The City of Yuma is widely seen as a business-friendly community. City elected officials and staff project a “can do” attitude and a willingness to work with business throughout the siting and development process.  Yuma’s positive business climate reflects four factors:

• A reasonable and predictable development process
• A commitment to customer service 
• A desirable cost-of-doing business environment 
• A city committed to being competitive in the marketplace

The City of Yuma has a well-defined development process that offers problem-solving and provides predictability for companies and the development community. 

• The Department of Community Development (DCD) is a key touchpoint for developers on issues related to planning, development, and zoning.  DCD also organizes and manages the Pre-Development Meeting (PDM) initiative to facilitate and expedite development activity in the City. 
• The Economic Development Office serves as a coordinator and gateway for new business entrants into Yuma.
• The City’s attractive cost-of-doing business structure is documented in the newly completed Comparative Operating Cost Analysis by Applied Economics LLC. The 2019 report benchmarks the operating costs for an advanced manufacturing facility vs two California locations. A 2018 report presents a similar analyses for a food processing facility in Yuma versus a California city.
• Yuma offers performance-based incentives consistent with state statutes.  Keys to the availability of incentives is the creation of good paying jobs, a positive economic impact analysis, and meaningful capital investment.