13th Annual Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Awards
The 13th Annual Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Award winners will be announced live at the Awards and Holiday Reception on December 6, 2023 in Irvine. The Awards recognize outstanding public agencies for implementing policies and programs that cut through red tape, eliminate barriers to economic growth and open the door to private sector jobs creation. Below are the 2023 nominees for each of the six award categories. Learn more about the event!
Program Award: Business Retention And Expansion
City of Garden Grove: Jobs 1st Program
The Jobs 1st Program was launched in April 2020 to support Garden Grove businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic. Initially focused on the Job Retention Grant, the program now focuses on the Job Creation Loan providing zero-interest loans to Garden Grove businesses.
City of Hope Orange County: Hope is at Work
To combat our state’s dire nurse staffing predicament, City of Hope Orange County teamed up with local colleges and business consortiums in 2022 to recruit over two dozen physician experts and 300 skilled nurses and other employees for City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center.
City of Los Alamitos: Los Al Bucks Program I & II
The City of Los Alamitos launched the “Los Al Bucks” program, designed to promote local shopping and community connectivity. The program distributed $50 worth of “Los Al Bucks” to each residence designated for use at participating businesses.
City of Newport Beach: Balboa Village Parking Management Overlay District
The Balboa Village Parking Management Overlay District helps to manage parking without constructing new parking spaces. The plan eliminates in-lieu parking fees and off-street parking requirements for new commercial development, reducing parking study and construction costs for local businesses.
OC Community Resources – OC Community Services: The Orange County Veterans Employment Program
The Orange County Veterans Employment Program (VEP) provides a variety of wraparound and career services designed for active military who are near separation, or who have recently separated, and for their eligible dependents.
OC Community Resources – OC Community Services – Workforce and Economic Development Division: The Orange County Microbusiness Grant
In 2022, the County of Orange Workforce and Economic Development Division (WEDD) developed an online application portal and leveraged its County and community partners to promote a microbusiness grant opportunity, resulting in 1,470 grants totaling nearly $4 million awarded to OC microbusinesses.
Program Award: Building & Land Reuse And Community Revitalization
City of Fullerton – Community & Economic Development Department: Rodeo Fox Project
The Rodeo Fox project, a collaborative between Almquist and the City of Fullerton, demonstrates a successful adaptive re-use by transforming a restaurant and two underutilized parking lots near the historic Fox Theater into a vibrant outdoor food hall with restaurants, retail stores, and a microbrewery.
City of Newport Beach: Newport Beach ADU
The Newport Beach Community Development Department (CDD) launched an initiative to spur Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) development in April 2023. A web page centralizes resources, offering a one-stop site for residents and homeowners to learn about the ADU process, finance and grant opportunities.
City of Santa Ana: My First Home Down Payment Assistance Loan Program
The City of Santa Ana committed $3 million with its unprecedented Down Payment Assistance Program to help provide homeownership opportunities for lower income households. Last year, 21 families were able to make homeownership a reality.
Program Award: Incorporating Innovative Technology
City of Costa Mesa: WaitWhile: Providing “CostAmazing” Customer Service
To expedite wait times in anticipation of Costa Mesa City Hall’s reopening in mid-2021, the city’s IT Department implemented WaitWhile, an online booking software that allows residents, businesses, and other visitors to book appointments with City departments in advance and monitor wait times.
OC Community Resources – OC Community Services – Office on Aging: Access to Technology Program
The Orange County Office on Aging (OoA) Access to Technology Program (ATT) aims to reduce social isolation and increase access to virtual services for older adults and people with disabilities by providing access to technological devices (i.e., iPads), broadband service, and training.
Office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen: Reducing Costs and Increasing Efficiency: The County of Orange Clerk-Recorder Passport Program
Following the rising demand for passports after COVID-19 restrictions eased, in May 2021 the Office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder launched a program to make receiving a passport more convenient and affordable for residents. The program also generated substantial County revenue.
Program Award: Sustainable And Green Development
City of Irvine: Gateway Preserve
The Gateway Preserve, a plan made possible when the City of Irvine finalizes acquisition of the closed All American Asphalt plant in 2023, is set to create a 700-acre open space preserve providing habitat mitigation and recreation opportunities while eliminating long-time environmental concerns.
Municipal Water District of Orange County, Wyland Foundation, City of Westminster, and Saddleback College: Coronet Watersmart Conservation Garden
The Coronet Watersmart Conservation Garden project in Westminster provides residents a living example of sustainable landscaping strategies that reduce pollution runoff and showcase native plants that require less water and draw native pollinators to support biodiversity.
OC Community Resources – OC Parks: Capistrano County Beach and Doheny State Beach Sand Replenishment Project
To address coastal erosion, the Capistrano County Beach and Doheny State Beach Sand Replenishment Project replenishes about 45,000 cubic yards of sand along a 1-mile stretch of beach using repurposed sand from flood control efforts by Orange County Public Works (OCPW).
Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA): I-405 Improvement Project
To accommodate future growth, the 16-mile I-405 improvement project will add lanes in each direction between Costa Mesa and the border with Los Angeles County, combine existing carpool lanes, ultimately reducing traffic congestion, encouraging carpooling, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Public – Private Partnership
Anaheim Public Library: Foster Youth Initiative 2022
Partnering with CASA OC, Orangewood Foundation, and Covenant House, Anaheim Public Library provided 652 “We’re Here for You” library cards to foster youth and youth in need who do not have a permanent address and/or cannot obtain a parent’s signature.
Brookfield Residential: The Landing at Tustin Legacy
The partnership between the City of Tustin and Brookfield Residential was integral to the continued success of Tustin Legacy, the city’s 1,600-acre master-planned community. The city team was instrumental in the builder’s design and entitlement strategy for The Landing ensuring the homes and amenities aligned with the city’s vision.
CalOptima Health: CalAIM Workforce Development Program
As part of their CalAIM initiative, CalOptima Health partnered with Chrysalis, a workforce development non-profit, providing a $2.9 million grant to enroll members into a job-readiness program for placement and employment at CalOptima Health’s service delivery sites.
City of San Juan Capistrano: Salida del Sol
The City of San Juan Capistrano partnered with Jamboree Housing to develop a Permanent Supportive Housing community and a new city hall on the current city hall site. The project will provide onsite supportive housing with services for 40 formerly homeless individuals and veterans.
Leadership In Public Service
California State Senator Josh Newman 29th District
California State Senator Josh Newman helped secure an $8.5 million grant through the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) allowing RevHubOC to convene leading OC public, private, and non-profit organizations under NorthSTAR to build a social enterprise ecosystem for under-represented and under-resourced communities.
CalOptima Health Chief Executive Officer Michael Hunn
Michael Hunn’s life has been dedicated to public service, beginning as a Catholic priest and transitioning to a career in health care administration. As the CEO of CalOptima Health, overseeing a $4 billion annual budget, he has led initiatives to improve health care in Orange County through vital partnerships and innovation for the county’s most vulnerable residents.
Chairman Don Wagner, Orange County Board of Supervisors (3rd District)
In response to the fentanyl crisis, Chairman Don Wagner secured approval from the OC Board of Supervisors to allocate $120,000 from Third District discretionary funds to provide $20,000 to school districts in the Third District to procure essential Narcan resources.
City of Orange
To expedite the restoration of gas services to more than 700 residents at the La Veta Monterey condominiums after the need for repairs unexpectedly arose, the City of Orange and SoCalGas worked closely by hosting weekly meetings, ensuring that safety and permitting requirements were met during the construction process.
Working Women Winning (WWW)
Conceived by founder and CEO of the Flora May Foundation, Debbie Hansen, Working Women Winning (WWW) is an 8-week workforce development program designed to empower women by fostering the essential skills, confidence, and resources required to excel in traditionally male-dominated industries.
