An excellent move to support business by the city.
Clean-energy firms getting capital welcome
By Clint Swett - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Sacramento City Council members took a step Tuesday to lure clean-technology companies to set up shop in the former Sacramento Army Depot and surrounding area.
By a unanimous vote, council members approved a resolution to market the existing enterprise zone to clean-energy firms in an effort to make the city a center for the fast-growing industry.
The area, bounded roughly by Power Inn Road and South Watt Avenue in the Florin-Perkins area of south Sacramento, already has enterprise zone designation. This means some businesses moving to that area qualify for financial incentives such as state sales tax rebates on equipment purchases, employee training funds, employment tax credits and other benefits.
The resolution is part of the city's larger effort to encourage green industry, including cooperating with other local agencies, economic development groups such as the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and universities to develop the market.
City staff will spend the next two months developing informational materials to market the area to clean-tech companies, said David Spaur, Sacramento's economic development director. He said Sacramento is the first city in the nation to target green technology for an enterprise zone.
"We're going to brand this as a clean and green tech zone," Spaur said.
