Yorba Linda holds economic development workshop to boost sales tax, retain tenants and streamline permitting

YORBA LINDA, Calif. — At a special City Council economic development workshop, city staff, the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce, sales-tax consultants and commercial brokers outlined steps to strengthen local business retention and increase sales-tax revenue while keeping vacancy rates low.

City Manager Mark Malone told the council the city relies primarily on property taxes and sales tax, and that sales-tax receipts have underperformed recent projections. “Sales tax is our second largest revenue source,” Malone said, as presenters described recent declines and what cities can do to support growth.

An HDL consultant, Bobby Young, presented a quarterly analysis that traced statewide and local sales-tax trends and industry drivers. Young said general consumer goods account for the largest share of Yorba Linda’s sales-tax base and that the city’s recent declines reflect broader post‑pandemic and interest‑rate effects. “We are in this three- to six-month period where the economy could go either way,” Young said, adding the firm expects a modest rebound if inflation and interest rates ease.

Economic development manager Colleen Callahan summarized the city’s…