Countywide : Team Launches Survey on Keeping Businesses

Delegates from community college districts, cities, hospitals and business groups met Monday to launch a project to find out why companies leave Orange County and to identify obstacles that may keep businesses from moving here.

The group, the Orange County Economic Advancement Project Team, has mailed out surveys to all 55,000 Orange County businesses that employ five or more people.

At a news conference Monday, team members urged survey recipients to respond.

“The objective is to learn from all the businesses what their concerns are,” said Bill Vega, chancellor of the Coast Community College District and a team member.

“We are interested in positioning ourselves in the economic recovery of local business,” Vega said. “Community colleges can tailor training programs to specific needs of Orange County businesses.”

Cities also pledged to help businesses prosper by addressing situations such as slow or difficult permit application procedures, said Esteban Soriano, president of The Resource Group, which is compiling the survey information.

Vega said the county has never tried such a comprehensive project before and that past efforts to identify the needs of business and industry have been “hit-and-miss.”

He called the team’s survey, which will cost about $250,000, “a full-force effort.” Money for the survey came from the various team members, $100,000 of it from the four community college districts: Orange Coast, Rancho Santiago, North Orange County and Saddleback.

Other team members are Brea, Cypress, Dana Point, Fullerton, Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Orange, San Clemente and Santa Ana, La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, Martin Luther Hospital and several business and education groups.