The city of Santa Clarita is proud to announce the Recovery Zone Facility Bond (RZFB) program. RZFBs are tax-exempt private activity bonds authorized by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to stimulate the local economy.

The program allocated $13,270,000 to the city for the purpose of investing in private projects that would benefit the community.

"The RZFB presents a great opportunity for local businesses looking to upgrade their infrastructure or expand their existing operations," commented Mayor Laurene Weste. "This is also another great tool for the city to help attract new businesses to Santa Clarita and create more jobs for our local residents."

The RZFB program provides a wide range of businesses access to tax-exempt bonds typically reserved for governments and a very narrow range of private businesses. RZFBs can be used in place of conventional financing and provide a lower interest rate.

To be eligible, businesses must be located within the city-designated Recovery Zone. The boundaries identified and approved by the Santa Clarita city Council for the Recovery Zone are the same as that of the Enterprise Zone, which includes 97 percent of all commercial and industrial-zoned properties in the city.

To determine whether a business is within the Recovery Zone, please refer to the Recovery Zone map attached to the press release e-mail.

A significant component of ARRA and the RZFB program is the mandate for funded projects to create jobs. Therefore, projects with a significant impact to the local job market are more likely to be approved for funding.

While these bonds are not required to be issued until Dec. 31, 2010, the State of California requires each jurisdiction participating in the RZFB program to submit a plan of issuance in January 2010.

"The city is under a tight deadline to determine which projects may take advantage of this program. Interested businesses are encouraged to contact the city as soon as possible to discuss their project," commented Mayor Laurene Weste.

California Communities will conduct two free web seminars providing additional information about RZFB financing opportunities on Dec. 10 at 10:00 a.m. and Dec. 11 at 10 a.m.

To register, please visit the cacommunities.org homepage and click the "RZFB Webinar" icon.

Community members interested in accessing or learning more about the RZFB program are encouraged to contact Denise Lellan, Administrative Analyst for the city's Economic Development division, at (661) 284-1411 or dlellan@santa-clarita.com.