California Economic Development Leaders Visit San Diego
Statewide Enterprise Zone Conference to Focus on Creating Jobs, Increasing Investment

SAN DIEGO - California economic developers will convene in San Diego November 4-5 to discuss business development efforts in the state, strategies to attract and retain companies and to share success stories at the 2004 California Association of Enterprise Zones (CAEZ) Annual Conference.

Hosted by the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista and National City, together with the San Diego Workforce Partnership, the event will take place at the U.S. Grant Hotel in Downtown San Diego. More than 200 professionals from throughout the state are expected to attend the event.

Cities and communities throughout the state manage a total of 39 Enterprise Zones to benefit local businesses, create jobs and increase investment.  Under the Enterprise Zone Program, existing companies within a zone or new companies that move into a zone can take advantage of several significant business-related incentives including tax credits for hiring qualified employees, credits for sales or use tax paid on certain equipment, business expense deductions for personal property and preference on state contracts.  Additional incentives are available to banks that lend to companies located in the zone and to qualified employees who work within the zone.

San Diego’s two state-designated Enterprise Zones are located in the Downtown area (the Metropolitan Enterprise Zone) and in the South Bay area along the waterfront and near the U.S.-Mexico border (the South Bay Enterprise Zone).  A “special” enterprise zone-like designation (technically called a Local Agency Military Base Recovery Area—or LAMBRA) is also located at the Naval Training Center Redevelopment Project near Downtown.

California State Senator Denise Ducheny and State Department of Housing and Community Development Director Luccetta Dunn will be among the many officials at the two-day conference.  Issues such as business incentives, transportation, housing, and marketing will be presented for the benefit of communities around the state. 

“This is a great opportunity for economic development leaders to enhance their skills and take away winning strategies and apply them in their own communities,” said Hank Cunningham, director of the City of San Diego’s Community and Economic Development Department, which manages the region’s Enterprise Zones among other economic development programs.    “We also hope to gain some new insight to help businesses maximize the tremendous incentives available within our state-designated Enterprise Zones.”

Conference attendees will be able to see the positive impact San Diego’s Enterprise Zone program has had on area businesses on a tour of San Diego’s Metropolitan Zone, which includes highlights of Downtown and significant residential and commercial development around the Ballpark Redevelopment Project in the East Village.  Additionally, a tour of the LAMBRA Zone at the Naval Training Center Redevelopment Project will showcase the striking transformation of the former base into a thriving new community with amenities that will serve the entire region.

The City of San Diego’s Enterprise Zone program has made a significant impact on the local economy.  Since its inception in 1986, the San Diego Enterprise Zone program has assisted in retaining and creating 15,000 area jobs, increasing private investment by more than $500 million, and providing permit expediting, financial and technical assistance to thousands of local companies.

The City of San Diego worked with the state of California to expand its South Bay Enterprise Zone to help other cities tap into this vital economic development tool and to support the regional economy.  In 2000, the Zone was expanded to include portions of Chula Vista.  In 2004, the Zone was expanded again to include portions of National City. 

For more information about the region’s Enterprise Zones and other business assistance programs, contact the City of San Diego’s Community and Economic Development Department at (619) 533-4233 or visit www.sandiego.gov/cpci.

[Editor’s:  maps of the two Enterprise Zones and the LAMBRA are available upon request]

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City of San Diego Community and Economic Development Department