industrial development during the three years in which the new boundaries are expected to be applicable.

• The property identified as Glades Roadrunner  on SR 80.

 

  Other areas currently in the enterprise zone will be refined to delete those properties which are already at build out and make additional acreage available to be concentrated around areas which have been proposed to be developed. The area around Muse is likely to be trimmed on the east side of the proposed Muse rural village, removing Whisper Creek and Maple Corner which  are built out. A large portion of the area around Lakeport, particularly property that borders the Indian reservation, would be removed, but the board will attempt to create a cooridor linking Moore Haven and Lakeport which would allow them to retain the undeveloped property owned by Dave Chapman, as well as the Click property, Fisher Haven and Adventure Tours, all of which have been proposed to be developed.

 

 “We only have 20 square miles to play with and we want to make the enterprise zone incentives, particularly those for job creation, available to new companies and businesses that come into the area,”Ms. Whirls said. “The problem is, we’re only allowed three noncontiguous areas, and to confine ourselves to three noncontiguous areas, corridors have to be drawn connecting noncontiguous areas to properties in the zone. Consequently, to connect Lakeport with Moore Haven, a corridor consisting of 200-500 ft. of buildable space is be drawn, a challenge given the amount of TIFF land and the dike itself in the area, which are not deemed developable.   Community Development director and EZDA board member Larry Hilton recommended that the 400 acres of designated TIFF land around Lake Okeechobee be removed, along with some areas in Moore Haven  and Lakeport which are built out. South of the river, Mr. Hilton noted there is a great deal of cane land, besides the CHL Lake Hickpochee property which has received plat approval, which can also be removed. He also recommended reducing the area off US 27, which includes half a section of property, to focus on the quarter of a section of land right on the highway.

 

  This would include new industrial property Hilliard has submitted to rezone from agriculture to industrial and might be redrawn to incorporate property held by Ivan Cano which is being developed for new affordable housing. According to enterprise zone coordinator Tracy Whirls, the object of the proposed changes is to concentrate more of the enterprise zone area around properties already identified as poised for commercial or industrial development and to make acreage available for those areas to be added to the zone.

Among properties to be added to the enterprise zone:

• 194 acres on SR 78 belonging to Russell Kilpatrick and zoned industrial.

• A portion of two 1000 acre sites submitted as part of the catalyst site selection process, including some property near Palmdale ranked as the number three site in the region for site selection for new healthcare services companies and the two sections of land contiguous with the proposed FPL property off SR 78.

• Lykes property, including 200+ acres recently rezoned commercial west of 29 and 178 acres zoned industrial east of 29  would be included, as  would 30 acres in Ortona  designated for the new River Forest Yacht Center, as well as some additional riverfront property being looked at for other commercial or industrial development.

 

  The Enterprise Zone coordinator noted that the proposed boundary changes would be in effect for three years, once approved by the state following advertising requirements expected to take up to 120 days, subject to approval by the EZDA, the Board of County Commissioners and the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development as well as Enterprise Florida.

 

  “It’s really critical that we get these boundary changes approved, as we have projects, like River Forest, which are expected to create 100 jobs, that may hinge on the availability of the enterprise zone incentives,” Ms. Whirls said. Properties removed from the zone now could be reintroduced to the zone later, as redevelopment occurs, particularly if the county goes forward with plans to seek designation as a federal empowerment zone. Neighboring Hendry County, which, along with the city of Immokalee, is a federal empowerment zone, has more than 400 miles of enterprise zone areas bordering most arterial roads in Hendry County, Ms. Whirls said.

For more information on the enterprise zone program, contact Enterprise Zone Coordinator Tracy Whirls at (863) 946-0300 or email twhirls@gladescountyedc.com.