SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Trader Joe's is just beginning the process to open a store in South Burlington.
Because of new rules there, the developers of Trader Joe's will have to work even harder to open their business in Vermont.
"Let's face it. Vermont has never been an easy place to do business," says Tom Torti, Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce president.
Torti says the rules for building can be a good thing for Vermont.
"We don't want to look like the 495 loop out of Boston and we don't want to look like Jersey City out of Newark, New Jersey," says Torti.
Torti says while it may take businesses some extra work to come to Vermont, there are lots of success stories, from IBM to Green Mountain Coffee to MyWebGrocer.
St. Michael's College Business Department Chair Robert Letovsky says a perception that Vermont is bad for business might keep some businesses from even thinking about coming to the state.
He warns, without new businesses, people will leave Vermont to find a job.
"5, 10, 15 years from now, if this exodus of young people and this aging of our population continues we are going to have a serious fiscal, economic and demographic problem here," says Letovsky.
Both sides agree the state could do more to make the state more business friendly.
Right now there is a bill in the legislature that would help streamline the Act 250 process which guides development in the state.
