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October 20, 2008 (Regular Meeting) Page 1023 industries, as well as to the condition of the county's environment and natural resources. Under certain circumstances and conditions, it may be in the interests of the County and its citizens that the BOC utilize the powers granted to it by the General Assembly in Chapters 153A and 156 of the North Carolina General Statutes to stimulate development and growth of business and industry in the County. Thus, the purpose of the Program is to provide the stimulus for the development, growth and expansion of business and industry within the County. This stimulus is the award of a Program Grant ("Grant") as provided in this Program. B. The award of a Grant is designed to increase employment opportunities within the County as well as to increase the assessed valuation of the County The BOC may consider a number of factors when deliberating upon whether to award a Grant. This recognizes the great variety of businesses, which have widely different capital and employment structures and needs. The factors that may be considered include but are not limited to the following: 1. The type of industry or business as a further diversification of Cabarrus County's business base; 2. The size and scope of the project based upon investment in site development, facilities, buildings and other business infrastructure inclusive of technology; 3. The diversity, quality and quantity of jobs created by a project, including whether the industry or business provides company-paid benefits such as healthcare, vacation and pensions and the degree to which wages exceed the county average; 9. The potential for future expansion of investment and employment; 5. Site specific issues impacting public infrastructure; 6. Actions that if pursued, stimulate development in areas of Cabarrus County deemed beneficial; 7. The ratio of investment in real versus personal property assets; 8. The environmental impact of the project. This may include such elements as waste recycling programs, energy efficient (or LEED) design, conservation easements, the degree to which the natural landscape and topography are disturbed, water conservation programs and the use and/or production of alternative (non-fossil fuel) energy. 9. The type of product produced (as well as the production process itself) or sold and whether it is recyclable, noxious, volatile, controversial, hazardous, banned by other governments or countries, lethal or otherwise dangerous. Section 3. PROJECT CATEGORIES, GRANT PARAMETERS AND ELIGIBILTY 1. Eligible Uses. Eligible uses include, but are not limited to, agricultural operations; facilities to house corporate headquarters; manufacturing, assembly, fabrication or processing operations; research and development facilities; motorsports facilities; warehouse or distribution facilities; and office buildings. The applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the BOC that it would not construct these facilities but for the award of a Grant. 2. Grant Parameters. A Grant approved by the BOC may be an amount equaling up to 85~ of the real and personal property tax actually paid on assets eligible for this Program. The minimum incremental increase in assessed value of assets shall be $1.5 million, except in those cases where the Grant is used to encourage the development or help ensure the success of certain targeted businesses and/or geographic areas, where the threshold shall be at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. Such Grant amount shall be for a period of three (3) consecutive years. Grant amounts shall be calculated based on the increase in assessed real and personal property values generated by the project, as determined by the County Tax Assessor. Grants for plant expansions by business or industry already located in the County will be based on the net incremental tax value, after reduction for machinery, equipment and other assets which are depreciated, replaced or retrofitted as part of the project. The Grant will only be awarded to bring about the relocation or expansion of a business that would not have occurred except for the