Title
Recommendation for the Planning Board to Review and Endorse the Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP)
Body
Date: March 26, 2018
To: Members of the Planning Board
From: Lois RP Butler, Economic Development Manager
Re: Recommendation for the Planning Board to Review and Endorse the Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP)
BACKGROUND
The City of Alameda contracted with Strategic Economics to help prepare a citywide Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP), which is the long-term (five to ten years) roadmap for business attraction, retention, and workforce development activities. The EDSP identifies specific goals, strategies, and actions necessary to create, support and attract businesses and jobs, diversify the local economy, and maintain fiscal health. The draft EDSP is attached as Exhibit 1. This document will replace the previous EDSP, which was originally prepared in 2001, and updated in January 2008.
Staff and Strategic Economics began work on the EDSP in 2016. At its June 22, 2016 meeting, the Planning Board appointed Lorre Zuppan as its representative to an Ad Hoc Committee for Preparation of the EDSP. Ms. Zuppan and three Mayor’s Economic Development Advisory Panel subcommittee members met twice to develop guiding principles and a framework for the EDSP. These principles and framework were presented to the Planning Board in December 2016, and to the City Council in February 2017. In response to City Council direction, an EDSP Task Force was formed to provide a broader, community-driven process for completing the Plan.
The 21-member EDSP Task Force is composed of Alameda business owners, labor and housing advocates, developers, residents, and other community leaders representing diverse perspectives and interests. The Task Force includes John Knox White and Ms. Zuppan, who were both on the Planning Board when the Task Force was formed. The Task Force members selected them to be the chair and vice chair, respectively. The EDSP Task Force Roster is attached as Exhibit 2.
The EDSP Task Force developed the EDSP over the course of seven meetings, held from August 2017 through March 2018. This work was informed by the results of previously completed analyses, focus group interviews, and community workshops (see EDSP Appendix B for a complete list of community engagement meetings and interviews). These efforts included:
• Existing Conditions Analysis: Strategic Economics performed technical economic, market, and demographic analyses, summarized in the Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan Background Report.
• Topic-Specific Focus Groups: Seven topic-specific stakeholder focus groups were held in August 2016, organized around retail, bio/clean/green/high tech, workforce development, tourism, maritime, specialty food and beverage manufacturing, and City departments. Strategic Economics conducted additional interviews with brokers, property developers, business owners, the Chamber of Commerce’s Government Relations and Economic Development Committee, and members of the City Council.
• Community Workshops: Two community workshops were conducted on September 22, 2016, and December 8, 2016.
• Online Community Survey: The City gathered additional community sentiment through an online survey that ran between February 8 and March 15, 2017. A total of 1,559 people responded.
The draft EDSP is being presented to the Planning Board for its review and comment. Following the Planning Board’s review of the document, it will be presented to the Mayor’s Economic Development Advisory Panel. Following the Panel’s review, staff will request City Council approval of the Plan, which will serve as the City’s economic development roadmap and guide Economic Development staff’s work over the next five years.
DISCUSSION
The EDSP Vision Statement. The Task Force initiated its work by reviewing the research completed by Strategic Economics. Over the course of several meetings, the Task Force requested and received presentations by Strategic Economics and the City’s Economic Development Division staff on such topics as:
• Emerging approaches to economic development, including “economic gardening” that emphasizes cultivating economic growth from within a jurisdiction;
• Case studies of other cities;
• Incubators and entrepreneurship initiatives;
• Place-based strategies; and
• Fiscal considerations.
Through deliberations that spanned several meetings, the Task Force adopted a vision statement that reflects a desire to maintain and build upon what makes Alameda unique. The vision statement incorporates factors such as workforce development, small business and startups, restaurants and retail sectors, social justice, environmental and fiscal sustainability, tourism, housing, and transportation:
Alameda shall continue to evolve into a thriving and resilient economy with a range of quality jobs by supporting innovative businesses, entrepreneurs, and artists; providing a wide range of housing; enhancing the vibrancy of retail, restaurants, tourism, and cultural destinations; leveraging its unique waterfront assets; improving multimodal local and regional transportation options; and pursuing clean energy solutions, while maintaining a commitment to environmental sustainability, climate action, social equity, and fiscal health.
The Strategies. Emanating from the vision statement, the Task Force identified ten priority areas and industry sectors to support and grow Alameda’s economic future:
1. Life sciences-Alameda features a rapidly growing cluster of life science businesses. The corresponding strategies focus on:
a. actively helping Alameda to compete for a greater share of the region’s significant life sciences industry by marketing Alameda’s advantages for these businesses,
b. removing regulatory barriers to growth, and
c. deepening the network of local and regional businesses and investors.
2. Clean Tech and Green Tech-Alameda is positioned to capture a share of the growth in the clean tech and green tech industry, due to its central location within the East Bay region. The proposed strategies establish a multi-pronged approach for:
a. attracting startups,
b. increasing workforce preparedness, and
c. heightening awareness of Alameda and integration within the larger regional clean tech and green tech industry.
3. Blue Tech and Maritime-Alameda should actively prioritize and pursue opportunities to support its Blue Economy, recognizing that businesses within these industry sectors leverage Alameda’s unique waterfront assets and are a core component of Alameda’s economy and community identity. Some of the suggested strategies include:
a. creating and implementing an action plan for job growth in the maritime sector,
b. reviewing waterfront land use and zoning regulations, and
c. increasing workforce preparedness.
4. Retail and Restaurants-The market for retailing is rapidly changing, as consumer preferences have shifted to more online shopping and delivery services. At the same time, consumers are committing a greater share of their spending on experiential retail (dining, personal services, and fitness), offering new opportunities for businesses to incorporate more interactive experiences into their stores. The proposed strategies include:
a. support existing shopping and dining districts by working with private property owners and business associations to improve retail spaces and the public realm,
b. recruit and retain tenants,
c. assist with marketing, and
d. provide technical assistance to businesses.
5. Tourism and Hospitality-Alameda’s visitor destinations include museums, food and beverage manufacturing at Spirits Alley, and recreational uses, especially on the waterfront. The strategies concentrate on:
a. promoting a unified image of Alameda’s destinations,
b. facilitating hotel growth,
c. improving access to destinations, and
d. exploring opportunities to grow new destinations.
6. Artists and Small Manufacturers-Alameda has an established community of artists, “makers,” and small manufacturers, many specializing in the food and beverage sector, drawn to Alameda’s “funky” environment and historic buildings. The strategies help to:
a. facilitate the process for artists and new businesses to find space and for existing businesses to expand their facilities; and
b. enhance opportunities for artists, small manufacturers, students, and innovators to build skills.
7. Transportation Choices-The strategies support the implementation of the City’s new Transportation Choices Plan to access homes, jobs, schools, local businesses, and amenities by reducing drive-alone trips over the next 15 years.
8. Housing- Housing stability and affordability for households of all types is critical in order to retain and attract workers and employers. The strategies support the City’s Housing Element to provide a wide range of housing types and levels of affordability.
9. Workforce Development-The strategies propose to strengthen the coordination between labor organizations, colleges, the Alameda Unified School District, and other workforce development agencies to connect the local workforce with job training and employment placement in jobs that offer solid economic opportunities for residents while meeting the needs of employers.
10. City Services and Policy Documents-Various City departments interact with businesses to help them set-up up or expand their operations. There are opportunities to continue improving the quality of services from the City to the business community. Some of the suggested strategies include:
a. Improving the permitting process to reduce permitting costs and provide more certainty for businesses, and
b. Studying the potential areas of improvement for special event permitting processes.
The draft EDSP also contains some specific strategies that address the City’s land use and zoning regulations and may result in proposals to amend the Alameda Municipal Code. These strategies include:
3.2: Update land use and zoning regulations for waterfront sites in Alameda to include objective standards that ensure development projects preserve economically viable water-dependent maritime uses and maintain adequate access to the waterfront for business operations.
3.3: By 2019, identify waterfront locations and sites best-positioned to serve and retain maritime businesses, and review the adequacy of the existing zoning for these locations to support maritime industrial uses in the future. Provide recommendations on modifications to zoning to preserve these uses by 2020.
4.2: Amend the Alameda Municipal Code to facilitate inclusion of restaurants and retail stores and on-water access opportunities (floating docks with picnic tables and transient boat docks) in new projects on waterfront sites - such as the Northern Waterfront, Alameda Point, South Shore, and Bridgeside Shopping Center.
In addition, Alameda’s current General Plan contains very few policies related to economic development. The process of creating this new EDSP presents an opportunity to incorporate the community’s economic development priorities within the General Plan’s Land Use Element. Once the draft EDSP is approved, the City’s Economic Development and Planning Divisions will work together to develop specific recommendations for the Planning Board’s consideration to amend the Alameda Municipal Code and/or the General Plan, as appropriate.
Next Steps
1. With the Planning Board’s endorsement, the draft EDSP will be presented for endorsement to the Mayor’s Economic Development Advisory Panel in late April or early May.
2. It is anticipated that the EDSP will be presented to the City Council for its acceptance later this spring.
3. Once the EDSP is approved, City staff will return to the Planning Board with specific recommendations to amend the Alameda Municipal Code and/or the General Plan, as appropriate.
ENVIROMENTAL REVIEW
This proposal is Categorically Exempt from CEQA Guidelines Section.
RECOMMENDATION
Review and endorse the Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Respectfully submitted,
By,
Eric Fonstein, Development Manager
Exhibits:
1. Draft Economic Development Strategic Plan
2. EDSP Task Force Roster