CEOs praise Pleasanton's business climate CEOs praise Pleasanton's business climate (January 02, 2004)

Say state's regulatory environment bringing crisis
by Jeb Bing

Pleasanton business executives praised the city government for its corporate-friendly environment, but said state regulations are threatening their commercial operations, profitability and employment opportunities.

Speaking at a recent CEO Roundtable that was sponsored by the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, the four leaders of small-, medium- and large-size businesses in Pleasanton offered different views of the current business climate. But they agreed that they made the right choices in locating their operations here.

Moderated by Pleasanton City Manager Deborah McKeehan, the four panelists were Curt Anderson, owner of Compass Product Design; Michael Hunkapiller, Chairman and CEO of Applied Biosystems; Craig Van Selow, CEO of Mt. Diablo National Bank; and Steve Tanner, CEO of the Tanner Companies.

Asked by McKeehan about the benefits of having their businesses in Pleasanton, the executives cited the city's good government, good schools and quality of life.

"When we opened our business here in 1989, the benefit to being in Pleasanton was that we could live and work here," said Curt Anderson of Compass Product Design, a software consulting firm. "At the time, our customers were mainly on the Peninsula and in San Francisco. But as housing and office prices escalated over there, more of the companies we serve moved this way. We found ourselves in a good location to add clients who were now in our own back yard."

Tanner said that when he opened his insurance business in 1983 on Stoneridge Mall Road, the shopping center was so new that there was little traffic.

"Today Stoneridge Shopping Center is thriving, Hacienda Business Park is almost full, and Pleasanton has become an economic center in the Bay Area," he added. "Even Sacramento is just 90 minutes away. It's the place to be."

Hunkapiller said that when Applied Biosystems needed to expand beyond its landlocked headquarters operation in Foster City, his executive team made two decisions: stay in California rather than move elsewhere, and add a major research facility in Pleasanton where land was available and closer to where an increasing number of the company's employees were living.

"As we grew our employee base, we found more and more of them unable to buy homes on the Peninsula," he said. "We literally had employees with 10 and 15 years of service coming to us in tears to quit because they couldn't take the two and three hours of time they were spending in their cars each day on the freeways."

"As long as Pleasanton continues to be a good place to live, with quality schools and a strong recreational programs, we'll be here, too," he added.

Van Selow agreed, saying that his bank's fortunes are closely linked to the community's.

"The expansion of companies into this area has enabled us to grow along with them and to serve an increasingly stable employee base," he said. "We're also seeing a number of our customers who are switching from jobs in San Francisco and other distant locations, even if it means joining smaller firms. More people today are making lifestyle decisions to work closer to their homes."

As good as it is as a business location, Pleasanton has its problems. The executives said the high costs of real estate here are forcing more of their employees each year to look elsewhere for housing, mainly across the Altamont Pass into San Joaquin County and beyond. Crowded sports fields and schools in Pleasanton are also driving employees to other communities.

Tanner called on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his new administration to reduce Workers Compensation costs, and to reverse a recently passed regulation that will require small businesses to provide health insurance for all employees regardless of the cost.

"We're in a crisis," Tanner said. "Employees are discovering that they can stay at home on a Workers Comp claim and make more money than if they went to work. There's something fundamentally wrong with a system like that."

Anderson said Workers Comp and other regulations, plus a high sales tax, are deterrents to doing business in California. He cited a recent poll that rated California 47th out of 50 states as a good place to do business.

"It's tough when we're competing with someone from another state who has little or no sales tax," Anderson said.

"But despite solicitations to move our business out of state, we still see a wealth of young and new talent moving to Pleasanton - a wealth of technology and talent," he added. "We see so many new opportunities and new products coming our way that we think California and Pleasanton will continue to be good places to live and conduct our business."

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