A spark for Collier County

Collier County has a reputation to rebuild among the skeptical business crowd, as the Business Observer reported last week in its story about the new office of the hearing examiner.

But the county continues to make business-friendly moves, removing obstacles for entrepreneurs and improving its reputation as a place to open up shop.

The latest example: Collier County fire districts were taking as long as two months to approve fire plans for developments. Collier County commissioners realized this was unacceptable because it deterred business expansion.

Now, growth areas such as North Naples, East Naples and Golden Gate will see all but the most complex fire plans approved in 15 days or less. In conjunction with speeding up fire reviews, Collier County commissioners also voted to reduce certain fire-plan review fees by 5% to 6%.

We won't say the county's on fire yet, but this is another spark for future growth.