GOOD JOBS IN VALLEY PLAN NORTHEAST SECTION KEY, ANALYSTS SAY.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

With strong city leadership, the northeast San Fernando Valley could be turned into an industrial powerhouse that would generate good-paying jobs and help revitalize the region, according to a long-term blueprint for growth released today by the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley.

The Mulholland Institute, a new think tank focusing on Valley issues, said in its ``Prosperity 2020'' report that civic leaders should revive Los Angeles' long-abandoned plans for urban centers, such as Warner Center, where commercial, residential and retail uses are combined.

The Northeast Valley could be a prime area for such redevelopment efforts, the report suggests. It has large tracts already impacted by heavy industry, is close to major transportation corridors and has a good source of workers.

It will take time and changing some political will, though.

``First (we) have to be able to visualize the future, then have policy-makers adopt vision-friendly uses,'' said attorney Bob Scott, a Mulholland Institute fellow and longtime Valley civic leader.

``Like it or not, it may be a generation off before coming to fruition. But each journey starts with a first step.''

The report authors said goals for the Valley should be:

--Building an economic development consensus that embraces businesses, government and the nonprofit sector to knock down barriers to high-end economic development and growth.

--Improving the quality of life so highly skilled people and businesses can be attracted to the area and induced to stay.

--Creating a new capacity for growth, which is key to expanding space for growing companies and preparing the work force for new opportunities that will be offered.

The report's authors include Joel Kotkin of the New America Foundation, Michael A. Shires of Pepperdine University, Daniel R. Blake of California State University, Northridge, Karen Speicher of Pepperdine, William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution and Scott.

Their vision for the Northeast Valley was based in part on the Centers Concept Plan, originally devised in the 1960s and 1970s by Calvin Hamilton, Los Angeles city planning director, and Norman Murdock, the county's planning director.

The plan identified urban employment centers with higher-density housing throughout the area. All would be connected by mass transit. The mass transit did not progress as planned, but some centers, such as Warner Center and North Hollywood, did evolve.

Scott said one of the institute's aims is to ``clean up some of these heavy uses and provide some quality jobs.''

The report will be released during the alliance's annual Info Summit at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. The report is an outgrowth of the alliance's Vision 2020 project on the Valley's future.

The institute's focus on industrial expansion in the Northeast Valley evolved out of discussions 15 months ago with stakeholders in the community, including residents and chambers of commerce, said Scott, who is also the executive vice chairman of the alliance.

Kotkin said this industrial base would be clean and support the entertainment, aerospace and biotech sectors.

``The key thing is: Do we want the Valley to continue to be a middle- class place? And if we do, ... we have to have a certain type of job creation - that will mean better-paying jobs - and maintain a decent quality of life, so people will want to stay here,'' he said.

Industrialist Alfred E. Mann, founder and chairman of the biotech concern MannKind Corp., has built plants in the Valley before. His latest expansion was into the Santa Clarita Valley, though.

``What's the point of having political power when Al Mann wants to put a factory in the Northeast Valley, and he ends up putting it in Santa Clarita? What do you gain from that,'' Kotkin said.

Bruce Ackerman, the alliance's president and chief executive officer officer, said this is a good bet on the Valley's economic future - especially since the Valley's industrial vacancy rate at the end of the third quarter was 2.5 percent, essentially full.

Developing the Northeast Valley is critical.

``We're screaming for land, and you drive through there and see nothing but land. It's an opportunity begging to be defined and explored,'' he said.

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

box, map

Box:

CENTERS OF CHANGE

SOURCE: Daily News research

Map:

Valley

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist