The Florida Enterprise Zones Program was established in 1994 following legislation that repealed the existing federal government's Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Community Zones and established a new application and designation process. The program operates at both the state and federal levels, providing incentives that accommodate both rural and urban areas.
Under the new application process, local governments are required to establish a strategic plan, form a local Enterprise Zone Development Agency, and submit a specific map showing the boundaries of the zone. The application process and zone activities are administered by the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (OTTED), which also provides technical assistance and information.
Because a variety of sources and methods were used to verify information for this data, the quality of the locations may vary accordingly. This data is intended to be used for general locational representation and should not be considered appropriate for legal and/or cadastral purposes.
Florida Enterprise Zones: <http://www.floridaenterprisezones.com>
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: <http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/systems/mapping/rcezec/> -- Urban Round III Empowerment Zones ---- FL - Jacksonville -- Urban Round II Empowerment Zones ---- FL - Miami-Dade County -- Urban Round I Enterprise Communities ---- FL - Miami-Dade County ---- FL - Tampa -- Rural Round II Enterprise Communities ---- FL - Empowerment Alliance of Southwest Florida -- Rural Round Round I Enterprise Communities ---- FL - Jackson County <http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/economicdevelopment/programs/rc/about/ezecinit.cfm>
Currently there are 55 state Enterprise Zones. Included within that total are:
* 3 Federal Enterprise Communities * 2 Federal Empowerment Zones * 27 Rural Enterprise Zones * 28 Urban Enterprise Zones
Graphics and attributes of the original 25 Enterprise Zones current at the time of data development were created and visually verified by Camisha Clarke and Lindsay Horton.
Locational quality information was maintained throughout data development by recording the USERNAME, DATESTAMP, and SOURCE for each feature. See METHOD field to determine which process was used to develop each feature.
Finally, useful fields from the original list were joined to the polygons.
More information about Enterprise Zones and statewide incentives can be obtained from the Enterprise Florida website at <http://www.floridaenterprisezones.com>.
Additionally data was also downloaded in shapefile format by the GeoPlan Center from HUD: <http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/systems/mapping/rcezec/> When received, the data was in the NAD83 Decimal Degrees Geographic Coordinate System. These shapefiles contain the 1990 census tracts that make up the Renewal Communities, Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities. These shapefiles are based on the U.S. Census Bureau's 1990 Cartographic Boundary Files.
GeoPlan, during the QA/QC process included the following aspects: (1) Reprojected data to FGDL HPGN. (2) Restructured the HUD data's Attribute table to match that of the FDEP's. (3) Merged the two datasets together. (4) Added DESCRIPT item based on ZONE_NAME. (5) Added FGDLAQDATE based on GeoPlans acquisition date. (6) Added AUTOID.