Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/190797
Sarasota News Leader October 11, 2013 Page 60 In her Oct. 10 presentation to the commission, Lisa Damschroder of the Office of Business and Economic Development, said the amended ordinance revises the boundaries to comprise all unincorporated areas west of the county's Urban Service Boundary, as well as the county landfill and Urban Service Areas within county municipalities, providing the cities have adopted resolutions or ordinances authorizing those areas to be in the zone. Additionally, the amended ordinance would give applicants one new energy efficiency standard with which they could comply to be considered for the program. The original EEZ ordinance offered only three, which business representatives found difficult to meet, staff told the board on Sept. 11. Lisa Damschroder reviews the proposed changes to the Energy Economic Zone ordinance. Photo by Rachel Hackney and land use planning," says an Oct. 9 memo Finally, the ordinance calls for the County to the County Commission relating the hisCommission to receive formal, semi-annual tory of the program. updates on the program. In 2011, the Legislature modified the program, V i c e C h a i r m a n H i n e s c o m m e n d e d necessitating the County Commission to Damschroder and Lee Hayes Byron, man- revise the original ordinance in March 2012. ager of the county's sustainability program, Commissioner Christine Robinson pointed for their work on the amended ordinance. out that board members had been criticized "It's a tool we can use to attract business because the ordinance did not appear workhere," he added, "[but] it hasn't worked so far. able. "Because we tightened it too much, we Hopefully, these amendments work [and] … lost opportunities," Robinson added. "It's a it will be an example for the state to follow." big lesson learned." The Florida Legislature created the EEZ Pilot Commissioner Patterson asked how much Program in 2009 as "a model to help commuprogress had been made with the state's other nities cultivate green economic development, pilot program, in the City of Miami Beach. encourage renewable electric energy generation, manufacture products that contribute Byron replied that that city's leaders have to energy conservation and green jobs, and made their way through the rules process, but other activities related to energy efficiency they have not implemented the program. %