LAEDC Recognizes Palmdale and El Segundo as Los Angeles County’s “Most Business-Friendly” Cities
LOS ANGELES, CA (PRWEB) November 12, 2015 -- Tonight at the 20th annual Eddy Awards, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) recognized the City of Palmdale as the Most Business Friendly City with a population greater than 65,000 and the City of El Segundo as the Most Business Friendly City with a population under 65,000.
“This year’s Most Business Friendly Cities, Palmdale and El Segundo, understand that communities and families thrive when good jobs are created, and because many businesses can choose to locate those jobs anywhere, job creation depends on business-friendly practices,” said Bill Allen, chief executive officer of LAEDC.
The winners were selected based on the following criteria:
- Demonstrated commitment to economic development as a priority
- Programs and services designed to facilitate business entry, expansion, and retention
- Economic development activity over the past three years
- Competitive business tax rates and fee structures
- Availability of economic incentives
- Effective communication with and about business clients
More details on the best practices of these cities can be found at http://laedc.org/eddy-awards
Photos of the event are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/laedc/albums/72157660886910882
City of Palmdale, 2015 Eddy Award winner in the population 65,000+ category:
Palmdale is business friendly because it does the big things and the little things that businesses find important. Palmdale boasts ample and affordable space, a highly skilled and motivated workforce, incentives, outstanding infrastructure, and a solid transportation plan for the future. The city provides businesses with extremely fast entitlement approval process. The city has implemented a new ProjectDox Program where developers/contractors electronically submit plans for review, comment & approval. Additionally, the City of Palmdale offers Crime Prevention Thru Environmental Design (CPTED) in the design stages of development for businesses. The city does a lot of the little things right too, such as making monthly visits with the Mayor to local businesses, providing personalized service by staff, publicizing and hosting grand openings and celebrations, and building lasting relationships. Maybe that’s why John Novak, President of Patton’s Steel called Palmdale “the most accommodating City we’ve ever worked with.”
City of El Segundo, 2015 Eddy Award winner in the population under 65,000 category:
In 2006 City of El Segundo was the inaugural winner of the Most Business Friendly City Award.
Consistently over years, the city has followed the tradition of excellence by taking a hands-on and active approach in partnering with its businesses. The city has a goal of one-day turnaround in business licenses, expedited permit process that provides over-the-counter approvals, fee-based accelerated reviews, after-hour approvals when needed as well as 24/7 online project status tracking. El Segundo takes its commitment to excellent customer service seriously by conducting customer satisfaction surveys. It publishes a Business Resource Guide. Additionally, the City of El Segundo does an Annual Economic Development Strategic Plan to attract and retain new and existing businesses to continue to provide high paying jobs to its residents and the region.
Home to many Fortune 500 companies, including Mattel, DirecTV, and many prominent aerospace firms, the creative, cutting edge technology and manufacturing of El Segundo are fostered by its business-friendly practices.
EDDY AWARD HONOREES IN 2015
LAEDC also recognized corporate, education and individual honorees for their outstanding leadership in economic development throughout L.A. County: CBRE Group, Inc., California State University - Northridge (CSUN), and Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel.
CBRE Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. CBRE helps locate the industries and businesses that serve as economic engines for the region, including foreign firms that bring direct investment to the region. The company plays a vital role in revitalization and redevelopment projects in LA County, and has global scale with more than 70,000 employees, serving real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices worldwide. Aside from being a tremendous asset to the LA region in terms of facilitating economic development, CBRE's new LA office provides an example of how modern workplaces can better serve employees through innovative design elements such as an open plan, free-address office, and CBRE has dramatically reduced business interruption risk by moving all its paper and electronic assets into the cloud. CBRE's strategic advice, property sales and leasing, and myriad related services are a tremendous asset to organizations in the LA region and around the globe.
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is the largest of the five CSUs in LA County, fundamental to the economic prosperity of the region. CSUN serves more than 40,000 highly diverse students, and ranks in the top five nationally by the Social Mobility Index for advancing students’ economic well-being, and by the National Science Foundation for graduates who go on to earn doctorates in the sciences. Annual spending related to CSUN of $562.3 million generates a total impact of more than $982 million on the statewide economy, which helps to sustain about 8,400 jobs in the economy and confirms its presence as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of The San Fernando Valley and beyond. This impact is amplified by CSUN’s more than 300,000 alumni — 80 percent of whom live, work and thrive in Southern California. Staying attuned to new opportunities, CSUN's partnership with LA Cleantech Incubator will foster entrepreneurship, business formation and job creation in a growing and socially valuable sector. Under the guidance of President Dianne F. Harrison and her talented administrative team, CSUN aligns programs with the workforce and skills needs of business, a critical role in future economic vitality and shared prosperity. To further this potential, CSUN has become a model of collaboration by joining with its five regional sister institutions as the "CSU5," to advance regional education, research and workforce development.
Evan Spiegel exemplifies the creative, entrepreneurial spirit of the Los Angeles region. A social media entrepreneur, a native Angelino and the CEO and co-founder of Snapchat, Mr. Spiegel has increased global awareness that LA is a hotbed of innovation, where high-tech businesses can leverage the perfect environment to grow successfully. This awareness has helped other tech companies, talented workers, and investors better understand the advantages of operating in LA, which now has a high-tech workforce of nearly 400,000 people. Mr. Speigel's time at two of LA's top design colleges, Art Center College of Design and Otis College of Art and Design, prior to attending Stanford is a poignant reminder of the creative interplay between art, design, technology and entrepreneurialism, which sets LA and California apart from other regions. In addition, Snapchat's innovative storytelling platform has made a significant impact on society and has changed the way people share ideas and moments.
About the Eddy Awards http://www.laedc.org/eddy
The Eddy Awards celebrate exceptional public and private leadership in LA County economic development, with the Most Business-Friendly City Award and recognition of honorees that demonstrate outstanding contributions to positive economic development in the region. Eddy winners create a thriving LA County.
About the LAEDC http://www.LAEDC.org
Established in 1981, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) provides collaborative, innovative and strategic economic development leadership to promote a globally competitive, prosperous and growing L.A. County economy to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents and communities and enable those residents to meet their basic human need for a job. We achieve this through objective economic research and analysis, strategic assistance to government and business, and targeted public policy. Our efforts are guided and supported by the expertise and counsel of our business, government and education members and partners. Since 1996, the LAEDC’s Business Assistance team has helped to retain or attract over 198,000 annual jobs in Los Angeles County.
LAEDC Media Contact: Lawren Markle / 213-773-2325 / Lawren(dot)Markle(at)laedc(dot)org
Lawren Markle, Economic Development Corp of LA, http://www.LAEDC.org, +1 626-773-2325, [email protected]
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