Opportunity Zones deserve Burke County's attention

Most Burke County residents have probably never had a reason to think about Opportunity Zones.

That should change now.

The basic idea is simple. Opportunity Zones are a federal tax incentive meant to encourage private investment in lower-income census tracts where development may otherwise be difficult.

By encouraging private investment through tax incentives, the federal and state governments identify areas and, ideally, inspire economic development in places where it might otherwise not happen.

The program is entering a new 10-year designation cycle.

For local taxpayers, the benefit can be very real when the project is well chosen.

An empty building pays limited taxes and creates little activity. A vacant property does not house a family, employ a worker, support a restaurant, or bring people downtown. An old industrial site that sits unused can become a cost to the community instead of an asset.

A successful brick-and-mortar project enabled by an Opportunity Zone can change that. It can increase the local tax base. It can reuse property that already has roads, utilities, and public services nearby. It can create jobs.

It can add housing. It can bring more customers to downtown. It can make a neglected area safer, more active, and more useful.

The designation alone does not guarantee good development. It should not become a giveaway for projects that would happen anyway.

Burke County has already had experience with this federal economic development tool in the Opportunity Zones named in 2018.

The program helped support at least one major housing project, Murphy’s Farm. It helped frame the larger Broughton District as a place where private investment could follow public planning. And the designation helped turn part of central Morganton into a more marketable redevelopment area.

Opportunity Zones are designated through a not-well-understood nomination process. Federal rules determine which census tracts are eligible. The N.C. Department of Commerce gathers public input and reviews those eligible tracts. The Governor submits North Carolina’s nominations to the U.S. Treasury, which gives final certification.

The Commerce Department gathers input from local governments, economic development groups, and the public about which of those eligible tracts throughout the state should be nominated. North Carolina can nominate only 202 census tracts from about 807 eligible low-income tracts statewide, so not every eligible tract will be chosen.

We are entering the new nomination cycle. There are five Burke County census tracts being considered as Opportunity Zones. They include parts of northwest Burke, west-central Morganton, east-central Morganton, south Morganton, and the existing central Morganton/Broughton tract.

The nomination process is intended to be locally driven, because local elected officials and community leaders know where investment could have lasting impact.

County commissioners, municipal officials, Burke Development Inc., the chamber of commerce, downtown organizations, housing advocates, nonprofit leaders, employers, and residents should all be paying attention.

If Burke County does not make a clear case for its tracts, other counties and towns may make stronger cases for theirs.

The state, not the federal government, is shaping the nomination list now. Federal officials will be involved later in certification, but the most important public input at this stage should go to local officials and state Commerce officials.

Residents who care about Burke County’s future can take several useful steps.

First, contact Burke County commissioners and ask whether the county has reviewed eligible tracts and submitted a recommendation to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Ask which tract is being supported. Ask why that tract was chosen. Ask how the designation would support housing, jobs, infrastructure, or redevelopment.

Second, contact city or town officials and ask whether your municipality has reviewed the Opportunity Zone process, whether it supports a specific tract, and how that recommendation relates to housing, jobs, infrastructure, or redevelopment.

Third, submit public input to the North Carolina Department of Commerce through its Opportunity Zone public comment process by visiting the website www.commerce.nc.gov/data-tools-reports/opportunity-zones-north-carolina. Be advised there is a June 21 deadline.

Tell the state why a particular area needs investment. Mention vacant or underused property. Mention housing demand. Mention business growth, job potential, infrastructure needs, or redevelopment opportunities.

Opportunity Zones can be helpful, but only if communities use them wisely. Without planning, they are just lines on a map. Without public understanding, they become another government phrase that arrives quietly and leaves most people wondering what happened.

Opportunity Zones are complicated.

The local responsibility is not. Burke County residents should ask questions now, before the next 10-year map is drawn without them.