SUBJECT: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY STUDY SESSION

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Loreen Goodman
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1 DATE: December 12, 2017 TO: FROM: Ron Davis, City Manager Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director Via: Simone McFarland, Assistant Director Business & Economic Development By: Mary Hamzoian, Economic Development Manager SUBJECT: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY STUDY SESSION RECOMMENDATION Provide policy direction on a proposed Economic Development Strategic Plan (Plan) , direct staff to bring back a formal Plan for adoption to serve as a blueprint for the City s future economic growth, and confirm that the four core elements of attraction, retention, entrepreneurship and tourism are consistent with the City Council s goals. BACKGROUND Throughout the past decade several Plans and study sessions have been presented to City Council to obtain guidance and policy direction for the City s economic development efforts. In 2009, to tackle the onset of the recession, the Economic Development Team comprised of the City Manager, Deputy City Manager, Community Development Director (CDD), Assistant CDD Director and Economic Development Manager was created to develop a new vision and strategy to help sustain long term economic growth for Burbank. This Strategy was presented to City Council in 2009 and each year thereafter the Strategy continued to evolve. Staff has provided annual updates, Economic Development Council Sub-Committee Meetings, and Economic Development Study Sessions to City Council. These updates and annual reports provided Council the opportunity to further guide the direction of the Strategy and validate that the goals were in line with the Council s direction. What is Economic Development? Economic development focuses on improving the standard of living through the creation of jobs, the support of innovation and new ideas, the attraction of investment to an area, and the enhancement of overall quality of life for residents, businesses and visitors. The function of economic development is multi-disciplinary and involves coordination and knowledge across numerous fields of expertise including: housing, planning, leasing, commercial development, marketing, tourism development, place-making, and more.

2 Post Redevelopment As previously mentioned, the concept of economic development is not new to Burbank and had been operating under the former Redevelopment Agency (Redevelopment) for decades. Redevelopment funded economic development programs that incentivized the relocation of businesses to Burbank, beautified commercial corridors, and spurred housing, commercial and office development. With the loss of Redevelopment in 2012, creative initiatives were implemented to maintain economic development functions for Burbank. Staff strengthened the existing public/private partnership with the Downtown Burbank Partnership, and created a new public/private partnership with the Burbank Hospitality Association, to leverage funding from the private sector to advance marketing, business attraction, tourism development, and place-making through capital improvements and maintenance. These partnerships generate a revenue stream in the amount of approximately $1.5 million annually to progress economic development initiatives for Burbank. The remaining limited funding allocated through the General Fund for economic development is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship programs such as Burbank Tech Talks, business retention efforts such as the Business Visitation Program, small business district development in Magnolia Park, and citywide marketing. DISCUSSION The main goal of economic development is to Build a better Burbank. Staff works closely with internal and external partners including Housing, Planning, Building, Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Police, Fire, Burbank Chamber of Commerce and more to achieve this goal. There are four core elements that are guiding principles that help create the strategy for Building a better Burbank: 1) attraction, 2) retention, 3) entrepreneurship, and 4) tourism development. These core elements are broad in nature and encompass the initiatives below. Staff strives to Build a better Burbank by: 1. Creating vibrant neighborhoods where residents, employees and visitors can work, shop, dine, and enjoy entertainment without leaving Burbank; 2. Engaging all members of the community including local government, businesses, residents, and visitors to help promote commercial districts and create vibrant neighborhoods; 3. Acting as ombudsman responsible for generating investment through business attraction, entrepreneurship, commercial development and neighborhood revitalization; 4. Facilitating a range of housing types and jobs that help attract and retain companies; 5. Promoting Burbank as a leading leisure and tourist destination to grow the hospitality industry; and 6. Maintaining and growing strong public-private partnerships to ensure a stable funding mechanism for economic development. These major initiatives tie in with what City Council discussed as their preliminary goals during the Goals Setting Workshop on August 5, Goals include enhancing tourism 2

3 marketing, seeking to develop additional affordable housing, parking solutions, homelessness strategies, responsible growth, and protection of neighborhoods. Applying the four core elements of attraction, retention, entrepreneurship and tourism development, staff has developed economic development strategies and programs that advance Burbank. Examples of strategies and programs include: 1. Attraction a. Identify and market opportunity sites in core commercial areas appropriate for development. b. Work closely with brokers, developers, and property owners to attract new retail, restaurants, and office users. c. Promote responsible development of new housing in Downtown, North and South San Fernando, Media District, and Golden State area while protecting single-family residential neighborhoods. 2. Retention a. Create a citywide parking management plan to protect residential neighborhoods and facilitate business expansion and development. b. In collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, expand the Business Visitation Program to build better relationships with existing businesses and anticipate their needs, concerns and future growth opportunities. 3. Entrepreneurship a. Continue developing entrepreneurial programs such as Burbank Tech Talks and partnering with the cities of Glendale and Pasadena for a collaboration to boost technology and entrepreneurship in the tri-city area. b. Partner with libraries and the school district to create a Makerspace for start-ups and entrepreneurs. 4. Tourism a. Facilitate new events/conference spaces to support increased supply of hotels and maintain high occupancy rates. b. Invest in destination development through infrastructure improvements, gateway monuments, and a visitor center. Looking Ahead As Burbank continues to evolve and grow, strategies for economic development continue to adapt and change. In past years, major attention and focus was placed on business attraction efforts to help grow jobs and maintain low office vacancy rates. With 150,000 jobs, 12,400 businesses and a 7.9 percent citywide office vacancy rate, Burbank s economy continues to prosper and grow. With the number of jobs in Burbank far exceeding the existing resident population, the focus of economic development has shifted, with less emphasis on attraction and more on retention of high paying jobs and employers. With such promising economic indicators and a rich job base, Burbank can focus on selective business development, pursuing businesses that are neighborhood serving and help make our good City great. 3

4 Target Industries for Maintaining and growing our existing major industries in entertainment and healthcare is key to sustaining jobs and growing the economy in Burbank. However, understanding the rapid evolution of technology and the future of the job market, staff will focus on the following four target industries to grow and diversify Burbank s employment base, 1) entertainment technology, 2) experiential retail and tourism, 3) research and development, and 4) healthcare. Entertainment Technology - With a strong presence of entertainment and technology companies, the goal is to continue diversifying the industry by focusing on the next growth sector within the industry such as e-sports and e-gaming, both are off shoots of the entertainment industry with a presence that is growing in Burbank as seen with the recent addition of Blizzard Entertainment and the expansion of Next Generation Esports. Experiential Retail and Tourism With a growing workforce of professionals attracted to the fields of entertainment and technology, experiential retail and boutique hotel concepts are emerging to meet the needs of the largest population segment which are the Millennials. Research and Development With the growth of technology and access to a highly skilled talent with major universities such as USC and UCLA within reach, there are opportunities to create innovative partnerships and encourage entrepreneurship with these institutions of higher learning. Healthcare - As we encourage the diversification of our business portfolio, we look at the advancements and continued evolution of healthcare due to technology. Home to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and a new outpost for UCLA Health, enhancing research and development in this sector is key to growing Burbank s healthcare economy. CONCLUSION The main goal of economic development is to Build a Better Burbank. With this in mind the Plan will identify further strategies and programs for attraction, retention, entrepreneurship and tourism to help us achieve our goal while also providing a guide for the future focus and framework for Burbank s ongoing success. The strategies and programs outlined in the staff report are the main guiding principles for which the full Plan will be developed. While we know that our economic indicators are strong and Burbank has been resilient during the recent economic downturn, the City must continue to grow and diversify our employment base and housing stock, create vibrant, walkable, and safe neighborhoods, and attract retail/restaurant options that can compete with ecommerce. This and more is necessary to sustain a thriving, clean, safe, and flourishing Burbank. 4

5 Staff would like to confirm that the four core elements of attraction, retention, entrepreneurship, and tourism development described above are consistent with the Council s goals for economic development efforts in Burbank. 5

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