HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-21-2016 Item 18 Economic Development Strategic Plan Update 2015-2016Meeting Date: 6/21/2016
FROM: Derek Johnson, Assistant City Manager
Prepared By: Lee Johnson, Economic Development Manager
Molly Cano, Tourism Manager
SUBJECT: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE 2015-2016
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file the Economic Development Strategic Plan Update.
DISCUSSION
Background
On October 16, 2012, the City Council approved the adoption of the Economic Development
Strategic Plan (EDSP). The EDSP focuses on creating a system that supports and sustains
industries creating head of household jobs. The EDSP continues to be organized into four
overarching strategies:
1.Break Down Barriers to Job Creation
2.Actively Support Knowledge & Innovation
3.Promote and Enhance the San Luis Obispo Quality of Life
4.Build on Existing Efforts and Strengthen Regional Partnerships
Each strategy has an underlying list of actions, metrics and outcomes that contribute to achieving
the goals of the strategic plan. While the EDSP is managed by the Economic Development
Program, the actions are cross-departmental and require the support and cooperation of many
people in the City organization and partner organizations. The remainder of the update focuses
on each of the overarching strategies, the status of each strategy and the focus for the next 12
months. The EDSP and Appendix A: Background Report can be found on-line at
www.slocity.org.
Break Down Barriers to Job Creation
The first overarching strategy is breaking down the barriers to job creation. The primary actions
are grouped into two sub-areas, (1) Processing, and (2) Infrastructure and Fees.
1.Processing (Strategies 1.1 and 1.2)
A. Update. All processing strategies are considered to be ongoing and progress has been
made in key areas. The Development Review Team (DRT) continues to evolve to ensure
a consistent and expedient approach across all departments involved in the development
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review process. The DRT now has an internal, automated tracking solution to determine
which projects are on schedule and to measure progress over time. Over the last six
months, the number of projects behind schedule has moved from a high of over 50% to
less than 20%. The improvement is attributable to a combination of more resources,
increased visibility, ease of access and improved data quality.
The Continuous Improvement Group (CIG) ensures that there is cross-department and
cross-functional input, action and alignment with the improvement process. The initial
work on external performance measurements that align with the financial plan has been
completed and the automation of the measurements is in final testing. These performance
measures will soon be reported as part of the mid-year annual report and reviewed with
the City Manager and other staff on at regular intervals.
The City continues to use various proactive approaches like pre-application meetings,
quick response teams, fast track permitting and pre-determinant scheduling to ensure that
major projects can move forward as quickly as possible.
B. Moving forward. The Community Development Department (CDD) is in the process of
rolling out organizational changes that will contribute to continued improvement in our
entitlement and permitting processes. These changes include increased counter hours, a
one-stop shop and a dedicated Customer Service Team (CST). The focus of the CIG will
be will be to continue to identify opportunities for improvement in the permitting process
and to support the CDD organizational changes. Staff will continue to use creative,
proactive approaches to streamline the current process while work continues on the long-
term changes.
Once the CIG group has implemented the process changes that improve the timing and
efficiency of permit processing within the existing policy framework, the group will work
to identify any policy changes that would require Council consideration and approval that
could further streamline the review process.
The zoning update planned for the 2016-17 work program has the potential to
significantly address concerns about process issues and to streamline the permit process
and directly impact future economic development while also increasing the quality of
development projects.
2.Infrastructure and Fees (Strategies 1.3 to 1.9)
A. Update. Following the infrastructure study sessions in March of 2014, Council directed
staff to develop prioritized list of infrastructure projects for the City to invest in from an
Economic Development and Quality of Life perspective. That initiative evolved into the
Infrastructure Investment Capital Fund (IICF) and Infrastructure Investment Capital
Improvement Project (IICIP) which Council Approved in March of 2015.
B. Moving forward. In conjunction with the Community Development Department and
Public Works, a white paper outlining the City’s infrastructure funding process as well as
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the basics of prioritization is under review and will be circulated when complete. The
proposed review and update of the AB1600 fees during the 2016-17 work program will
have major implications for the City in the long term.
Actively Support Knowledge and Innovation
Focusing on businesses and infrastructure that rely on knowledge and innovation is a critical
aspect of the EDSP (Strategies 2.1 through 2.3). Given the unique aspects of San Luis Obispo,
this strategy was split into the two subareas of Entrepreneurship and Access to Broadband.
Strategy 2.1 includes items that are short term and ongoing.
1.Entrepreneurship (Strategy 2.1)
A. Update. The Economic Development Program is actively working with our partners to
promote an environment that supports entrepreneurship and start-ups. The City continues
to support the SLO HotHouse financially and professionally. In 2015, the HotHouse
started 17 new businesses, counseled 123 clients, created 64 jobs and had an overall
investment in the companies of more than $3.7 million. The City is a sponsor of the
Chamber’s Insight Studios program. The program consists of an out of the area business
trip, workshops, a leadership event and the World of Business Forum in New York. The
City supports the SLO MakerSpace that acts as an incubator for “hands on” businesses
that require access to equipment such as metal working machines, wood working tools
and 3-D printers. The City also sponsors SCORE to help local small businesses to start
and grow.
B. Moving forward. The City will continue to work productively with its partners in 2016-
17.Some key ideas to continue to explore are: how to continue to grow the City’s
entrepreneurial culture, how to develop more co-working opportunities, how to leverage
our diverse tourism marketing efforts to attract existing and potential entrepreneurs to the
City, and how to continue to build the database of local companies at the County level to
increase interaction between organizations and help attract companies and individuals to
the area.
2.Access to Broadband (Strategies 2.2- 2.3)
A. Update. The City has been working with a Tri-County consortium through the Economic
Vitality Corporation (EVC) to develop a broadband road map that can be used by the various
jurisdictions to develop their own broadband roadmaps (strategy 2.3). The first draft of the
road map has been completed and is under review.
B. Moving forward. Once the work of the consortium has been further developed, the City will
consider transitioning the Ad Hoc committees that have worked on specific issues in the past
into a full time committee (Strategy 2.2). The City is also working with the Downtown
Association to investigate options for Wi-Fi in the downtown area.
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Promote and Enhance the San Luis Obispo Quality of Life
The EDSP recognizes that the same quality of life attributes that make San Luis Obispo such a
great place to live also attract tourists and new and expanding businesses. The Tourism Manager,
who oversees the City’s Community Promotions program, is part of the economic development
team. Community Promotions is now fully integrated into the City’s economic development
efforts to ensure a comprehensive approach to quality of life activities supported by the City.
Strategies 3.1 and 3.4 are short term and ongoing, all other actions are medium or long term.
1.Tourism and Community Promotions (Strategies 3.1 and 3.4)
A. Update. From July 2015 through March 2016, the hotel industry continued to expand and
grow. The City collected just over $5 million in transient occupancy tax (TOT), which
represents a 6.3% average increase in collection compared to the previous year. While the
growth rate has slowed compared to the unprecedented 2014-15 fiscal year, overall the
lodging properties have returned to steady occupancy rates that met or exceeded business
prior to the recession. Much of this success can be credited to a coordinated and focused
strategic tourism efforts lead by the City’s Tourism Business Improvement (TBID)
district and laid out through the TBID’s 5-year strategic clarity document. In 2015-16 the
TBID executed a multi-faceted tourism campaign which included the following elements:
a.A complete redesign of the City’s tourism website SanLuisObispoVacations.com
which included the full integration of the #ShareSLO campaign into the site and
the customized booking system called Helium,
b.Expanded the compelling and award-winning advertising campaign for use in
print, digital and email marketing outreach, developed tourism promotion assets
including video and photography, strengthened the #ShareSLO outward facing
social media campaign on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,
c.Attended more than a dozen events and tradeshows to promote the SLO brand,
and extended the tourism advertising reach into new markets like San Diego.
Additionally, the TBID constituency expanded to include the City permitted
homestay properties.
The Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC) continued the commitment to enhance
the San Luis Obispo experience for residents as well as visitors. The PCC funded vital
promotional grants to over 25 local non-profit organizations through the annual grants-in-
aid process in an effort to enrich the social, cultural, and diverse community events and
activities available throughout the City. To support these activities as well as all events in
the City, the PCC enhanced the smart phone app created last year, called SLO
Happenings, to serve as the community go-to resource for all of the happenings in San
Luis Obispo.
Additionally, the PCC provided financial and program support to boost the visitor service
offerings in the City through the funding of programs like the tear-off city maps for
visitors and financial contribution to the operational costs for the downtown Visitors
Center. Together the TBID and PCC supported 10 major events within the City and
streamlined the application and review process. Events serve a dual purpose: they are
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enjoyed by residents and attract visitors to our community. Additionally, In 2015-16 the
City also hosted more than 45 media outlets, travel writers and bloggers, facilitating
articles, feature stories and videos showcasing the Central Coast as more than a one-night
stopover. This effort resulted in hundreds of prominent placements in publications
including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine and
Travel+Leisure, among others, recognizing SLO as a destination. Through the
commitment of the TBID and PCC, San Luis Obispo topped over a dozen “Best Of” lists
in 2015-16 including: Best Places for Women Entrepreneurs; 2015 Best-Performing
Cities; Best Commuter Cities in California; 100 Best Places To Live.
B. Moving forward. The TBID will continue the implementation of the Strategic Clarity
Document. Major areas of focus include: expansion of strategic partnerships to maximize
promotional opportunities, development and participation in tourism sales efforts, and
enhancement of the SLO tourism brand to drive awareness of the area. The PCC will be
focusing on defining the role of the PCC and its programs through a strategic planning
process, and further developing the SLO Happenings program to drive awareness of
events in the community.
Build on Existing Efforts and Strengthen Regional Partnerships
The City’s regional partnerships are critical to our economic development as a City. These
partnerships allow the City to build, retain and attract businesses. At this time, the primary
partnerships include: (in alphabetical order); Cal Poly, Chamber of Commerce, Central Coast
Economic Forecast (CCEF), Cuesta College, California Central Coast Research Partnership
(C3RP), Downtown Association, Economic Vitality Corporation (EVC), San Luis Obispo
County and the SLO HotHouse.
Strategies 4.1 through 4.7 cover four topics: Business Retention, Business Attraction, Business
Support, and Support for Downtown. Strategies 4.3, 4.6, and 4.7 are identified as ongoing.
A. Update. Relationships with the primary partners (Strategy 4.1 & 4.2) continue to be
strong. Some highlights include: increased focus with the Chamber on specific business
attraction opportunities; coordination with the EVC on airport expansion and broadband
strategies; coordination with the Chamber, CCEF and SLOCOG on data development;
participation with and presentations to committees at the Chamber, the Downtown
Association and the EVC. The City also participates in the Cal Poly President's Cabinet
Ad Hoc Economic Development Committee.
The City’s updated website has proven to be extremely helpful to the business
community and continues to be enhanced to provide a valuable resource for doing
business in the City.
The process of refining an economic development dashboard (Strategies 4.3 & 4.4) to
help assess the impact of our activities as well as quantify the economic health of the City
will continue in coordination with the City efforts to develop a dashboard showing
metrics from all City departments. The City’s Economic Development Team has gained
access to confidential employment data for the City of San Luis Obispo. The access to
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this data for every establishment enrolled in the State’s Unemployment Insurance
Program (Strategy 4.3 & 4.4) creates visibility to more granular and specific information
about the job market in the City of San Luis Obispo.
B. Moving forward. Cooperation with the regional partners will form the basis for external
activities in the coming year. Staff will continue to focus on the core economic
development functions of business building, business retention and business attraction. In
addition to the expansion of the ongoing initiatives, staff will focus on coordinating
efforts to provide access to information for current and potential businesses through
multiple channels with particular focus on continuing to improve our web presence
(Strategy 4.1). Staff continues to support the Downtown Association efforts as well as
working on projects in the downtown.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Economic Development Program continues to operate within budget and there is no direct
fiscal impact as a result of this report.
Attachments:
a - Council Reading File - Economic Development Strategic Plan
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