Fast tracking economic incentives for businesses interested in locating in Lawrence’s business parks is an idea worth trying.

At tonight’s City Commission meeting, commissioners will decide whether to adopt a temporary incentive program that would essentially fast-track the city’s multistep economic incentives application process for projects that meet certain criteria, and would provide added benefits such as free land. The program is temporary because it would sunset after two years.

To be eligible for the “Catalyst Program,” projects would have to meet specific size guidelines, and the projects that provide employment and tax base growth would get priority.

For Lawrence VenturePark, projects would have to include a new building of at least 75,000 square feet. For East Hills Business Park, an expansion of an existing building or new building of at least 25,000 square feet would be eligible.

If approved, projects would not have to go though the normal multilayer economic incentives application process. Instead, projects would go straight to the City Commission for review and approval.

The program would provide approved projects with Industrial Revenue Bonds with a 10-year, 50 percent property tax abatement and an additional 20 percent abatement if the project meets energy-efficiency guidelines. The city would also provide the land for the project at no cost, and would waive application and bond origination fees.

City staff are recommending the program, saying it could spur job and tax revenue growth that will benefit the city in the long run.

It’s particularly necessary to do something to jump-start development at Lawrence VenturePark. The city-owned industrial park on the eastern edge of Lawrence opened more than two years ago but still has no tenants. The fast-track incentives program is a way to get the attention of businesses looking for a new location or businesses who might have looked at the site in the past to reconsider it.

Lawrence has a vested interest in attracting new business to VenturePark and East Hills Business Park. The fast-track program merely speeds up the incentives process — ultimate authority for approving any such project still rests with city commissioners. Commissioners should approve the program at their meeting tonight.