TUSTIN : City Induces Computer Firm Not to Relocate

By offering a package of incentives, the city has persuaded Silicon Systems Inc. to remain in Tustin, Mayor Jim Potts announced this week.

“This has been over a year in the making,” Potts said. “It will be a real boon to the community.”

As part of the incentive package, the city has agreed to waive all planning, plan check and building permit fees for any improvements the computer chip manufacturer wants to make over the next five years. License fees for cable linkups between the company’s buildings also will be waived, officials said, as will requirements for sidewalk improvements.

In return, Silicon Systems has agreed to stay in Tustin for at least five years while it looks for an alternate site in the city, possibly at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is scheduled to close in 1997.

Silicon Systems employs about 1,000 in Tustin, and about 1,000 more at plants in Santa Cruz and Singapore.

“We think this will be the best arrangement,” said Bill Bendush, the company’s chief financial officer. “We’re currently in five different buildings in approximately a two-block area, so we were primarily looking at consolidating our operations. But one option we had was to stay put, and we decided to do that.”

Bendush said the company had been looking at sites outside Tustin but had not considered leaving Orange County.