Lack of economic development spurs reflection
In an attempt to streamline San Benito County’s permit process
for new businesses, the Economic Development Corporation of San
Benito County has proposed a list of six areas the county can
improve for the process.
Lack of economic development spurs reflection
In an attempt to streamline San Benito County’s permit process for new businesses, the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County has proposed a list of six areas the county can improve for the process.
Along with the list, the EDC held two meetings in September to foster community input.
To develop a scope to start the process, EDC President Nancy Martin said she brought in some consultants to the meetings. One of them was from the Economic Development Division in Yolo County.
Martin looks at this process as a “positive thing” and a subject that needs to be addressed due to the lack of economic development in the county.
“If I’m going to go out and talk to companies,” she said, “we have timelines and procedures from the get-go.”
The list of issues the EDC published for dealing with the permit process, presented on a chart, includes six categories ranging from “dealing with inconsistent and unclear processes” to “overly restrictive and contradictory ordinances.”
The first category the EDC plans to focus on is the “internal and external communication and mutual respect” column, which Martin described as “low-hanging fruit.”
As agreed upon at the meeting, the objectives in this category are the most easily accomplished without “some analyzation.”
Issues in that category include “better and early communication,” “communication and clear understanding” and “empathy.”
She said there were two meetings held on Sept. 11, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The later meeting was open to the public and had around 40 people in attendance.
According to Martin, there were many different people in the process at the afternoon meeting, including the City of Hollister and county staff, planning commissioners, homeowners, Realtors and engineers.
“It covered a gamut of people who either worked within the permitting system or people that had or had not gone through it.”
The EDC is looking into this issue not only because of the lack of economic development in the county, but also to be prepared for the future. Martin said applying for a permit is “hard to get through” because of its “antiquated procedures.”
“We want to be prepared to compete with other communities in the region and on the country and state levels,” she said. “That’s why we are looking at these things right now.”
While revising the county’s permit process is “a work in progress,” Martin said the county can work on better communication between applicants and staff.
“Those are some of the things they can get started on right away,” she said.
In order to facilitate changes in the permit process, Martin said the county has allocated money in this year’s budget for the changes.
The EDC decided to take the lead on this project after the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and county staff wanted to know the scope of anything the EDC does to streamline the process, Martin said.
