Santa Clarita Auto Dealers Ask City for a Sign of Its Support

While cities all over Southern California fight tooth and nail to keep their auto dealers happy, several in Santa Clarita say their city has done little to help them through rough economic times.

There are 21 automobile sales franchises in the city, concentrated on Creekside Road.

“This auto mall is a great source of income for the city, for the schools and everything,” said Max Cohen, vice president of the Valencia Motors Group, which sells Hondas and Acuras. “We generate so much money for the city.”

New car sales last year made up 27% of the total taxable sales transactions in the city, ranking Santa Clarita 15th among California cities, according to a report released last November by J.D. Power and Associates. Among large California cities, Santa Clarita is the second most dependent on tax revenues from new car sales.

The auto row was set aside as part of the Valencia master-planned community developed by the Newhall Land & Farming Co., and the city inherited it when it incorporated in 1987.

“I don’t know if the city truly understands what they have in a predeveloped auto center,” said one dealer.

During the 1980s, some Southern California cities, such as Ontario and Signal Hill, virtually gave away property valued at millions of dollars to attract auto dealers.

Unlike many auto centers with their conspicuous neon signs and freeway-close locations, Santa Clarita’s auto row is hidden in the heart of town, invisible from the stretches of both the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways that serve the area.

Cities such as Cerritos subsidize the advertising of their auto malls.

Santa Clarita’s relatively small dealers are just now beginning to join together to help promote their center, but, they said, their resources are limited and they need the city’s help.

One goal of the auto dealers is to get better visibility along the freeway.

“Some sort of marquee sign would be great,” said Scott Young, president of Valencia Mazda, which also sells Pontiac, Buick and Infiniti automobiles. “But if that’s not possible, a directional sign on the freeway would be helpful.”

Santa Clarita City Manager George Caravalho said the dealers have asked for city help, particularly in helping to fund freeway billboards. He said the city is working with the auto dealers to erect a marble sign, somewhat like a gateway, at the east end of the auto center, but it will not be seen from the freeway.

“I’m not sure if the city will help design it or what not,” Caravalho said. “We may contribute a small amount of money.”

As far as a sign on the freeway, Caravalho said the city is trying to locate an existing billboard, but he could not give specifics.

“We certainly recognize that they are a major contributor to the revenues of the city,” Caravalho said. “Through our economic development effort we are paying attention to that and try to work with them and continue to do that.”

New car sales, Caravalho said, contribute slightly more than $11 million a year to city tax revenues, more than any other item.

Young estimated that about half of their customers come from outside the area, but Cohen said they still are not capturing as much of the Santa Clarita market as they would like.

“Many of those people who bought cars elsewhere said, ‘I didn’t know we had a Honda dealership here,’ ” Cohen said. “They might have driven right by us on their way to work.”

A shortage of parking spaces near the dealerships has also been a problem, Young said.

“We’ve all grown at such a rapid pace that it’s now very difficult for a customer to drive down the street and find a parking spot,” Young said. “We’re afraid of losing business.”

But the dealers said they also realize that there are limits to what the city can do.

“We don’t have any unrealistic expectations of what they can and cannot do,” Young said. “They’ve got budgets to meet and they’ve got other concerns in the city. I don’t think they want to ignore us by any stretch of the imagination.”

Some dealers said they have no complaints.

“I have only positive things to say about the city,” said Gregg Lawler, general manager of Magic Lincoln Mercury. “I can’t say enough good things.”

Cohen agreed that Santa Clarita has other problems to deal with.

“I hope it won’t be too late before they realize that car dealers are important to the economy here,” Cohen said.