1,000 Jobs Seen If Harbor Named Enterprise Zone

Los Angeles officials have unveiled their strategy to persuade the state to declare parts of the harbor district an Employment and Economic Incentive Area--a designation that would bring a variety of state tax benefits to new and expanding businesses in Wilmington and eastern San Pedro.

In their application to the state--for the so-called enterprise zone--city officials estimate that the economic incentives would bring 1,000 new jobs over the next five years to an area that has lost more than 7,500 jobs since 1980.

In addition, the officials pledge to train unemployed local residents to fill those jobs and promote a program to match new businesses to the skills of the local work force.

$10 Million in Investments

And, the city says it could use the state designation to stimulate $10 million in private investment each year, establish 10 new industrial firms in five years and attract foreign companies to the area.

A citizens advisory committee voted Thursday to formally adopt the strategy, which must be approved by the City Council before officials submit their final application to the state Department of Commerce in July. A decision from the state is expected in November.

The application is primarily aimed at Wilmington, which has not enjoyed nearly the same economic rebound of nearby San Pedro.

City officials hope to use the state designation to attract new commercial development to Wilmington’s downtown business district, and draw industrial development to areas that are near the Port of Los Angeles.

The state program, which gives tax breaks to businesses that locate in and hire residents from economically depressed areas, is a helpful “marketing ploy,” said Reynold Blight, the Community Development Department official who is heading the city’s effort.

“You designate an area, put up a new sign . . . people take a second look or maybe they take a first look. It gives us a vehicle to attract attention and attract investment,” Blight said.

The harbor area is among five finalists for three spots in the program. The Wilmington/San Pedro application is ranked third, behind Sacramento’s Oak Park section and the city of Madera and ahead of Fowler in Fresno County and the city of Watsonville.

Blight is confident that the city’s position will improve after the final proposal is submitted in July. He said the application is stronger than when it was submitted last year because other branches of city government--including the Harbor Department and the Community Redevelopment Agency--have pledged to take an active role in the program.

In addition, Blight noted that Los Angeles has a good track record in the program.

The city already has two Employment and Economic Incentive Areas: Watts, and the Lincoln Heights and Boyle Heights areas on the city’s Eastside. In addition, the central city is classified under a similar program, also designed to encourage growth in economically depressed areas.

This week, Blight and other city officials met with harbor-area residents to share their strategy and solicit community comment. A public hearing Tuesday night prompted the city to add another goal to its list: promoting commercial, recreational and tourist development that would provide waterfront access for Wilmington.

Blight said residents felt so strongly about the issue of waterfront access that he felt compelled to include it on the city’s list.

Stretch the Rules

In making their case to the state, city officials say they have had to stretch the program’s rules. Although they were most concerned about the economic decline in Wilmington, that community does not qualify as a high-density unemployment area or as poverty stricken under the program’s criteria.

So city officials included eastern San Pedro in their initial application and wrote a special petition based on statistics showing a vast loss of jobs--especially in the San Pedro-based shipbuilding and fish canning industries--which have affected workers from both communities during the past decade.

According to the city’s application, the area has lost 7,500 jobs since 1980. The application noted that layoffs at three firms alone--Todd Shipyards, Star-Kist Foods and Pan Pacific Canneries--have accounted for a loss of 5,000 jobs in recent years.