The State of California approved the Enterprise Zone Act in 1985, establishing a mechanism to stimulate employment generation and business growth in economically distressed areas throughout the state. The EZ is a long-term (15-year) partnership with local governments and private companies to generate new private sector investment and growth. The State provides performance based tax incentives to EZ businesses to revitalize chronically deteriorated areas; hire the most difficult-to-hire residents in private sector jobs; and retain, expand, and reward businesses that participate in the abovementioned State objectives.

Yuba and Sutter Counties Enterprise Zone
Yuba and Sutter Counties are located on four existing transportation corridors north of Sacramento (State Highways 70, 99, 20, and 65). The proposed EZ area is within a one-hour drive of the growing Sacramento area.

The current Yuba-Sutter Enterprise Zone is one of the ten original zones to be designated and is now one of 40 enterprise zones throughout California. The Yuba-Sutter EZ was designed on October 15, 1986. Its designation was scheduled to end on October 14, 2001, but a 5-year extension was granted to the Zone that ended on October 2006. The proposed project consists of renewing and expanding the EZ.

The primary goals of the Yuba-Sutter EZ are to reduce the area's continually high unemployment rate and spur capital investment by: providing availability and access to capital, identifying public and private market actions, relationships, and employment and labor force programs and services in support of clusters and entrepreneurs, and formulating an outreach program to communicate to stakeholders and region the Economic Diversity Strategy. The EZ also includes evaluation of the program, projects, and services of the Economic Diversity Strategy.

Oroville Enterprise Zone
the City of Oroville (the City) is located in south central Butte County and occupies an area of approximately 12 square miles. Bordering counties include Tehama, Plumas, Yuba, Sutter, and Glenn counties. The City is the seat of Butte County. The proposed project consists of renewing and reestablishing the City of Oroville's EZ and modifying the geographic boundaries of the previous EZ (established in 1991).

The primary mission of the Oroville EZ is to reduce the area's continually high unemployment rate by creating jobs and careers via business attraction, expansion, retention, and business assistance. Specific goals are outlined below, which would be measured on an annual basis during the life of the EZ. The EZ local incentives are specifically designed to support the mission by making it easier for businesses to create and sustain businesses and employees within the EZ.

Fresno County Enterprise Zone
The County is centrally located within the San Joaquin Valley, extending approximately 100 miles from the Coast Range foothills to the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and occupying an area of approximately 6,000 square miles. Bordering counties include San Benito, Merced, Madera, Mono, Inyo, Tulare, Kings, and Monterey counties. There are 15 incorporated cities in the County: Coalinga, Clovis, Firebaugh, Fowler, Fresno, Huron, Kerman, Kingsburg, Mendota, Orange Cove, Parlier, Reedley, San Joaquin, Sanger, and Selma. Fresno and Clovis are the largest of these cities.

The area proposed for the Enterprise Zone (EZ), also referred to as the "project site" throughout this Draft EIR, is an irregular shaped, 184,967-acre region that includes the following ten cities, described below, in addition to several unincorporated areas of Fresno County:

• City of Firebaugh
• City of Parlier
• City of Fowler
• City of Reedley
• City of Kerman
• City of San Joaquin
• City of Mendota
• City of Sanger
• City of Orange Cove
• City of Selma

The EZ includes each city listed above in its entirety. The EZ also includes the following communities located in unincorporated Fresno County:

• Biola
• Easton
• Calwa
• Malaga
• Caruthers
• Riverdale
• Del Rey
• Tranquility

Substantial economic growth is occurring in California and the San Joaquin Valley and will continue to grow as population and regional economies grow. The proposed EZ has an opportunity to capture some of the growth occurring in the region. As part of the EZ process, the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative is working on a "Certified Sites" Program that will improve the marketability of Fresno County industrial lands available for economic development.

Yuba and Sutter Counties Regional Location Map


Yuba and Sutter Counties Enterprise Zone


Fresno County Enterprise Zone


Oroville Enterprise Zone