“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that he plans to renew this city’s (Santa Ana’s) designation as a special enterprise zone, clearing the way for 15 years of tax credits and other business incentives,” according to the O.C. Register.
Here are some more excerpts from the Register:
California’s Enterprise Zone program attempts to turn around “economically distressed” areas by making it cheaper and easier for businesses to operate and hire employees. The state has designated 7,100 acres of Santa Ana as an enterprise zone since 1993.
On Thursday, Schwarzenegger said that Santa Ana had been conditionally designated as one of eight enterprise zones for the next 15 years. The designation will become official after the city signs an agreement with the state, sets performance benchmarks and satisfies other conditions.
Businesses inside the enterprise zone can earn more than $37,000 in state tax credits for every qualified employee they hire. They can also earn tax credits on some purchases, get preferential consideration for state contracts and enjoy other benefits.
A state report issued in 2006 showed that Santa Ana’s enterprise-zone designation had produced mixed results. It found that the unemployment rate had fallen slightly inside the zone between 1990 and 2000, and the vacancy rate was down.
This makes no sense! The City of Santa Ana is trying to GET RID of businesses in some of the most economically depressed parts of the city, via the Renaissance Plan. But now the city is promoting jobs in those same areas! What gives? Do the different departments at City Hall even talk to each other? What a joke!
As someone who has told business owners I know, about the enterprise zone program, promting our city as a place to relocate their business, I can tell you the city isn’t making it easy. As one friend told me it was easier and cheaper to stay in SLO than to move down here. Go figure!? With the high prices of the central coast and the limited avalability there it was still easier and cheaper to stay in SLO even if most of his customer base is in the LA-OC area. His comment was “SA city staff was uncooperative and unfriendly.”
Art,
Thank you so much for bringing up this subject. This is the very issue that I have brought up to City Staff and Council since the very first RSP Discovery session. I have made numerous requests at all meetings on the RSP to explain the logic of this move to eliminate Business property that is in both the Enterprise zone and the Empowerment Zone.
When the map indicating all zones was included in the Charette,I brought it to their attention that the boundary map for zones was incorrect. At each meeting I have attended, (and we all know I have attended 99% of them) I have questioned why it was still incorrect in the draft Specific plan and on the SA City web site.I brought this to their attention AGAIN at a meeting last night with Dave Ream & Jay Trevino.
2 years later and it is still incorrect!! Well,then again Council member Claudia A. has informed us of the limited Web knowlegde at the City staff level.
Wouldn’t surprise me at all if the boundary lines have been mysteriously changed.
As always thanks to all who continue bringing their questionable tactics to the front & center.
Jaquita A. Mcclure~Deter
RSPcitizenconcerns@sbcglobal.net
it is still WAAAY better to have the designation than not to have it.
the original 15 year designation expires this year. This is another 15 year designation.
Again, having this coveted designation is way better than not having it.
#3
That is not the point of my post.
My point is the constant misinformation and Lack of information from the City.
At the South Main Merchants Association meeting,the City gave out Slick folders on all the Zones and encouraged Business Owners to participate.
Their Map was correct..I guess the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
The Register article comments on the lack of participation,#1 states the case.
I also have a friend that movedfrom SA to SLO with their business. They tried to work with the City no luck but SLO welcomed them with open arms!
The Zones are great just as long as the process remains ethical and it is fair to all business owners and not just the chosen few.
JMD
This is great news! Let me tell you a little story about how important this program has been to my company.
In March 1996, my company expanded into a 117,000 square foot building in the Santa Ana Enterprise Zone. I was pleased with the transaction and impressed with the cooperation from the city’s Enterprise Zone office and the Permit Assistance Team.
I was excited about contributing to the community and looked forward to being an active corporate partner. It was a win-win situation for all.
When we relocated into the $3.6 million building, my company’s employment went from 72 to 115.
Without this program, we would have relocated into another City.
To this day, I pay the state minimum for taxes and am able to increase my minimum wages and hire more employees.
This program has been a godsend. PLUS, all that talk about city employees being hard to work with is the farthest from the truth. The Enterprise Zone staff were probably the brightest people in the City….
But I do agree that the RSP needs a lot of work and could drive out many important industrial businesses to other cities.
The City’s Economic Development Department runs the Enterprise zone. The City’s Planning Department runs the Renaissance Strategic Plan.
In terms of getting information and dealing with each of those departments, I have found they are very opposite.
The planning department does not listen to you, rather they spew planning lingo hoping you just go away.
The ed department actually took time to meet with me to discuss my issues so I really don’t have anything bad to say about them.
The planners here are idiots though. Supposedly the top planner is from Santa Monica and wants to make this place look the same. Good luck.