By Chen Yao, Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp.

The Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. organized an intimate round table discussion May 11 with Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar at SCV-based Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corp. The 20 or so guests also heard from top executives at Boston Scientific followed by a site tour.

Santa Clarita was named “The Most Business Friendly City” in Los Angeles County by LAEDC in 2008 and one of the “Most Business Friendly Cities” in 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2015. Mayor Bob Kellar stressed that the city took the achievement very seriously by continuing to find ways to encourage businesses to relocate, to grow, and to succeed.

Reiterating the philosophy that what is good for business is good for the community, the mayor highlighted some key attributes that make the City of Santa Clarita stand out:

* The city has no business license fee, no gross receipts tax, no payroll tax, and no utility user fee.

* The city has expedited its development process for tenant improvement projects and offers deferred permit payment and permit subsidization.

* The city also has a “Shop Local” initiative that provides preference to local vendors bidding on City contracts.

* The city is continuously looking for new and innovative ways to help our businesses, which has resulted in programs like its Use Tax Rebate program.

In addition to encouraging the growth of business in key clusters, the city has also been focusing on generating more sales tax through retail attraction. According to Kellar, in 2015, the City was ranked 20th out of 100 cities, higher than areas like Beverly Hills, Burbank, and Glendale. It comes as little surprise that the Cheesecake Factory which will open at the Westfield Valencia Town Center later this year.

The third pillar of creating economic wealth, according to the Mayor, is attracting new dollars through the city’s tourism programs and film office. From hosting events such as the Amgen Tour of California and Red Bull’s Wings for Life World Run to producing its own events like the Annual Cowboy Festival and Santa Clarita Marathon, the city is gaining in both economic activity and reputation.

On the film side, on location filming in Santa Clarita last year contributed an estimated $30.9 million in economic benefit to the community. “Our Film Office is well known throughout the industry, providing some of the lowest permit fees and quickest turn-around time in the 30-mile zone,” says the Mayor.

Underpinning all these accomplishments, according to Kellar, is the collaborative approach adopted by the city. He specifically highlighted some notable partnerships. In addition to LAEDC and SCVEDC, he also mentioned the importance of the College of the Canyons in providing training and employment services as well as the City’s direct partnership with local businesses – this year, Boston Scientific and the City will be entering their fourth year of partnership together with the Santa Clarita Marathon, as the presenting sponsor of both the Health & Fitness Expo and 5K race.

Following Mayor Bob Kellar’s talk, executives from Boston Scientific also briefed the attendees on the latest development at the company.

Maulik Nanavaty, Neuromodulation Division President of Boston Scientific, talked about the positive impact the company’s medical device offerings were having on people’s daily life. He especially stressed the importance of having a motivated workforce, and was happy that the company could recruit the talent it needs to grow the business. “We find that we are attracting people who are driven by a sense of purpose and mission,” says Nanavaty.

With about 1000 employees working at the company hailing from 71 countries and speaking 28 different languages, diversity is a top priority for Lisa Welker-Finney, VP of HR at the company. Not satisfied with just promoting diversity within the company, Boston Scientific has also started a STEM education program targeting at African-American high-school students. So far, 99 students have graduated from the program, and one of them has just been accepted to a medical school.

On the business side, the company offers Spinal Cord Stimulation system that works to interrupt pain impulses before they reach the brain to help patients manage their pain. According to Allen Meacham, VP of Sales at the division, its 500-strong sales team not only engages in outreach and education, but also provides regular follow-up with existing patients. The company’s Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system, which is currently under FDA review but is already available in Europe, is also being studied for other purposes beyond treating the Parkinson’s disease. You can watch a video here to see DBS in action.