March 28, 2003 Friday

LENGTH: 531 words

HEADLINE: Businesses find West Covina user friendly;
City rated eighth-least expensive in state

BYLINE: Andrew Blazier, Staff Writer

DATELINE: WEST COVINA

BODY:
When Rice Motor Sports began looking for a new location, there really was no contest.

"We needed a place that was very aggressive with their community," said Deanna Post, the dealership's operations manager, as workers prepared for an upcoming move Tuesday to Garvey Avenue in West Covina. "We liked West Covina. We had nothing but city help on getting us in and getting us through."

Rice Motor Sports isn't the only business relocating to West Covina, though. Other transplants include Pacific Western Bank and Starbucks on Vincent Avenue and Island Pacific Market, a specialty grocer moving to the intersection of Amar and Azusa avenues.

The city recently was ranked eighth-least expensive in the state by the Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey , primarily for its comparatively low fees and tax rates, among the lowest in the state.

A zero-percent utility user's tax and no telephone tax have helped West Covina become the second-least expensive city in Los Angeles County, trailing only Santa Clarita.

"They have a very reasonable set of taxes," said Larry Kosmont, president and chief executive officer of the Kosmont Cos. of Los Angeles, which co-sponsored the survey. "It's a little bit more user friendly for businesses."

By comparison, Pomona, which ranked eighth-most expensive in the state and third in the county, has utility and telephone tax use rates of 9 percent.

Should a company be looking to change locations, the survey results might not factor into a firm's first round of cuts, Kosmont said. However, the cost of doing business in a city takes on greater importance once a business has narrowed its field to a couple of cities.

"You can't raise taxes without a vote," Kosmont said. "The only other way [to increase city revenue] is to attract new business and real estate deals. The cost of doing business and the competitiveness of a city at that level becomes a very important factor."

According to Post, Rice Motor Sports, which opened in West Covina in 1963, will make a return trip to the city because officials there were supportive of the move. It also doesn't hurt that the lot's proximity to the San Bernardino [10] Freeway will give the store vastly increased exposure to thousands of cars each day.

The motorcycle and water sports dealership outgrew its store in La Puente after 19 years. But when its president, Tim Rice, went shopping for a new location, he found West Covina to be both inexpensive and eager to meet his store's needs during the business license and permit processes.

City Manager Andy Pasmant said West Covina is constantly pursuing outside companies, which seek out his city because of its welcoming attitude toward new business, low costs and freeway access. Those factors and an increasing wealth per capita have made the town increasingly attractive for firms looking to make a move.

"Cities succeed by word of mouth," Pasmant said. "When people get a lot of good rapport and a good reputation, good business generates more good business. We welcome businesses with open arms."

Andrew Blazier can be reached at [626] 962-8811, Ext. 2477, or by e-mail at andrew.blazier@sgvn.com.

LOAD-DATE: October 27, 2003