IRVINE : Official Wants City Friendly to Business

Councilwoman Paula Werner will propose a series of recommendations tonight aimed at making the city more friendly to business.

By adopting her recommendations, Werner said Monday, the City Council will help make Irvine an easier place for businesses to operate and, hopefully, turn around the image of the city as being over-regulated and hostile to business.

Her proposals would not cost money or create any new positions within city government, she said.

Werner will propose forming an economic development task force, designate a high-level city employee as a business ombudsman to guide business executives through the city’s bureaucracy and find ways to reduce or eliminate some city regulations.

The task force--made up of officials from the city, local businesses and UC Irvine--would first ask local business executives what they see as burdens to operating in the city.

The ombudsman’s chief job would be to act as a central contact for businesses needing or wondering about city permits or regulations, Werner said.

Irvine now has no one person to contact, and callers can easily “get lost in our voice-mail maze,” she said.

The ombudsman role would be filled by the city manager’s executive assistant and would not require additional money, Werner said.

Werner’s proposal also would have the city’s Development Department prepare a list of every current development regulation and standard and a recommendation on whether they should be kept, changed or deleted.

Werner said she got the idea for the program after helping a business expand its operations to Irvine a few months ago by setting up a meeting between the owner of the business and top city officials.

She also read about plans other Orange County cities have undertaken to attract and retain business.

“I don’t think Irvine can afford to lag behind,” Werner said.

Werner, who is running for reelection in November, said the local economy will be an important issue during the campaign.

However, she hopes that her proposal will not be seen as just a campaign tactic, she said.

The council is scheduled to discuss Werner’s proposal at its session beginning at 6:30 p.m.