Still in the early stages, the envisioned zone would be the first in Idaho, offering tax relief and incentives to industry and business locating around and between the western Canyon County towns of Greenleaf, Wilder, Notus and Parma.

Agriculture advocates say they're wary of the economic development proposal's girth - an early estimate spans more than 30,000 acres, including some of the county's best farmland - but encouraged that they'll have a voice in the process.

The affected small towns -populations range from 650 to 2,000 - embrace the prospect of pulling in new jobs, swelling the tax base and making it easier for rural community residents to work near their homes.

"Instead of waking up in the morning and seeing all the headlights heading into Boise, we could end up with a line of headlights coming out here," said Mayor Brad Holton of Greenleaf, population 920.

"This would be a great thing, a healthy thing for us," said Mayor John Bechtel of Wilder, population 1,740.

Federal enterprise zones, also known as empowerment zones, offer a variety of incentives including a tax break for banks that lend money to businesses within the zones, said Canyon County Commissioner David Ferdinand, the prime mover behind the idea. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Web site, the most widely used incentive is an employment credit to local businesses that employ residents from the designated areas.

Ferdinand has been working on the concept for a couple of years now with city, state and federal officials. He sees it as a way to shepherd mixed-use growth in the county's rural areas and promote economic stability.

"We need to create some sustainable jobs that are long-term and not tied to computer chips" or other specific business with fortunes that ebb and flow, Holton said.

One type of industry the zone would encourage is agribusiness that would tie in with the area's varied crops, proponents say.

PROTECTING FARMLAND

When leaders of the Coalition for Agriculture's Future first heard of the enterprise-zone proposal recently, "we had huge issues with it," said Coalition Chairman George Crookham, whose Caldwell-based Crookham Co. is a leading producer of corn, onion and carrot seed.

Crookham and Coalition Executive Director Roger Batt met with commissioners last week, drawing assurances that protecting cropland and fostering agribusiness are prime parts of the enterprise-zone plan.

The Coalition, which aims to combat the loss of farmland to development, plans to develop a response to the plan and help the county draft its enterprise zone ordinance, Batt said.

Both men said they think enterprise zones are a great idea but must be approached carefully to make sure actual development hews closely to the vision and doesn't constrict the area's agricultural lifeblood.

"If you're going to put teeth in it, we may think about it differently," Crookham said.

"You've got to have teeth in order to have this thing work properly," Ferdinand replied.

Crookham expressed concern about the vast tracts of rural land in the proposed enterprise zone that are not contiguous to any community.

"You guys are really filling in the blanks here," he told commissioners. "These zones should grow from the communities out."

Crookham and Batt suggested the size of the proposed enterprise zone should be winnowed down. Ferdinand said that may happen, but the federal law enabling the zones is expected to sunset by the end of 2010, and the county would not have the opportunity to expand the zone later.

"We've got one shot at having an enterprise zone designation," he said, suggesting that the county could enact an ordinance that would clearly outline which portions of the enterprise zone would be developed when.

If Canyon County can't gain federal designation, leaders will pursue designation as a state enterprise zone, Ferdinand said. Various states, including California and Colorado, have state enterprise zones, but Idaho doesn't have such a system yet, he said.

Exact boundaries and plans have yet to be determined, said Ferdinand, who plans to hold public meetings as the idea moves forward.

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447