MARCH 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CURRENT CITY FACTS CURRENT ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT i
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Why Do We Need the Roadmap for Smart Growth? 2 Destination: Growth 2 3 What s Unique About Saint John? Preparing for the Journey 5 6 Where Will our Journey Take Us? Reaching our Targets Population Growth Employment Growth Tax-Base Growth 9 What s Next? 9 Timeline 11 Detailed Economic Development Action List ii
WHY DO WE NEED? Saint John must grow. Our economic development initiatives must be purposeful, appropriate, and reflect our unique city. We must deliver real growth by the numbers. More people. More jobs. More tax-base. And, we must work together. Recent economic and population numbers show our City is on the decline. We must focus on economic development performance, and we must grow by making the right choices in a deliberate way. The City of Saint John is poised for a new journey of economic development and we are starting down a new road with a clear focus on growth. At the beginning of its mandate, Common Council struck a standing Growth Committee. We ve learned a great deal, THE ROAD TO DEVELOPMENT which has helped shaped our initial thinking and direction. But we are just Formed in July 2016, the Growth Committee at the starting point and there is a long way to go. As the City travels along developed the Roadmap for Smart Growth and the new path to growth, we will all continue learning maybe make a few the preliminary 45 actions based upon briefing wrong turns along the way but also, maybe discover new avenues and exciting new directions we did not anticipate. meetings and research from a number of sources: Economic Development Agencies So We Are Here at the starting point. The Roadmap for Smart Growth is the City of Saint John s beginning for this exciting journey of economic Task Force on Economic Development transformation. Social Development agencies Local Developers The Roadmap for Smart Growth provides a clear sense of what we are trying to achieve and our initial direction to move forward on this new road Lead and Revenue Generation Experts of economic development and growth. It provides immediate actions that Economic Development Experts will be implemented and measured. And it places greater ownership and Strategic Immigration Planning accountability with the city to provide the vision of what Saint John will be Volunteers and Partners in the future (in alignment with PlanSJ and Council Priorities 2016-2020) and the initial steps necessary to take in order to get us on the road to success. 1
DESTINATION: GROWTH The main goal for the Roadmap for Smart Growth is to improve the City of Saint John s ability to achieve and measure growth in three target areas: population, employment and tax base. We will achieve growth in these areas by aligning and streamlining our approach to economic development and by developing a 10-year plan with a clear focus on actions that relate to measurable achievements of growth for the City. A key priority will be increasing our ability to compete in investment attraction in our three target areas. The Roadmap for Smart Growth introduces smart targets that will deliver growth, prosperity and fiscal responsibility in alignment with Council Priorities 2016-2020. WHAT S UNIQUE ABOUT SAINT JOHN? In order to grow our population, employment and tax base, we first must understand (and be able to communicate effectively to everyone) what makes us different from other cities seeking to grow these same areas. What does Saint John have that other cities don t? What is unique? Why come here? As we start down this new road, we must align our economic development approach and efforts so that we are promoting the same profile and the unique benefits of the City of Saint John. This will begin by identifying and building our Unique Selling Profile (USP) of things Saint John has to offer that no other city can provide as well as Saint John does. This will also help us understand any issues and identify our opportunities. Understanding and creating our unique Saint John profile will set the stage for how the City of Saint John is perceived and experienced by citizens, visitors and investors. 2
PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY For many years, the City of Saint John has had many people, groups, agencies and partners working on economic development. The Roadmap for Smart Growth seeks to align the objectives and collective efforts of everyone involved with economic development towards a common purpose and outcomes. It will do this by creating a more cohesive approach and reporting, integrating planning, and establishing clearly defined actions to reach our growth targets: population, employment and tax base. Roadmap for Smart Growth Objectives Population Employment Tax Base Aggressively facilitating the development and sale of key municipal-owned properties Further enticing the development community to pursue large-scale development projects Discouraging land owners of vacant and dangerous properties from continued inaction Dramatically improving the marketability of Saint John to visitors, investors, students, business and newcomers Introducing operational efficiencies and organizational capacity to the existing economic development governance structure Focusing priority development in Saint John s urban core 3
ONE VISION. ONE STRATEGY. ONE VOICE. Saint John must maintain economic stability and grow. Communities with stable and strong governance are more competitive and able to attract investment. In order to achieve these common outcomes, we must find ways to work together better and streamline our operations to make sure we are investing our money appropriately to maximize outputs and reduce duplication of efforts. Working towards a common purpose like this will require a shift in the way we currently do things, but we must align to a new vision, with a clear strategic direction and one voice. PRELIMINARY ACTIONS TO PREPARE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT * Launch of the Roadmap for Smart Growth Work with economic development agencies, partners and City teams to improve process and ensure greater alignment, streamline operations and activities Identify and fill functional gaps within the economic development operational structure Develop a 10-year economic plan for the City of Saint John Identify Saint John s Unique Selling Profile (USP) and the competitive advantage the City offers Create a unified, aspirational City story for use in development, marketing and communications outreach activities. Develop a 2017-2018 marketing communications plan Work with regional, provincial and federal partners to leverage and align economic development activities *See Detailed Economic Development Action List on page 11 4
WHERE WILL OUR JOURNEY TAKE US? What lies ahead is an open road. One filled with both known and unknown opportunities for the City of Saint John to discover and exploit. At this early stage, we don t know what all of the opportunities may be, but we know we must be heading for growth. Everything we do must work to deliver growth growth of our population, growth of our employment opportunities, growth of our tax base. The Roadmap for Smart Growth will guide us as we improve our competiveness regionally, provincially, nationally and globally, and will do so in line with our core economic development principles: Prosperity, Performance, Participation and Purpose. The Roadmap for Smart Growth is constructed on a strong foundation for results results that demonstrate measureable progress in the areas of population, employment and tax-base growth. The City will work with its partners to implement the 45 strategic actions from the Roadmap to deliver measureable results while holding teams accountable for delivery. 5
REACHING OUR TARGETS POPULATION GROWTH Population growth impacts regional economies and the social and physical environments of a region, as well as demands for facilities and services. For many years, Saint John s population has been in decline. We must reverse this trend. Our population needs to grow in order to continue to provide the services, infrastructure, and quality of life citizens value and expect. We must work with local, provincial and federal partners to leverage opportunities to attract new population to the City of Saint John. The Roadmap for Smart Growth identifies key actions that will be implemented to drive population growth for the City. PRELIMINARY ACTIONS TO DELIVER POPULATION GROWTH* Work with Human Development Council (HDC) to develop the Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) plan Development of the City of Saint John s Population Growth Strategy Development and implementation of Newcomer marketing campaign to attract new citizens regionally, provincially, nationally and internationally Transition and integration of Population Growth from HDC to the City of Saint John EMPLOYMENT GROWTH Economic recovery cannot happen unless companies are hiring for skilled jobs and careers. In fact, job growth is one of the primary factors that can deliver a much-needed boost to an economy. Focusing on job growth can benefit everyone and aid in the reversal of declining population and tax-base revenue trends as well. The Roadmap for Smart Growth will focus specifically on actions that create opportunities for existing and new companies to put more people to work and improve the City s labour force participation. PRELIMINARY ACTIONS TO DELIVER EMPLOYMENT GROWTH* Update existing Investment and Employment Growth Plan to align with Roadmap for Smart Growth Establish job growth targets for 2017 year-end growth projections Identify labour force gaps and strategy to respond to gaps Link existing workforce with existing and future opportunities Introduce investment readiness strategy *See Detailed Economic Development Action List on page 12 6
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REACHING OUR TARGETS TAX-BASE GROWTH Tax base contributes to the delivery of City services and facilities, infrastructure improvements and reduction of debt. It is critical to the City s current and future economic health and well-being to increase our tax base. Of course it will be important for the City of Saint John to remain competitive with other municipalities and offer competitive tax rates in order to attract new citizens and investment opportunities. The key to increasing tax revenues will be broadening our base (development opportunities) through strategic land management, process improvement and barrier removal. It will also be important to present Saint John in the best possible light showcasing all of our available development opportunities, and aggressively discouraging inaction on vacant or dangerous properties.the Roadmap for Smart Growth will focus on actions with the purpose of growing the City s tax base. PRELIMINARY ACTIONS TO DELIVER TAX BASE GROWTH* Launch 2017 Southern Peninsula neighbourhood plan Align City s Real Estate practices to better maximize ability to generate revenues Develop 2017 action plan with detailed year-end targets that include property development actions for: large-scale development support program, marketing for 10 high-profile municipal properties and demolition of 36 high-priority vacant buildings Develop a marketing and awareness campaign to support strategic tax-base development Ongoing enhancements to the development approvals process through the City s One Stop Development Shop *See Detailed Economic Development Action List page 14 8
WHAT S NEXT? TIMELINE We have our destination. We have our Roadmap. Now it s time to start our journey. The Roadmap will promote Saint John as a place to do business and to help attract the investment necessary to help generate growth in our target areas of population, employment and tax-base growth. We will be taking steps to implement the work we mentioned in this document that is detailed in full in the Roadmap for Smart Growth (please see The City of Saint John s Roadmap for Smart Growth). This means beginning our work to better align our groups and the processes involved in economic development, ongoing engagement (volunteers, funders, partners and experts), developing our 10-year economic strategy and moving forward on some of the preliminary actions that can drive population, employment and tax-base growth.the City will also create a dashboard with key measurable performance indicators and a regular reporting schedule to track performance on delivery of growth results. We are here MARCH 2017 Six-Story Wood Frame Construction Announcement Implementation of Tax-Base Growth Preliminary Actions Roadmap Preliminary Implementation Saint John is a vibrant City. We are a City on the move. We are on a new path to growth and looking to attract the right types of investment in population, employment and tax base to achieve economic prosperity. We are on the Road to Smart Growth. 9
APRIL 2017 MAY 2017 JULY 2017 Launch Neighbourhood Plan Structure and Process Improvements Implementation of Employment Growth Preliminary Actions Launch Large-Scale Project Support Program Implementation of Population Growth Preliminary Actions City of Saint John USP Profile Development Roadmap Marketing Communications Strategy SEPTEMBER 2017 NOVEMBER 2017 JANUARY 2018 2018 Labour Market Report Tax-Base Development Marketing Campaign Population Growth Strategy Identification of 2018 Year-End Actuals State of the Saint John Economy Report 10-Year Economic Plan Development 10
DETAILED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTION LIST TARGET AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONAL AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS # ACTION LEAD * TIMELINE 1. Launch of Roadmap for Smart Growth CSJ March 2017 2. Approve and release mandate letters to agencies and partners CSJ April 2017 3. Enhance capacity around strategic land development, which will CSJ April 2017 include an alignment exercise to enhance the City s real estate practices 4. Enhance the City s capacity around population growth CSJ June 2017 5. Enhance the City s capacity around financial analysis and business CSJ June 2017 case development 6. Create a unified, aspirational City marketing brand and clearly illustrate CSJ, Partners July 2017 Saint John s competitive advantage 7. Develop strategic marketing communication plan to leverage CSJ, Partners July 2017 new marketing brand profile to be used in development, marketing and communications 8. Undertake a fair taxation analysis and implement key recommendations CSJ September 2017 within its control, in order to support the City s ongoing effort to receive fair and just revenue associated with the existing property and infrastructure within our municipal boundaries 9. Transfer of existing Local Immigration Partnership HDC to CSJ 2018 10. Development of a 10-year economic plan for the City of Saint John CSJ, Partners 2018 11
TARGET AREA POPULATION GROWTH # ACTION LEAD * TIMELINE 11. Work with the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program to match immigrants CSJ, HDC 2017 with existing labour market shortages 12. Provide detailed targets for 2017 end-of-year population growth projections HDC July 2017 and present corresponding actions 13. Implement initial marketing campaign to welcome newcomers to Saint John CSJ October 2017 14. Release of Saint John s Immigration Strategy HDC November 2017 15. Release of City s population growth strategy to recruit and retain new citizens CSJ November 2017 to Saint John from neighbouring communities, New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada and the rest of Canada 16. Integrate additional action items from City s population growth and CSJ, HDC November 2017 Human Development Council s immigration plans to be integrated into Roadmap for Smart Growth * City of Saint John (CSJ) Enterprise Saint John (ESJ) Human Development Council (HDC) Economic Development Partners (Partners) Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB) 12
DETAILED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTION LIST TARGET AREA EMPLOYMENT GROWTH # ACTION LEAD * TIMELINE 17. Update existing work plan in order to align with Roadmap for Smart Growth ESJ April 2017 18. Provide detailed targets for 2017 end-of-year employment growth projections ESJ July 2017 and present corresponding action plan 19. Presentation of investment readiness strategy ESJ July 2017 20. Integrate additional action items from Enterprise Saint John to be integrated ESJ July 2017 into Roadmap for Smart Growth 21. Deliver report on and strategy to respond to existing gaps within Saint John s ESJ, ONB September 2017 labour market 22. The City s National Energy Board Working Group re-engages in the National CSJ 2017 Energy Board s Energy East Hearing process and works with TransCanada to more fully define the project s future local economic impacts. * City of Saint John (CSJ) Enterprise Saint John (ESJ) Human Development Council (HDC) Economic Development Partners (Partners) Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB) 13
TARGET AREA TAX-BASE GROWTH # ACTION LEAD * TIMELINE 23. Ongoing implementation of Urban Development Incentive Program CSJ 2017-2018 (pilot) pilot program 24. Advance City s interest with the Government of New Brunswick on compliance CSJ March 2017 and enforcement tools as well as a vacant building registry 25. Become the first City in Atlantic Canada to accept development proposals for CSJ March 2017 6-story wood frame construction and launch a request for proposals for the Canterbury and Princess site as a demonstration project 26. Launch of Neighborhood Plan for Central Peninsula CSJ May 2017 27. An executed purchase of sale agreement for the Jelly Bean properties, which CSJ May 2017 may require demolition to proceed 28. Launch of Large-Scale Project Support Program that will provide support CSJ May 2017 to developers for a streamlined municipal approvals process 29. Introduce new Building Permit Mapping Tool, which will offer a new live CSJ May 2017 tracking tool for investors and developers seeking to pursue opportunities in Saint John 30. Review and pursue Sandy Point Road municipal property development CSJ June 2017 opportunities 31. An executed purchase of sale agreement for the former Synagogue property, CSJ June 2017 which may require demolition to proceed 14
DETAILED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTION LIST TARGET AREA TAX-BASE GROWTH # ACTION LEAD * TIMELINE 32. The City of Saint John to finalize its plans as it relates to the location of CSJ June 2017 City Hall for its employees 33. Align the City s real estate practices in order to maximize the City s ability to CSJ July 2017 generate additional tax-base revenue 34. Provide detailed targets for 2017 end-of-year tax-base growth projections CSJ July 2017 and present corresponding action plan 35. Additional action items from City s Strategic Land Management Team to be CSJ July 2017 integrated into Roadmap for Smart Growth 36. Continue local and external developer consultation to re-generate inventory CSJ September 2017 of opportunities 37. Develop marketing and awareness campaign to support strategic CSJ September 2017 tax-base development 38. Review and pursue Tucker Park (municipal-owned land) development CSJ November 2017 opportunities 39. Review and pursue former Lantic Sugar site development opportunity CSJ December 2017 * City of Saint John (CSJ) Enterprise Saint John (ESJ) Human Development Council (HDC) Economic Development Partners (Partners) Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB) 15
TARGET AREA TAX-BASE GROWTH # ACTION LEAD * TIMELINE 40. Deliver development strategy for 10 high-profile municipal properties CSJ December 2017 41. Close 85 cases under the Dangerous and Vacant Building Program CSJ December 2017 (includes City demolitions, owner-initiated demolitions, repairs and reoccupy) 42. Recommendation to Common Council on water rate analysis on vacant lots CSJ December 2017 43. Adoption of recommendations from Neighborhood Plan for Central Peninsula CSJ 2018 44. Submit recommendations to Common Council on Vacant Building CSJ 2018 Fee-for-Service Program 45. Implementation of a piped industrial raw water service for east Saint John, CSJ 2018 in order to support and attract large industry demands 16
City of Saint John P.O. Box 1971 Saint John, NB E2L 4L1