Santa Clarita and Vernon have been named the most business-friendly cities in Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. made the announcement at its annual Eddy Awards ceremony Monday evening at the Beverly Hilton, choosing the two cities from amongst 10 finalists.

“The cities of Santa Clarita and Vernon best represent what can be achieved when our city governments work side-by-side with the business community to create business-friendly environments where quality jobs can grow,” said Bill Allen, LAEDC chief executive.

Santa Clarita won the award for cities with more than 50,000 residents, beating out Cerritos, Glendale, Long Beach and Pasadena. LAEDC officials selected the north county city for its expedited permit processing, site selection assistance, lack of a utility tax and its layout of industry clusters.

Vernon, a heavily industrial city with fewer than 100 residents, was selected in the small city category for its low electric utility rates, a “one-stop” service counter for business at City Hall and the work of its redevelopment agency. It beat out Culver City, La Mirada, Monrovia and Santa Fe Springs.

This marks the third year of the LAEDC’s “most business-friendly city” award, but the first time the award has been split amongst smaller and larger cities. Last year, Lancaster won the award, while in 2006, El Segundo won.

Also receiving Eddy awards Monday were shopping center developer Rick Caruso and Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Network Television, a unit of the Walt Disney Co.