At their Tuesday meeting, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the boundaries of the Santa Clarita Valley Enterprise Zone in unincorporated areas. The decision also authorized the city of Santa Clarita to apply for a targeted employment area with the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

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Because some portions of the SCV Enterprise Zone are unincorporated, the city needs to submit a joint application with the county to be considered by the HCD.

The Enterprise Zone program was designed in 1984 to stimulate economic growth in depressed areas by offering tax credits to employers in an Enterprise Zone when they hired “difficult-to-hire” residents also living in the same zone.

Although many Enterprise Zone benefits were eliminated by Assembly Bill 93, which was passed in June, the program doesn’t officially end until Dec. 31, 2014.

Related Article: Senate Passes Governor Brown’s Plan To Eliminate Enterprise Zone Program

Thus, businesses within the SCV Enterprise Zone can still benefit from hiring EZ-eligible employees.

The City of Santa Clarita was awarded an Enterprise Zone in 2007. Since then, the program has saved the city $280 million in taxes and led to hiring more than 7,000 employees.

Periodically over the last year, the SCV Enterprise Zone has held seminars for local businesses, encouraging them to take advantage of tax benefits before the program ends.

The date for the next seminar has not yet been announced.

For more information, click here.

To view the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting agenda and supporting documents, click here.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

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