Western Valley Enterprise Zone Concept Advanced by Supervisors
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has authorized the County's Economic Development Agency to apply for an Enterprise Zone designation for the Cities of Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs.
A "Western Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone" would bring the same incentives to economic revitalization and development that the current Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone brings to the eastern valley--and that means tax credits and other incentives to businesses which locate their operations within the zone.
Riverside County and the two cities would be applying jointly for the designation, and each would be required to contribute funding annually for the 15-year life of the zone. That contribution is expected to be about $75,000 for each of the three partners.
The new Zone would comprise mainly territory north of Interstate 10, including the entire City of Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City north of the freeway and unincorporated areas in and around North Palm Springs-some of the latter territory is south of Interstate 10. These boundaries could be tweaked, depending on negotiations with the state.
Fourth District Supervisor Roy Wilson and Fifth District Supervisor Marion Ashley, in whose districts the new Zone would reside, are spearheading the effort, although Supervisor Wilson cautioned against being overly optimistic since the designation will not be easy to obtain.
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