PRESS RELEASE

The City of Long Beach has been recognized by the business community itself as one of the five most business friendly cities in Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), an alliance of 150 business groups representing 272,000 companies that employ nearly 3 million people in LA County.

“We’re delighted that businesses throughout Los Angeles County know what our local businesses already know – that Long Beach is extremely business friendly,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “We have an extensive array of programs and services to help businesses stay and grow in Long Beach, whether they are small entrepreneurial start-ups or large employers.”

The results were included in the responses submitted to BizFed’s annual survey of employers, which takes the pulse of business owners and executives about key issues regarding the ongoing operation and growth of their business. BizFed's membership includes chambers of commerce, trade associations, minority business groups, economic development organizations and business improvement districts.

The City of Long Beach continues to support local economic development with a range of programs and tools.

The Department of Economic and Property Development focuses effort on economic development services, fosters and encourages business and job growth, facilitates business relocation and expansion, and increases economic activity while maintaining the quality and strength of our neighborhoods.

The City’s Business Assistance Team is committed to helping local businesses meet the challenge of finding, training, and retaining qualified employees. And hundreds of local businesses have worked with Pacific Gateway, the City’s Workforce Development Agency, to reap the benefits of hiring tax credits, recruitment services, and training.

The City's Innovation Team (i-team), funded by a three-year, $3 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, is developing a package of initiatives to make it easier to start and grow a business in the city. The i-team recently announced the launch of the City’s BizPort to streamline the startup process, and the development of iClips to help vendors do business with the City. More business friendly initiatives are expected to launch this summer.

Additional tools include:

• Business Assistance and Workforce Development
• Small Business Development
• Low Cost City Business License Tax Structure
• Financial Assistance
• Business Improvement Districts
• Improved Permitting and Inspection Services
• Administrative Use Permits and Conditional Use Permits
• Downtown Plan
• Business Services Bureau
• Competitively Priced Utilities
• A central point of contact that can help businesses access City services, and guide them through the planning and permitting process.

For more information, please contact Business Ombudsman Seyed Jalali at Seyed.Jalali@longbeach.gov or 562.570.6172.