MAYOR EMBRACES ECONOMIC PROGRAM BUILDING, TOURISM PROMOTION PLANNED.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Vowing not to give in to pessimism or economic terrorism, Mayor James Hahn embraced a broad plan Tuesday to stimulate the local economy by speeding up construction programs, offering services to struggling businesses and workers, and encouraging tourism.

Hahn rejected dire economic forecasts and sought to restore public confidence with gestures like reviving the popular Van Nuys Air Show, new policies to cut red tape to encourage businesses to locate in the city and efforts to improve cooperation with other governmental agencies.

``Prolonged pessimism is something I will not accept,'' Hahn said during a City Hall news conference where he received a report from the Los Angeles Economic Impact Task Force he created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

``We already had been suffering from a mild recession before Sept. 11. Those events have made it even more difficult to recover. What we need to do is convince people that Los Angeles is still a great place to visit, a great place to live and a great place to do business.''

To show there is confidence in the security of the city, Hahn said he will recommend to the Board of Airport Commissioners that it reverse its decision to cancel the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo next June.

``This event is one of the biggest in the city and we need to show that we are not afraid,'' Hahn said.

The commission last month said it wanted to cancel the show - which draws an estimated 300,000 people and was started in 1963 - mainly to save its $1.2 million cost.

The mayor said he also wants the city to speed work on projects for which funding already had been provided through the sale of bonds.

``This is not money that can be used for any other purpose,'' Hahn said. ``We should get these projects under way so we can create jobs in the city.''

George Kieffer, who headed the economic task force, said his group found some $1.2 billion in city projects for which funding is available and could be put on a fast track.

Among those are $10.8 million for the North Valley Police Station, $25 million for the East Valley Solid Waste Yard, $27 million for a new Valley police headquarters, $16 million for Van Nuys City Hall and $5.5 million for a Studio City parking structure, among more than 40 projects.

``The city needs to break through its bureaucratic logjam and get the projects moving,'' Kieffer said.

However, one of the issues holding up some of the work has been acquiring the land for the various projects and completing other studies, officials said.

Kieffer said his group also was encouraging other government agencies to take a similar approach.

``We believe the county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District could have another $1 billion or so in projects that could begin immediately,'' Kieffer said.

Other local jurisdictions, however, have been more reluctant to push capital projects at a time of uncertainty.

Burbank Airport last month put on hold its much-disputed plans for a new terminal for an indefinite period.

Officials said they wanted time to look at the impact of the terrorist attacks as well as new federal security requirements.

Also, on Monday the Burbank City Council members were urged to hold off on any new programs or expansion of existing ones until there is more certainty about the economy.

Kieffer said the task force, with help from the Milken Institute, found that the terrorist attacks added to economic problems that already had been developing in Los Angeles and across the nation.

The attacks, however, have had a devastating impact on the tourism and travel industry, Kieffer said, with 40 percent of the workers - generally the lowest-paid - having been laid off.

The problems are expected to continue as airlines cut flights to and from Los Angeles, with an impact also on the restaurant business in the city.

Kieffer said the most likely scenario developed by economists is that the problems will last through next spring and the worst-case scenario is that they will last for a full year.

Job losses are estimated at from a low of 76,300 to a high of 110,500, he said, and the resulting loss to the economy is placed from $19 billion to $23 billion.

At the same time, Kieffer said, the study showed the diverse economy in the region would serve to allow Los Angeles to suffer less than the rest of the state or nation.

Los Angeles went through a severe downturn in the early 1990s due primarily to defense cutbacks.

Since then, the base of the economy has broadened to include more small and medium-size businesses, he said.

Kieffer said the city also needed to work with other local jurisdictions in the county to develop a ``Rediscover L.A.'' marketing program to emphasize different attractions available to residents.

Also, Kieffer said the city should use its influence to have the state proceed with its proposed $15 million advertising campaign.

Cathy Maguire, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and a member of the task force, said the proposals are designed to show the city can recover - and quickly.

``We are in a position where we can take some steps to boost the economy,'' Maguire said. ``We also have to let people know what we have available.''

Hahn embraced the proposal and is scheduled to try to highlight the program with a planned news conference today at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to promote tourism, as well as going on a walking tour of the La Reina shopping area in Sherman Oaks.

To help him implement the program and work with the City Council, Hahn announced he was hiring as economic coordinator Joy Chen, who had served as project coordinator for the task force. Chen, who holds MBA and Master of Urban Planning degrees from UCLA, served as project manager for Catellus Development Corp.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

BUILDING A BOOM

SOURCE: Mayor's Task Force