Updated Rules Make Santa Monica Easier To Do Business In

WalletHub Ranked Santa Monica 834th Out Of

1,261 Small-Sized Cities To Start A Business.

By Zach Armstrong

The City Has Simplified Rules. Story Body - Some have taken Santa Monica as a difficult place to do business due to regulations and rules pertaining to space, size, placing signs and other matters.

Years ago, WalletHub ranked Santa Monica 834th out of 1,261 small-sized cities in its Best & Worst Small Cities to Start a Business study. The site used metrics such as business environment, access to resources, business costs, average length of a work week, growth of small businesses in the city, working-age population and corporate taxes.

Now, the city has simplified zoning and permitting rules for businesses so they can open faster and become successful.

“Businesses had asked the City of Santa Monica to reduce time, efficiency, and space barriers to doing business in Santa Monica, and the City responded, making impactful changes to the ease of starting or doing business,” Judy Kruger, president and CEO of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, said in an email. “Each and every permitting or zoning category is now faster and simpler allowing for businesses to open in fewer days and expand their market share.”

Here are some of the ways the city has made it easier for businesses to operate.

There are reduced restrictions on the size and