Utah's LDS influence is turnoff, some firms say
Utah's size, location also concerns, survey finds
The 48-page report, made public Wednesday, was compiled to boost Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s economic development efforts on behalf of a group calling itself Real Estate Professionals for Economic Growth.
The group of commercial real estate companies picked up half the $55,000 cost of the survey. The rest was paid for by the state, Salt Lake County and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, which has contracts with the state and other entities.
"We still have a perception problem," acknowledged the head of the group, Bill Martin, managing partner of the state's largest commercial real estate firm, Commerce CRG. "The Olympics helped reduce that but it'll never go away."
Still, Martin said he didn't see the findings as negative. "That's what we are," he said. "We need to quit being defensive or trying to rationalize why we are quirky. . . . It's a great place to live."
Chris Roybal, the governor's senior adviser for economic development, said the state values the input. "Of course we want to review what insiders and outsiders are saying about us. We expect we'll get some varied opinions about our community."
The mayor said the LDS influence can be good — or bad "if people think they won't be welcomed here. My philosophy is that if they spend some time here they'll recognize people have a lot of conceptions about Utah that aren't true."
The report is actually a collection of comments gleaned from interviews with 21 "site selectors" who have represented more than 100 business relocations or expansions that involved the state during the past five years. While the names of those interviewed are listed at the back of the report, the comments aren't attributed. The companies represented include 1-800-Contacts, American Express, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Black Diamond and Yankee Candle.
There is no information on how many of the companies involved actually came to Utah, although an official of The Summit Group, which was hired to conduct the survey, estimated that 60 to 65 percent chose to relocate or expand here. The report is described as offering "insight, perspective and introspection" by the decision-makers instead of statistical data.
For example, one person surveyed claims that "the Mormon influence can be a negative. There is no question about that." Another states that there is a stigma associated with the state that "if you are not a Mormon it may not be a place that you fit in."
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