Comment Log Display

The Honorable Mary Nichols
California Air Resources Board
P.O. Box 2815
Sacramento, CA 95812

RE: Selection of Riverside for Relocation of California Air
Resources Board Research Facility

Dear Chair Nichols and Members of the Board,

On behalf of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and its
approximately 1,300 members representing more than 100,000
employees in Inland Southern California, I am writing to offer the
full support of our business community in your consideration to
relocate the facility of the California Air Resources Board (ARB),
currently located in El Monte, to Riverside.

The close and productive partnership between the Chamber, the
University of California, Riverside (UCR), the City of Riverside,
the County of Riverside, and local state and federal elected
leaders demonstrates our community’s common purpose to create a
synergistic environment between public and private enterprises. As
such, we strongly believe the relocation of your facility to
Riverside will create a mutually beneficial relationship for ARB
and our community. Regionally, we have partnered with the County of
San Bernardino to establish a two-county effort to bring ARB to our
Riverside.

We are confident that ARB will quickly and effectively capitalize
on the significant research being done at UCR. Specifically, we are
extremely proud of the work conducted by the College of Engineering
– Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT) at UCR,
and its director Matt Barth, to bring business and government
together in collaboration to preserve our environmental strengths
and stimulate economic growth. The work conducted by ARB at a
proposed Riverside facility combined with the research and
innovation of CE-CERT as well as UCR’s community-oriented School of
Medicine and the recently-established School of Public Policy will
create a dynamic environment for air quality research, healthcare,
public policy, and practical implementation.

Moreover, the pipeline of skilled graduates coming from UCR and
other surrounding higher education institutions will provide a
steadily growing stream of talented and well-trained employees to
meet the facility’s current and future workforce needs.

The cost of doing business is significantly more competitive in
Riverside than elsewhere in Southern California and this extends to
a more affordable cost of living for local employees coupled with
an excellent quality of life. In addition, the significant economic
growth in the region will offer a wide selection of employment
opportunities, ranging from entry level to executive positions. We
continuously strive to ensure that the local business climate and
the level of coordination and partnership between business,
government, and our education institutions are superb.

For these reasons and more, we strongly believe that Riverside is
an ideal location for your facility. The Chamber is committed to
making this happen and pledge our full support and assistance.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Cindy Roth
President/CEO