DETROIT, MI -- Bureaucratic obstacles to starting a business in Detroit and in Michigan make it hard to complete for retail development with other cities and states, a state official said in a discussion at the Detroit Policy Conference on Thursday.
It was one of various panel discussions on business in the conference being held at Motor City Casino Hotel.
(Keynote speaker, 'Creative Class' author Richard Florida: Region should stop blaming Detroit)
Developer Richard Karp of Karp and Associates said planning board and city council representatives have helped him navigate a complex set of hoops to jump through before starting projects.
Steven Hilfinger, COO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, said those complexities make it difficult to compete with Indiana in particular.
"They really do have a one stop experience there," Hilfinger said. "... It has to be simpler. I’m saying that about the state also.All the complexity cannot be a good thing for development... that will accelerate projects getting done."
Sandy Baruah, CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, which is hosting the conference, said a group of professionals along with students from Walsch College have been working to create a set of mapping documents to help entrepreneurs navigate licensing, signage regulations, construction permits and other city processes.
"We're going to do this with a whole series of business processes in the city," Baruah said.
He presented the maps to Mayor Dave Bing is he took the stage to give his keynote address just after 1 p.m.
More from the conference:
-With emergency manager on the way, Mayor Dave Bing comments on debt exaggeration claims
-'Creative Class' author Richard Florida: Region should stop blaming Detroit
-Rock Ventures CEO Matt Cullen on making Detroit an attractive place to 'live, work and play'
-Opening date of Whole Foods in Midtown Detroit to be announced Friday
-Rock Ventures CEO: Downtown Detroit's Greektown Casino-Hotel area 'can be a lot more vibrant'
-Rock Ventures to host design contest for building at Hudson's site in Downtown Detroit
Follow Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.