Jackie Krentzman is a Bay Area-based writer and editor.
When Martha Moreno, a commercial real estate agent, was working out a deal to open a regional bagel shop in Eastvale, she came to the process with her usual set of concerns about drawn-out permitting. But to her surprise, Cassidy’s Corner Café was pouring coffee and serving egg and bagel sandwiches just six months later.
“Six months was record time,” says Moreno. “The level of services the city provides to businesses is incredible. “Often, architects will submit their plans, a city will want a bunch of revisions, and this process takes forever, with a lot of back-and-forth. But Eastvale reviewed the plan super-fast and expedited the permitting process. That timeframe at most other cities is closer to two years.”…