The Hermiston City Council voted Monday to nominate the Cook Industrial Site as a Regionally Significant Industrial Area (RSIA). The Oregon Economic Recovery Review Council (OEERC) will now consider the nomination and could make a determination as early as May.
The 2011 Oregon Legislature created the RSIA program with the intent of targeting job growth in areas best suited to accommodate it and implement a strategy of improvements for priority locations. There are currently only three RSIAs elsewhere in the state – all on the west side – and the 2011 legislation limits the number to no more than 15.
The ORERRC designates industrial land as “regionally significant” in order to protect a valuable piece of property from being used for purposes other than industrial. Industrial land with the special designation also is eligible for priority funding from the state, and receives a marketing boost by having an increased profile within the state.
Assistant Hermiston City Manager Mark Morgan said if the Cook Industrial Site is designated as an RSIA, industrial projects at the site could be viewed “more favorably for state funding assistance.”
The OERRC has identified Hermiston and Ontario as the two most likely areas in Eastern Oregon to receive the designation.
The city of Hermiston was encouraged by Gov. John Kitzhaber’s Eastern Regional Solutions Team to apply for the designation because of the area’s competitive advantage created by its available labor force.
The Hermiston area’s proximity to the Tri-Cities gives it a larger labor force within a 30 mile radius than anywhere else in eastern or central Oregon. There are nearly 117,000 people who live within 30 miles of Hermiston and are actively in the labor force. That’s compared to the Bend area which has the next-largest labor force within a 30 mile radius in eastern or central Oregon with 63,000 people. Ontario has an available labor force of around 51,000 people.
A large available labor force makes it easier for large-scale employers to fill positions if they locate to the area. The Cook Industrial Site offers a 282 acre site which has been certified as “project ready” by the state of Oregon.
