HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-16; Economic Development Subcommittee; ; Economic Development Subcommittee WorkplanEconomic Development Subcommittee
Meeting Date:
To:
From:
ltem#l:
Recommendation:
August 16, 2021
City Council Economic Development Subcommittee
David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer
Economic Development Subcommittee Workplan
{cityof
Carlsbad
Receive an informational report regarding city economic development activities and discuss and make
recommendations regarding the anticipated work of the subcommittee.
Discussion:
In response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council established an ad hoc
economic revitalization subcommittee that was tasked with engaging with businesses, coordinating with
business organizations, and providing recommendations to the City Council on ways to address the
economic impacts of the pandemic. The work of the subcommittee and actions by the City Council had a
notable impact in addressing the economic toll ofthe pandemic.
The ad hoc economic revitalization subcommittee held 36 meetings and guided the development and
implementation ofthe city's Econ.omic Recovery and Revitalization Initiative. As a part of that initiative,
an Inclusive Recovery Assessment and Implications Report (Exhibit 1) was developed to proactively
guide the move from economic response to the pandemic to economic recovery. Given the extended
nature of economic recovery and development the City Council approved the creation of the standing
Economic Development Subcommittee to replace the ad hoc subcommittee.
The duties of the new standing subcommittee are to guide the following:
• Creation of a long-term, inclusive economic recovery and development strategy
• Coordination with Carlsbad business organizations
• Development of workforce and talent programs and initiatives
• Evaluation of the economic impacts of citywide policy
• Other programs and initiatives as approved by the City Council.
This item allows for subcommittee member discussion and potential recommendations regarding the
anticipated work of the committee.
Exhibits:
1. COVID-19 Inclusive Recovery Assessment and Implications
Aug.16,2021 Item #1 Page 1 of 11
Exhibit 1
Aug. 16,2021
Although Carlsbad was not immune to the virus and its
economic contagion, it fared better than the San Diego
region as a whole. Unemployment in the city reached
13.8% in spring 2020 --a significant increase from the
pre-pandemic level of 2.9%; nonetheless, this trailed
the region's peak of 15.9%.i Throughout the pandemic,
unemployment in Carlsbad remained lower than the region
and North County neighbors (see Figure 1). The city's
Findings
industry mix -with a disproportionately large share of the
region's manufacturing, innovation and professional firms
alongside hard-hit hospitality, retail and wholesale, and
small businesses -buffered the overall blow despite still
concentrating impact in low-wage sectors (see Figure 2).
Leisure and hospitality-oriented toward segments
including resorts, group travel and overflow from downtown
San Diego -saw the most severe impacts from the crisis,
following regional and national trends. Hotel occupancy
declined precipitously, hollowing out at 30% in April 2020;
as of December 2020, occupancy was down nearly 50%
year-over-year, while as of March 2021 it had improved to
roughly 20% less than pre-pandemic March 2019.H
While some hospitality companies shifted
marketing toward overnight and drive travel,
the overall decline in business conferences
and tourism, and occupancy caps have
constrained a full rebound.
Accordingly, many larger companies furloughed significant
numbers of workers and very recently ramped up efforts to
re-staff.
Figure 1: Unemployment Impacts of COVID-19 in the San Diego Region
Unemployment Impacts of COVID-19 Crisis (March 2020-March 2021)
20.00%
18.00%
16.00%
14.00%
12.00%
10.00%
8.00%
6.00%
4.00%
2.00%
0.00%
Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Ju!-20 hlg-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Oec-20 Jan-21 Feb-21 Mar-21
-Carlsbad -Escondido -Oceanside -San Marcos -Vista -San Diego County
Source: California Employment Development Department data
Aug. 16,2021 Item #1
3
Page 4 of 11
Despite the overall strength of the city's approach,
local stakeholder feedback and review of national
practices identified potential areas for improvement:
Streamlining of city processes: Stakeholders praised
the flexibilities created in reaction to the pandemic (e.g.
outdoor dining), while also contrasting against historical
challenges navigating city permitting and other regulatory
processes. Specific issues included processing time and
gaps in the communication loop among businesses and
city offices, which could be addressed as lessons from
COVID-19 response.
City communications and information-sharing: Small
business stakeholders noted gaps in learning about
available resources, while also acknowledging efforts like
the City Manager updates. Despite the fact that the city
provided regular joint communications emails with the
Chamber and Village Association and leveraged other
platforms, such as social media and webinars, businesses
expressed interest in more "eye-catching" messages to
break through.
Aug.16,2021
6
Access to technical assistance and navigation for
available resources: Small businesses reported that
they had difficulty identifying and navigating the array
of supports across the region, as well as gaps meeting
demand for technical assistance on emerging topics like
pivoting to e-commerce. Intermediary service providers
also recognized that COVID-19 highlighted their own
challenges in reaching businesses and different types of
firms. These findings reflect on fragmentation rather than
quality.
Access to capital: While the establishment of the city's
own well-capitalized loan fund was a benefit, the fact that
the city offered low-interest loans --versus the grants or
no-interest loans supplied by the majority of comparable
cities --meant that businesses needed to start repaying
funds before the crisis fully abated.
Like many businesses around the country,
stakeholders reported difficulty navigating
and securing financial assistance from sources
such as federal, state and county funds
Carlsbad also did not target its loan program to specific
sectors or demographic groups, expecting that the size
of the program would allow the city to serve a wide array
of recipients. These program design decisions were made
at the outset of the pandemic, moving ahead of peer
examples and without full knowledge of the duration;
they may nonetheless have affected the fund's initial reach
and impact. In April 2021, the city adjusted the loan term
for small business loans to 60 months and microloans to
30 months, responding to ongoing recovery needs.
Item #1 Page 7 of 11
The following are examples of near-term and long-
term ideas drawn from this initial response and
recovery assessment.
0 Continue to improve and build capacity of
city economic development operations:
COVID-19 reinforced the imperative of a high-
capacity, customer-friendly approach to economic
development equipped to quickly identify and
respond to business needs. Moving forward,
the city should institutionalize and expand
modern practices and flexibilities adopted for
communicating with and serving businesses.
Near-term actions
Bolster data and research capacity: Building on
the Economic Scan, online "story map," and other
products, continue investing in data and resea rch
capacity for finely grained business and market
intelligence to proactively identify issues and inform
interventions. For example, adding demographics to
business license applications and other city processes
could offer further insights on trends by race and
gender.
Aug. 16,2021
7
Strengthen communications with businesses:
Conduct a review of city communications with
businesses, including digital analytics, to identify any
ways to better design and target these products.
Longer-term actions
Improve business interface with the city:
Responding to business feedback, reform the business
license application process, permitting and other areas
of business interaction with the city to provide clearer,
customer-friendly service such as: single interface
and simplified processes, clearer communication and
shorter wait times.
Pursue ongoing regulatory flexibilities: Consider
ongoing or permanent adjustments to regulatory
measures eased during the COVID-19 pandemic,
such as outdoor dining.
Item #1 Page 8 of 11
A Expand availability and access to business
V supports at city and regional levels: While
business supports were fundamental to C~VID-19
res ponse, the crisis illustrated unevenness In
coverage and access. Closing these gaps can help
promote long-term growth during recovery and
revital ization.
Near-term actions
Advance longer-term capital access: Building on
the city's business loan program, consider tools like a
revolving loan fund to continue servicing local business
capital needs during recovery and revitalization.
Potentially weigh how such a resource could target
sectors or groups particularly impacted by the crisis
and/or lagging in recovery.
Promote local businesses: Maintain "Shop Local"
marketing efforts to promote local businesses
capturing renewed consumer spending.
Longer-term actions
Improve connections to regional services: Through
tighter coordination -or even a concierge function
-work with partners across the North County sub-
region to ensure full awareness of and easier access to
ava ilable supports.
Expand technical assistance: Identify and resource
additional common areas of need, such as workforce
or business operations, either by emerging issue area
or type of firm, worki ng through int ermediaries and
service providers.
Create supports for inclusive growth: Promote
expansion of minority chambers to the area and/
or seed diverse business advisory groups to ensure
representative assistance reaching all businesses and
entrepreneurs.
Strengthen sub-regional collaboration on
marketing: Consider flexi bilities for a shared North
County tourism promotion effort to gain scale and
more efficiently market the distinctive assets of the
sub-region.
Aug. 16,2021
8
Improve access to and upward mobility of
talent base: The disparate impacts of COVID-19
on different groups of workers and the challenges
employers report facing in rebuilding their
workforces reflect gaps in supports for both talent
development and recruitment. More ambitious.
action to address these cha llenges could benefit
businesses, workers and the city alike.
Near-term actions
Organize industry to strengthen talent pipeline:
Consider industry-specific business alliances, mid-size
firm coalitions and new models of technical assistance
for human resources needs to achieve economies
of scale in addressing talent sourcing challenges,
including from outside the city.
Longer-term actions
Foster pathways to good jobs: Promote upskilling
of incumbent workers, particularly in lower-wage
industries, to ensure pathways from "promising" to
"good" jobs, even across sectors.
Advance job quality: Provide thought-leadership
and support interventions that provide incentives to
businesses to improve job quality (such as the San
Diego Workforce Partnership's High Road Kitchens
initiative) and address non-talent barriers to workforce
participation like childcare.
Item #1 Page 9 of 11
Prepare for future disruptions: Recovery and
revitalization must acknowledge the likelihood
of future challenges highlighted by COVID-19.
Strategic planning should consider how to improve
long-term resiliency to prepare.
Longer-term actions
Support small businesses for a changing economy:
Work to improve small business resil iency, including
through adoption of digital technology.
Enhance broadband coverage and access: Work
with internet service providers to improve broadband
service to both enable potential expansion of remote
work and support businesses.
Aug. 16,2021
9
Plan for future industry shifts: Consider impact
of macro shifts underscored and accelerated by
COVID-19 on major city industries like hospitality and
manufacturing, such as automation and digitalization.
Endnotes
'City of Carlsbad, Economic Scan, Second Quarter FY 2020-2021, Janua,y 20, 2021.
'City of Carlsbad, Economic Scan, Second Quarter FY 2020-2021, Janua,y 20, 2021; Gty of
Carfsbad, Economic Scan, Third Quarter FY 2020-2021, April 2021.
' "The Future of Manufacturing in North County. An Economic Impact Analysis & Workforce
Study," lnnovate78 / San Diego Regional EDC, Februa,y 2021,
https://sd-regional-edc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/inde.x. html?appid~ 7 ce 1e49f99fc43e9bcceb647421 7f67 c#&preview
"Ibid, Innovate 78 / San Diego Regional EDC.
•City of Carlsbad, Economic Scan, Second Quarter FY 2020-2021, Janua,y 20, 2021.
• City of Carlsbad, Economic Scan, Third Quarter FY 2020-2021, April 2021.
Item #1 Page 10 of 11
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the more than 200 Carlsbad businesses and stakeholders that contributed to the development
of this report through stakeho lder forums, survey responses, and community conversations.
Special thanks to the following organizations and individuals for contributing data and input that informed this process.
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce
Bret Schanzenbach, CEO
Carlsbad Village Association
Christine Davis, Executive Director
Visit Carlsbad
Mark Rudyk, Interim Executive Director
San Diego Association of Governments
Ray Major, Chief Economist
Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist
San Diego North Economic Development Council
Erik Bruvold, CEO
San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation
Bree Burris, Director of Communications
Eduardo Velasquez, Director of Research
Firm Overview
Cities GPS LLC is an advisory group that brings together diverse topical experts and peer practitioners to help business, government, and civic
stakeholders collaborate on finding and implementing solutions for competitiveness, growth, vitality, and inclusion, anchored in the shared
economic assets of city-regions. Cities GPS focuses on traded sectors, talent, innovation, infrastructure, and governance, combining advanced
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Principal Authors
Serving as Cities GPS Managing Principal, Mr. Goolman brings 30 years of experience focused on private-public action around
city-regions and economic opportunity At the Brookings Institution, he currently is a nonresident Senior Fellow, following nine years as Fellow
and Director of Strategic Partnerships & Global Initiatives with the Metropolitan Policy Program, where he advanced application of ideas through
research, demonstration projects, policy promotion, and learning networks. Previously, he was a partner at Patton Boggs LLP where he counseled
local governments and public agencies on policy, programs, and federal advocacy, including seven of the 10 largest US cities. Among other
prior positions, he served in various roles with federal agencies, a bi-state metropolitan planning organization, and the UK government working
on economic development, urban revitalization, cross-sector partnerships, and program delivery reforms. Mr. Gootman earned a law degree
at Georgetown University; Master of Government Administration at the Fels Institute, University of Pennsylvania; and business degree from the
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
A strategist, analyst, and storyteller focused on building more innovative, inclusive cities, Ms. Barker has worked witfi national
and local stakeholders to identify and advance solutions that support economic growth and mobility. Her experience encompasses program
developrnent and assessment, application of evidence and data, and codification of practices with multiple organizations, ranging frorn Results
for Arnerica to the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Previously, Ms. Barker served as an impact manager, policy analyst, and engagement strategist
at the Brookings Institution, addressing issues like inclusive economic development, global competitiveness, and evaluation. Across these roles,
she has coordinated and contributed to a broad array of applied projects and peer learning cohorts, undertook research, and produced dozens of
reports, biogs, and podcasts Ms. Barker graduated magna cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George
Washington University
Aug.16,2021
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