Council to eye Palmdale as 'inland port'

Antelope Valley Press ^ | May 30, 2003 | BOB WILSON

[BenLurkin]

PALMDALE - The City Council directed city staff Wednesday to explore the economic potential of establishing Palmdale as an "inland port."

Among the questions to be answered are whether 200 to 450 acres with direct access to a rail line can be found for such a facility, whether that facility would bring opportunities for new jobs, whether any problems and costs associated with the facility's operation would exceed the benefit from those jobs, and whether the facility would help Palmdale obtain federal funds for the development of new infrastructure.

As an inland port, the city would be in position to work with the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, both of which are finding it increasingly difficult to find the room to store millions of containers delivered by ship each year.

So far, the subject has been discussed only with representatives of the Port of Long Beach, where container storage is "a significant problem," said Carrie Rogers, Palmdale's economic development manager.

The Port of Long Beach is the nation's second busiest port, handling 4.6 million containers a year, and the Port of L.A. is the busiest, Rogers said.

Both ports are key connection points for business operations with the Asian nations of the Pacific Rim, she said.

Councilman Rick Norris, who has led the effort to explore the opportunity, said establishing an inland port in Palmdale could help spur the use of the city's under-utilized Foreign Trade Zone.

The port also could help spur the development of cargo service at Palmdale Regional Airport and create jobs related to the storage, packing, assembly or return of goods flowing in and out of the country, Norris said.

Further, it could enable the city to "piggyback" on an application through which the Port of Long Beach will seek $750 million in federal funds for infrastructure improvements to relieve congestion around that facility, he said.

Ultimately, Palmdale could become the northern-most point of the Alameda rail corridor meant to reduce the amount of truck traffic on roads leading to and from both ports, Norris said.

The city's involvement also might help obtain federal dollars for the construction of a High Desert Corridor that is supposed to connect the Antelope Valley Freeway with Interstate 15 near Victorville, he said.

The possible access to federal funding intrigued Councilman Jim Root, who said extending the Alameda Corridor to Palmdale and establishing local freight-related operations both have been stymied by high costs.

"I don't think we can afford not to at least explore it," Root said.

Palmdale is in a good location to assist both of the major ports in the Los Angeles area, which ship by rail roughly half the cargo they receive to points east of the Rocky Mountains, Councilman Richard Loa said.

"It seems that Long Beach and Palmdale have something each other needs, at least at first blush," Loa said.

"We have space and they have containers they don't know what to do with," he said.

In addition, any discussions should be expanded to include the Port of L.A., which may have an equal or greater need than the Port of Long Beach, he said.

Mayor Jim Ledford supported an analysis of the potential benefits and drawbacks of the proposal but scolded Norris for suggesting it to federal officials before bringing it to his own council.

Mayor Pro Tem Mike Dispenza said the Port of L.A. may not be receptive because it already has an arrangement with the city of Shafter, in Kern County.

Danny Roberts, assistant executive director of Palmdale's Community Redevelopment Agency, said staff would assemble a report that balances the potential for creating wealth and new jobs against the city's possible liabilities and risks.

According to a report prepared for the council's consideration, the possible complications included the need to acquire the land for such a facility, which would require direct access to a rail line.

Also, if the city were to operate the port, it would be required to pay the federal government for the cost of establishing and operating a new U.S. Customs Station, where officials would oversee the entry and exit of carrier vehicles, examine arriving goods, collect Customs duties and enforce federal commerce laws, the report showed.

[BenLurkin]

""We have space and they have containers they don't know what to do with," he said."

Sounds to me like maybe just another desert dump. We should gouge them dearly for the use of our open space.

[Carry_Okie]

Actually, it might give us the opportunity to inspect those containers properly. Put 'em out in the desert where escape and theft are difficult. Selling off the land near the port would easily pay for the whole thing.

Interesting idea.