Shovel-ready sites: state program for fast-track permitting.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

UNDER 2005 LEGISLATION, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. administers "Shovel-Ready" and uses a Fast Access Site Team (FASTeam) to deliver fast-track permitting at the state level

To receive certification, there must be:

* executive-level community support, such as the mayor, county commissioner or town council president, demonstrating a local commitment to expedite permitting at the local level

* clear ownership of property

* sufficient infrastructure in place

* identification of water bodies and receiving streams at the site

* topographical maps

* initial environmental assessment of the property Applications are accepted from local units of government and economic-development organizations.

Applications are accepted at six-month intervals, and the two rounds so far have resulted in 20 Shovel-Ready certifications. They are detailed on a special list on the site selection portion of IEDC's Web site, with maps and aerial photos. That's one of the key benefits to communities--special marketing, aimed at making it easy for companies and their representatives to quickly access what's available and ready to go from anywhere in the world.

There are 19 Shovel-Ready sites currently listed, since the Decatur County Rail & Business Park along U.S. 421 in Greensburg became part of what is now the 1,700-acre Honda Motor Co. plant site. That application was pending approval while Honda was considering its site location. But all the advance work that was done to prepare for it was a factor in Honda's decision, says Vicki Kellerman, director, Greensburg/Decatur County Economic Development Corp.

Brad Moore, Shovel-Ready project manager for IEDC, says the office can handle about 20 to 30 applications a year, which involve expedited permitting by the state agencies. The agency promotes geographic coverage and will only accept one application per county per round, he says.

Central Indiana.

All but one approved Shovel-Ready site is a greenfield--vacant land, mostly farmlands that have yet to be developed. A unique brownfield development in Anderson helps clear the way for development of part of an old General Motors property now owned by the city. Scatterfield Business Park, State Road 9 and Scatterfield Road, has 250 acres, 52 of which were certified as Shovel-Ready in February. That portion includes a 241,000-square-foot former GM Engineering and Laboratories building, which could be subdivided with a minimum of 10,000 square feet.

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