(1) Within three years after June 28, 2011, in cooperation with local governments and private industry, the Economic Recovery Review Council, by rule, shall designate at least five and not more than 15 regionally significant industrial areas. The council shall base the designation of regionally significant industrial areas on the criteria in the definition of ‘regionally significant industrial area’ and the judgment of the council concerning the relative importance of the areas in terms of potential, long-term job creation.

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(2) A local government may nominate a regionally significant industrial area for designation by the council.

(3) An area containing multiple sites certified by the Oregon Business Development Department as ready for development within six months or less is eligible for designation by the council if the area is a regionally significant industrial area.

(4) In addition to demonstrating compliance with other provisions of law, including, but not limited to, a statewide land use planning goal concerning economic development and rules implementing the goal, the future employment potential of a regionally significant industrial area shall be protected from conflicting development in the following ways:

(a) A local government may not adopt a provision of a comprehensive plan or land use regulation that prevents industrial uses within the area.

(b) A local government may not adopt a provision of a comprehensive plan or land use regulation that allows new nonindustrial uses within the area that conflict with existing or planned industrial uses.

(c) A local government may not decrease the land area planned or zoned for industrial uses within the regionally significant industrial area.

(d) A local government may adopt a provision of a comprehensive plan or land use regulation, including development standards or overlay zones, that restricts the type or extent of current or future industrial uses within the area, but only if the local government mitigates at the same time the effect of the new provision by:

(A) Clearly maintaining or increasing the industrial employment potential of the area; and

(B) Clearly maintaining the important site characteristics and functions that led to the designation of the site as a regionally significant industrial area.

(5) Subsection (4) of this section does not apply to a provision of a comprehensive plan or land use regulation that is necessary:

(a) To protect public health or safety; or

(b) To implement federal law.

(6) If 50 percent of the developable land within a regionally significant industrial area has not been developed within 10 years after designation of the area, the council shall remove the designation, unless landowners representing a majority of the land within the area request that the designation be continued.

(7) Within a regionally significant industrial area, a new industrial use or the expansion of an existing industrial use is eligible for an expedited industrial land use permit issued under ORS § 197.724 if the new or expanded use does not require a change to the acknowledged comprehensive plan or land use regulations.

(8) In addition to other criteria for distribution of available funds, the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority and the Oregon Transportation Commission may consider the designation of an area as a regionally significant industrial area in prioritizing funding for transportation and other public infrastructure.

(9) ORS § 197.722 to 197.728 do not apply to land in the Willamette River Greenway Plan boundary between river mile 1 and river mile 11. [2011 c.564 § 7]

See note under 197.722.