Economic Development
“The days when every Simi Valley resident had to drive ‘over the hill’ to work or shop are long gone. Building and maintaining a robust local economy means good jobs in town, residents commuting on freeways less and being with their families more, and tax revenues for the City to provide vital services. Everyone wins when our local businesses thrive.”
- Glen Becerra
- “Give Simi Valley City Councilman Glen Becerra credit for putting his money on the line to support his city. Becerra recently dipped into his private campaign fund to buy an ad in the Los Angeles Daily News touting Simi Valley’s sharply lower sales tax rate versus buying stuff in what’s rapidly becoming the people’s republic of Los Angeles County. In case you have not heard, the L.A. County sales tax has been hiked to just a smidge below double digits at 9.75 percent. For folks headed to the Simi Valley Town Center versus the Westfield shopping center in Woodland Hills, the sales tax is unchanged at 8.25 percent. ‘Shop Simi Valley for lower taxes,’ the ad reads.” From “Simi Valley pol takes a swipe at LA’s tax bite,” Pacific Coast Business Times, July 10-16, 2009.
- From a Simi Valley Acorn article on Nov. 4, 2005, on the opening of Simi Valley Town Center: “It exceeded my expectations,” said Councilmember Glen Becerra of the mall. “I think the community should be really proud of what was accomplished here because it took a whole town to pull this off.”
- In a Ventura County Star story May 11, 2008, on the Shop Simi campaign: "We're not going to be able to keep everything in Simi Valley. We don't sell Mercedes here or BMWs. We have some limits as to the services and products we provide, but I think it's important to educate people why they should shop here."
- "The reason we were looking at this is because a lot of potentially productive land for jobs was being taken up by what I think we all consider nonproductive use, which is self storage," Becerra said. "My understanding is that, according to guidelines set up by the self storage trade association, each community should have a certain amount of square feet per residence, and we are already overbuilt - and have plenty to meet residents' needs, plus some." From “Amendment aimed at curbing proliferation of self-storage," Simi Valley Acorn, Nov. 9, 2007.
