COUNCIL TO WEIGH `PIRACY' PACT; LANCASTER SOUGHT AGREEMENT IN '95.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

Councilwoman Shelley Sorsabal is reviving a bid to enact an ``anti-piracy'' agreement between Palmdale and Lancaster, a move triggered by the potential relocation of three Lancaster vehicle dealers to her city.

Sorsabal plans to introduce a proposal at Palmdale City Council's Dec. 8 meeting, calling for the two cities to agree not to solicit businesses from one another. A similar proposal was enacted by the Lancaster City Council in 1995 but rejected by the Palmdale council.

``If we take a business from them, it creates an empty building in Lancaster. If they take a business from us, it creates an empty building for us,'' Sorsabal said. ``It just creates blight; it doesn't create jobs.''

The proposal will come at the same meeting the Palmdale City Council will consider three deals to bring two Lancaster recreational vehicle dealers and a motorcycle dealer to the Palmdale auto mall. The deals are being criticized by Lancaster officials as ``despicable'' pirating of businesses at the expense of taxpayers.

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said the deals will enhance the city's auto mall, provide services the city's residents want, and do not waste taxpayer dollars.

``These are strictly land purchase agreements. Show me where we are wasting taxpayers' money,'' Ledford said. ``This is not an `I gotcha, you got me' kind of thing. We have an obligation to our residents to provide the services and amenities they want.''

In three separate deals, Palmdale is looking to add Harley Davidson of Lancaster, Lancaster RV and Young's RV to the city's auto mall. In each case the city would sell the dealers land, but would deduct from the purchase price dollar for dollar the amount of sales tax revenue the dealers generate.

``It was clearly piracy,'' said Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts. ``We believe it's time for it (an anti-piracy pact) to surface again and be accepted by both councils.''

If the Palmdale council approves the deals, Lancaster City Manager Jim Gilley vowed to draw Palmdale businesses to Lancaster. Roberts described the coming vote as ``setting the tone for what happens in this valley.''

Ledford said the city of Lancaster has always tried to lure away businesses but hasn't had any luck.

``That's always been his (Gilley's) goal, but unfortunately for him the market is in Palmdale,'' Ledford said.

Ledford said he is willing to discuss the idea of an anti-piracy pact but would like to include industrial development as well. Any pact, however, should ultimately go to the voters and not be decided by politicians, Ledford said.

The auto mall deals will be one of the first major issues confronted by Palmdale's three new council members - Kevin Carney, Mike Dispenza, and Rod Penner. The Dec. 8 meeting is the first regularly scheduled meeting for the new council members.

``What we have to decide is what kind of relationship we are going to have with the city of Lancaster,'' Dispenza said. ``Most of us campaigned on the issue that we were going to tear down this cactus curtain (divisions between Lancaster and Palmdale) and not have this type of problem.''

The new council members said they want to hear Sorsabal's proposal before commenting on it.

The new council members will also have to look at their promises to provide more law enforcement and amenities to the city, Ledford said.

``Those dealers can generate $300,000 to $400,000 a year in sales tax revenue,'' Ledford said. ``That can go to additional police and additional amenities.''

The anti-piracy proposal is supported by Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, a former Lancaster mayor whose district covers both cities. Runner was one of the major backers of the original anti-piracy proposal in 1995 that was approved unanimously by the Lancaster City Council but rejected by Palmdale.

Runner is the co-author of a law that will go into effect Jan. 1 that will prohibit a city, county or redevelopment agency from providing financial assistance to an auto dealership or to a ``big-box'' retailer, defined as any store over 75,000 square feet, that is relocating from one community to another within the same market area.

The bill provides for exceptions if the receiving community offers the community that is losing the business a sales tax revenue-sharing agreement.

``It is the intent of the California Legislature and the governor to make this kind of activity illegal in the state of California,'' Runner said of the proposed deals. ``It seems outrageous that there would be this kind of attempt to get in under the wire.''

Runner called Sorsabal's proposal an opportunity for the cities to redirect dollars from retail wars into true economic development.

The original anti-piracy proposal was enacted by the Lancaster City Council, who feared a bidding war in their efforts to retain Costco, a wholesale retailer that anchors the Valley Central Shopping Center.

The proposal called for the cities to bar the use of incentives to pirate away businesses and called for the halt of any ongoing negotiations to take businesses from one another.

Palmdale officials objected to what they perceived as heavy-handed handling of the issue by Lancaster. They also voiced concerns about artificially suppressing the retail market, especially at a time when Palmdale was behind Lancaster in sales tax revenue.

The climate might be right for anti-piracy and sales-tax sharing agreements when the two cities achieve parity in revenue. That time is coming close: In the last fiscal year, which ended in June, Lancaster received $8.59 million in sales tax revenue and Palmdale had $8.27 million.