Firm Asks City to Pay Relocation Expenses : Simi Valley: Recording company Warner Elektra applies to build warehouse and distribution facility, but also asks for $100,000.

A major recording company that plans to move its warehouse and distribution center to Simi Valley has asked the city for about $100,000 to cover some relocation costs, city officials said Friday.

Warner Elektra Atlantic Corp., a division of communications giant Time Warner Inc., submitted an application Friday to build a 255,000-square-foot building in Simi Valley, replacing a smaller facility in the San Fernando Valley.

In a separate letter submitted to the city manager’s office, the company asked for redevelopment funds to cover various building and planning fees, totaling about $100,000.

“We have received a letter seeking relocation assistance,” said Mike Sedell, assistant city manager. “We will prepare a staff report and a recommendation for the City Council’s consideration.

“It will be up to them to look at the costs and benefits and decide what to do.”

Warner Elektra is the latest in a series of firms that have asked Simi Valley for relocation incentives.

Last year, the city approved financial aid to Guardian Products and Countrywide Funding Corp. to encourage them to move their employees to Simi Valley.

Two City Council members said Friday that they had not yet seen Warner Elektra’s request.

But they said they do not oppose the idea of relocation incentives.

“To be prudent, we have to look at something that would come to our community and be beneficial in the long run,” said Councilwoman Barbara Williamson. “We’re talking jobs, our tax base.”

But she cautioned that the council may not approve Warner Elektra’s entire $100,000 request.

“To say that they’re going to get the whole package is not something that I think will happen,” Williamson said. “But I think we have to look at the request.”

Councilwoman Sandi Webb said she does not oppose relocation incentives for companies such as Warner Elektra, which would bring new jobs without threatening other firms already based in Simi Valley.

“I have problems with (relocation benefits) for a project that will be in direct competition with existing businesses, such as a new supermarket or other retail outlets,” Webb said.

During recent public debates over a proposed Wal-Mart store in Simi Valley, some residents have said they fear that the council will hand over a large sum of tax dollars to that retail chain. But city officials said Wal-Mart has not requested such incentives.

Warner Elektra executives were unavailable for comment Friday regarding their request.

Company officials have told Simi Valley leaders that the proposed building would be a new warehouse and distribution center for the firm’s recorded music and videotapes.

Wolf Ascher, a deputy planning director, said the company submitted a “pre-application” in May that outlined plans to build a two-story 203,000-square-foot building at the end of Ward Avenue in an industrial area on the west side of the city.

On Friday, the company submitted a formal application that included plans for a 52,000-square-foot addition to the original design, Ascher said.

The proposal will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission, probably within four months, he said.