From the Victor Valley Daily Press November 1, 2009 Edition
BY BROOKE EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
A regional economic development group is looking to follow the city of Hesperia’s example by possibly getting a huge portion of the Victor Valley declared an Enterprise Zone.
The designation would create a number of significant tax incentives to help lure businesses to the region.
“An enterprise zone is a very effect i ve e co nomic development tool,” said David Zook, chief of staff for 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. “It gives a company looking to locate a facility tremendous incentives to locate there.”
Among those incentives are generous tax credits for hiring new employees and substantial sales tax credits on new equipment, so a business such as Dr Pepper Snapple Group could get a break on the pricey bottling equipment that’s being rolled into its coming plant at this moment.
Mitzelfelt chairs the Victor Valley Economic Development Authority, charged with overseeing the revitalization of 10,500 l o c a l a c r e s impacted by t h e c l o s u re of George Air Force Base in 1992. VVEDA’s project area includes almost all of Victorville, large chunks of Adelanto and Apple Valley, a portion of Hesperia and patches of unincorporated San Bernardino County scattered across the Victor Valley.
VVEDA’s board this month approved paying some $9,000 for a consultant to study the feasibility of a VVEDA Enterprise Zone. Zook said the results are due back in November.
I t t o o k H e s p e r i a 18 months to complete its application and get conditional approval in August for most of the city’s nonresidential areas to be an Enterprise Zone. Zook said if VVEDA is able to move forward, the group hopes to respond to the state’s invitation to submit applications during early spring of 2010.
One obstacle the group will have to overcome, according to Apple Valley Councilman and VVEDA representative Peter Allan, is a potential conflict with Hesperia’s own zone.
Z o o k s a i d t h e California Department of Housing and Community Development, which oversees the program, isn’t always keen on allowing Enterprise Zones to abut or overlap. So the consultant is looking into whether Hesperia’s existing zone could be expanded to cover the VVEDA project area, or whether a new zone could incorporate Hesperia’s current one.
If the group is successful, the Victor Valley’s enterprise zone designation will last for 15 years.
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