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From: Chad Bala <br /> To: Jeremy Johnston <br /> Cc: White,Clav;0"Kelley.Erin <br /> Subject: FW:Opportunity Zones-camp plan <br /> Date: Thursday,April 23,2026 4:45:40 PM <br /> Attachments: imaae001.ona <br /> Comment received from Amy McGuff in, Chamber of Commerce. <br /> Chad Bala <br /> Director <br /> Kittitas County Community Development Services <br /> 411 NRuby Street, Suite 2 <br /> Ellensburg, WA 98926 <br /> (P)509-962-7506 <br /> chad.Bala&co.kittitas.wa.us <br /> From:Amy McGuffin<amy@kittitascountychamber.com> <br /> Sent:Thursday,April 23,2026 4:20 PM <br /> To:Chad Bala<chad.bala@co.kittitas.wa.us> <br /> Subject:Opportunity Zones-comp plan <br /> CAUTION:This email originated from outside the Kittitas County network. Do not click links,open <br /> attachments,fulfill requests,or follow guidance unless you recognize the sender and have verified the <br /> content is safe. <br /> Here is what I would like to include: <br /> Opportunity Zones(OZ)are federally designated census tracts—typically low-income or high-poverty <br /> areas—where investors can receive significant capital gains tax benefits in exchange for making Long- <br /> term investments.An investor who has realized a capital gain from selling a stock, property,or <br /> business can roll that gain into a Qualified Opportunity Fund or,with OZ 2.0, a Rural Qualified <br /> Opportunity Fund within 180 days,deferring the tax on that original gain and, if the investment is held <br /> Long enough,eliminating taxes on any new appreciation generated by the OZ investment itself. <br /> The program's stated purpose is to channel private capital into distressed communities that have <br /> historically struggled to attract investment. In practice,who benefits has been contested. Investors <br /> with large capital gains—typically wealthy individuals, institutional funds, and real estate developers <br /> —receive the direct tax benefit, and the program has no requirement that investment serve low- <br /> income residents rather than simply occur within the designated geography. <br /> Kittitas County has two existing Opportunity Zone census tracts in Ellensburg, designated in 2018,and <br /> is actively engaging with Washington State's OZ 2.0 nomination process ahead of the July 2026 <br /> deadline. One of the census tracts from OZ 1.0 is eligible for renewal with O 2.0;the other is not.The <br /> county's economic profile reflects genuine distress beneath a surface-level median income that is <br /> skewed upward by the Central Washington University student population:wages lag the state average, <br /> poverty rates exceed 14 percent,and over one in five residents experiences severe housing problems <br />