IRVINE : Business Gripes Are Lent an Ear

The city has earned a reputation, whether deserved or blown out of proportion, for being unfriendly to business.

Nothing new there. What is new is action the city has taken to find out why the reputation exists and what can be done to change the the perception--and reality as well.

Irvine officials have been working since last November with a Business Development Council, looking for ways to improve the city’s business climate.

The council, made up of business, education and city officials, developed a survey that the city mailed to all Irvine business owners asking about problems at City Hall.

A summary of the survey results will go before the City Council on March 9.

Last week, the council also reviewed a summary of one-on-one interviews with 17 business owners and a resident who had processed building applications through the city’s Community Development Department.

The respondents were asked to recount problems they faced and to suggest ways to correct them.

The Chamber of Commerce, which coordinates the Business Development Council, pared the answers down into a dozen recommendations.

The business council is translating those recommendations into proposed policy or law changes, said Larry Larsen, Irvine’s business ombudsman and a member of the business council.

When the recommendations are finished, they will be taken to the City Council for action, Larsen said.

Key among the recommendations are the installation of signs at the entrance to City Hall directing people to the right department; the preparation of simple handouts telling all steps necessary to receive city permits, their costs and how long the process will take; and encouraging city staff members to answer telephones rather than let the voice mail system screen callers.

One of the biggest frustrations brought up by business owners is that it is impossible to know what to expect before jumping into the permit-approval process, said Jamie Trevor, president of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce and owner of Electrosolve Services, which reconditions electrical generators.

“A list of steps would be very helpful,” she said, “along with the estimates to say it will take three months to get this permit processed.”

Although cost estimates for permits might be difficult because the city bills applicants based on the number of hours the paperwork takes, Trevor said, the city should at least provide applicants with estimates of how long the process should take.

Irvine officials “need to realize they have clients, and the clients are the people who live and work in the community,” she said. “They should treat us like customers; give us a little customer service.”

In the survey of all city businesses, more than half of the 812 respondents said that the city’s red tape and regulations made it difficult for them to do business.

More than a third complained that city laws regulating signs also hurt businesses.

City Hall and the current City Council seem to be receptive to fixing some of the problems faced by businesses, Trevor said.

“A lot of these (problems) are not unique to Irvine,” she said. “What’s unique is we’re trying to do something about it.”