EEZ Ordinance No.2012-005

Sarasota County is one of two pilot programs chosen by the state to test policies related to green economic development and energy conservation.

In 2011, Governor Rick Scott signed legislation to provide incentives to pilot EEZ programs in Miami Beach and Sarasota County. The 2011 legislation includes the following provisions:

Sarasota County will use these and other local and state incentives to test policies to support, grow and attract clean technology and green business.

On February 22, 2012, the BCC adopted an ordinance that provides the program framework:

Boundaries:  The S.R. 681 corridor and landfill plus Major Employment Centers (MECs) and Sarasota County municipalities.

Criteria:  Require applicants to be a Clean Technology Business (i.e., businesses that produce an environmental product or service) or Green Business and provide for job creation.

Energy Efficiency Standards:  Minimum eligibility criteria requires businesses to certify that their buildings achieve an ENERGY STAR Rating of 60, or meet an energy performance standard of at least 5% above the state energy code, or achieve a LEED or Florida Green Building certification.

Program Review:  Review the process after six months and review all aspects of the incentive program after one year and make any needed adjustments to meet the objectives of the pilot program.

Next Steps
A resolution will be developed by July 1, 2012 to provide the details for the implementation of the Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program. Those details will include application requirements, a scoring system and a process for awarding incentives.

The County and the Economic Development Corporation will work together to meet the July 1, 2012 implementation deadline. In developing the program, the EEZ team will listen to our state partners in the Department of Economic Opportunity, clean technology and green business experts, business owners and the public to gather insight on how to develop an effective incentive program. This will include combinations of incentives as well as other factors that can help identify and develop markets for clean technology, advance product development, and build local expertise in green economic development. We will reconvene the EEZ stakeholders in the near future. Of course you can always call and if you’d like to sit down and talk over in detail in a meeting, that is an option as well.

Background:   Sarasota County is working hard to:

• Create a stronger and more diverse economy
• Help existing businesses expand and create jobs
• Help new businesses bring jobs to the county

• Create a community based on economic and energy sustainability

Sarasota County is learning and growing from the lessons of the recession. We are diversifying our economic base by growing environmentally clean jobs and adopting sustainable development policies and practices. We are locating jobs and housing closer to each other, reducing transportation needs, building on clean businesses and incorporating environmental safeguards for waterways and natural areas.

Message to the BCC on benefits of the Energy Economic Zone
   from Nicholas C. Gladding, Commissioner, Florida Energy and Climate Commission