HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A: Envision Eugene - Economic Development
ECC
UGENE ITY OUNCIL
AIS
GENDA TEM UMMARY
Work Session: Envision Eugene – Economic Development
Meeting Date: January 18, 2012 Agenda Item Number: A
Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Jason Dedrick
www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5451
ISSUE STATEMENT
This work session provides an opportunity to update the City Council on implementation of the Joint
Elected Officials Regional Prosperity Plan and the relationship between this work and Eugene’s need for
employment lands over the next 20 years.
BACKGROUND
This work session is part of an ongoing conversation about Eugene’s 20-year land need for all land
types, including:
Public and semi-public
Single-family housing
Multi-family housing
Commercial
Industrial
Joint Elected Officials Regional Prosperity Plan
In 2010, the Joint Elected Officials of Lane County and the cities of Eugene and Springfield recognized
the importance of economic opportunities with their collective approval of a Regional Prosperity
Economic Development Plan (JEO Plan). The JEO Plan includes goals to reduce the local
unemployment rate to, or below, the state average, and increase the average wage to, or above, the state
average. Both economic indicators have been stubbornly entrenched for decades, negatively impacting
the possibility of financial security for many in our community.
The Draft Envision Eugene Proposal continues this objective by containing a pillar that strives to
provide ample economic opportunities for all community members. Many of the strategies and tactics
contained in this pillar rely on local implementation of portions of the JEO Plan. In order to utilize this
document as its policy guidance for the next 20 years, the City needs to elaborate on and commit to the
specific actions from the JEO Plan that are already underway or will be as part of the implementation
phase of Envision Eugene. Attachment A provides a brief summary of these actions.
Employment Growth Rate
An important foundational element of Envision Eugene is the amount of employment growth that is
anticipated over the next 20 years. This employment growth rate directly relates to the number of
employees that must be planned for and the amount of land and the actions that may be needed to
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accommodate these employees. There are three options regarding the selection of a future employment
growth rate. Two of these options are considered “safe harbors,” meaning they cannot be legally
challenged. The two safe harbor options include:
The December 2011 forecast from the Oregon Employment Department (OED) for Lane County.
This forecast is for an annual employment growth rate of 1.6 percent. While this is a forecast for
the 2010-2020 period, it is still acknowledged as a “safe harbor” assumption for the full 20-year
planning period.
The same growth rate for employment as for population. This is an annual employment growth
rate of 0.9 percent.
The third option is to create a Eugene-specific forecast for employment growth. While not a safe
harbor, this is an option that many cities choose. A methodology is currently being developed to inform
what this employment growth rate would be. It is likely that it will fall between the two safe harbors
mentioned above of 0.9 percent and 1.6 percent.
Industrial Land Need
Work has continued to refine the amount of land needed for large-lot industrial lands. This includes
additional analysis of the site requirements of key targeted industries and a more detailed allocation of
projected new employment to the lands that would likely be needed. Staff will present an update on this
information, which will be the foundation for the forthcoming recommendation on the actual amount of
new land needed for industrial uses over the 20-year planning period.
Next Steps
Each of these topics will be addressed as part of the City Manager’s Recommendation.
RELATED CITY POLICIES
Growth Management Policies
COUNCIL OPTIONS
No formal action is required at this time.
CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION
No action is required on this item. Therefore, no recommendations are offered by the City Manager.
SUGGESTED MOTIONS
No action is required on this item. Therefore, no motions are suggested.
ATTACHMENTS
A.Summary of Eugene-Specific JEO Plan Actions
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Staff Contact: Jason Dedrick, 541-682-5451
Staff E-Mail: jason.p.dedrick@ci.eugene.or.us
Project Website: www.envisioneugene.org
S:\CMO\2012 Council Agendas\M120118\S120118A.doc
Attachment A
Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan
Introduction
In February 2010, the Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan was finalized by the officials
of Lane County and the Cities of Eugene and Springfield. The stated goal is to “create 20,000 net
new jobs in the chosen economic opportunity areas; reduce the local unemployment rate to, or
below, the state average; and increase the average wage to, or above, the state average” by 2020.
The plan set forth guiding principles of healthy living, smart growth, local independence, regional
identity, and to be prepared (in the region’s physical, social, and educational infrastructure). It also
outlines six major strategy areas: Growing Local Opportunities, Energize a Creative Economy, Invest
in Tomorrow’s Talent, Provide for Basic Business Needs, Identify as a Place to Thrive, and Strengthen
Key Industries. The plan also contemplates actions to be taken by a broad community partnership in
support of these strategies.
Action on Strategic Areas
1.Grow economic opportunities
This strategy focuses on the growth of local businesses as a prime source for near term job
growth. Actions underway include:
a.Lane BusinessLink: A web-based “one stop” source for business
development resources. The site was launched in October of
2011 and attracted hundreds of visits in the first couple of
months. The site features online resources for businesses and
instructive links and tools for entrepreneurs or small
business owners in search of information about business
planning, financial assistance, resources, or regulations.
Leader: Lane Community College / Small Business
Development Center
b.BDF Loans: The Business Development Fund is the
City’s primary tool to assist with the expansion of
local businesses. Focused efforts in the BDF over the
past 24 months resulted in 18 loans totaling $1.4
million, leveraging $14 million in private investment
Beer Barons: Ninkasi Brewing Company is one
and the projected creation of 130 jobs.
of the fastest growing beers in the nation with
the help of City of Eugene business loans.
Leader: City of Eugene
Attachment A
c.eDev Services: eDev provides training and
financing resources to encourage the growth
of Lane County microenterprises. The City
helps fund these services to Eugene-based entrepreneurs, and approved a one-time
increase in funding to address economic conditions. So far, there have been over 200
clients assisted.
Leader: eDev
d.Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) Loan
Program: LCOG assists small businesses in utilizing
various government loans, including local, state or
federal programs.
Leader: Lane Council of Governments
BowTech, an advanced manufacturer of
archery equipment and now a large
employer in West Eugene, grew with help
from BDF and LCOG’s loan programs.
2.Energize Creative Economy
Intensive training, business mentoring, peer networking, and finding entrepreneurs the capital
resources they need to launch their endeavors are all parts of the strategy to energize Eugene’s
creative economy. Current activities underway include:
a.Smart Ups Academy: The Eugene Area
Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with
the Oregon Technology Business Center and
the City of Eugene, is launching an academy designed to develop investor-ready
businesses. A twenty-step program to guide entrepreneurs to a point where they are
ready to make presentations to investors, the program recently hired a new facilitator
th
and will begin on February 17.
Leader: Eugene Chamber of Commerce
b.Southern Willamette Angel Network (SWAN): An
investor network begun in July of 2009 that
connects early stage and seed businesses from
the Southern Willamette Valley with angel and
venture investors. SWAN specializes in reviewing
entrepreneur business plans from the Eugene portion of the valley. Entrepreneurs and
start-ups can submit their business plans for coaching and ultimately vying for between
$200,000 and $2,000,000 in investment. The next Willamette Angel Conference will be
held in May in the City of Eugene.
Attachment A
Leader: Eugene Chamber of Commerce
c.Incubation Space
i.Hatch: A Business Incubator: A partnership
of NEDCO and eDev, the Hatch program
provides affordable, visible commercial
space (office or retail) in downtown
Springfield for four micro-entrepreneurs
with five or fewer employees looking to
expand their business. Businesses are
given access to affordable capital, technical assistance to help them grow their
business in addition to space.
Leader: NEDCO & eDev
ii.Broadway Commerce Center: Beam
Development, is rehabilitating the former
Center Court building for a combination of
office and retail tenants. Importantly, the
second floor is being developed in a “flex
space” pattern including a collaborative
working space for software entrepreneurs to
Beam Development rehabilitated this
work synergistically.
key building in downtown with City
Assistance-- fostering incubator place in
Leader: Beam Development, City of Eugene
a high profile, newly refurbished space.
3.Invest in Tomorrow’s Talent
Creating and maintaining a competitive workforce that meets the needs of emerging industry
requires partnerships with local industry and coordination with local education. Current actions
underway are:
a.Green jobs taskforce: Representatives from different green industries in Lane County
have been convened and tasked to better understand workforce needs and market
opportunities. Significant opportunity areas that emerged include: reuse and recycling,
green construction, biomass production/ transportation, and the re-localization of food
supply.
Leader: Lane Workforce Partnership
Attachment A
b.WorkSource Lane: A service delivery system
run by Lane Workforce partnership, the
program is dedicated to assisting employers
recruit and retains employees while also
helping individuals learn new skills, find employment, and progress in their careers.
Annually, over 400 employees and 20,000 individuals access services through
WorkSource Lane.
Leader: Lane Workforce Partnership
c.National Career Readiness Certificate: The National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)
is a standardized test developed by ACT that measures applied math and reading skills.
Those who have earned an NCRC (932 Lane County participants) are shown preference
by those Lane County businesses who have signed letters of commitment. The
workforce partnership has been promoting this certification system to recognize the
pre-employment value of these skills. 932 County residents have earned the
certification. The partnership is working with the business community to obtain
commitments to participate. So far, 45 companies have made commitments.
Leader: Lane Workforce Partnership
d.LCC Campus Downtown: Lane Community College’s new campus is under construction,
creating an exciting facility for increased workforce training offerings. Feature programs
include continuing education classes, a
nationally-recognized energy management
program and the Small Business Development
Center that provide customized workplace
training for employees. This highly accessible
facility includes energy management features
that will assist in teaching students the latest
efficiency techniques. Additionally, two
hundred and fifty student housing units will
increase foot traffic and vitality in Downtown.
Lane Community College’s new downtown
campus and student housing is rising fast
Leader: Lane Community College, City of Eugene
from “the pit.” The project promises to help
pick up the pace downtown as well as
create exciting opportunities for students.
4.Basic Needs of Business
The Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan calls for strengthening the links between
planning, transportation, and investment to achieve economic development goals. This work
includes providing appropriate sites to accommodate business development and expansion and
the creation of jobs. Some efforts to meet these needs now underway are:
Attachment A
a.Envision Eugene: Providing adequate
industrial land supply to meet the needs of
city and regional businesses for the next
twenty years is a key task in the Envision
Eugene process. These efforts are central to
assisting the expansion of business and creation of jobs.
Leader: City of Eugene
b.Brownfields: Brownfields and the feasibility of re-using existing land supply are crucial to
maintaining economically healthy industrial development. As part of the Lane Livability
Coalition work program, the City of Eugene, Lane County and the City of Springfield are
actively pursuing federal Environmental Protection Agency grant money for the
inventory and assessment of potential brownfields in the Eugene-Springfield
metropolitan area. The City of Eugene is also working with the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality to identify possible projects eligible for assistance under state
programs like the OBDD Brownfield fund.
Leader: City of Eugene
5.Identify as a Place to Thrive
A strategic, long-term effort to authentically identify the region, raises awareness of its
comparative advantages, and highlights the business opportunities of the region. Current efforts
include:
a.Downtown Development: An active,
vital downtown contributes to the
community’s overall cultural and
economic image. Such a downtown can also act as a magnet to attract and concentrate
creative businesses. The City and the Urban Renewal Agency have been aggressively
working on downtown redevelopment, concentrating on both residential and commercial
development opportunities. There are projects totaling almost $100 million currently
underway throughout the downtown.
Leader: City of Eugene, Urban Renewal Agency
b.Food Initiative: Recognizing the authenticity, pride, and sense
of identity the community derives from its support of local
food, the City is engaging with partners at Lane County, Lane
Workforce Partnership, University of Oregon’s Community
Attachment A
Planning Workshop and the Chamber of Commerce on a food initiative. Building a
reputation for healthy lifestyles and as a source of high quality food products enhances the
attractiveness of the City as a place to locate enterprise, and creates an overall positive
association for products made in the region. Current tasks include writing an industry
outreach strategy, surveying identified business contacts, and formulating food cluster
strategies. The initiative is also evaluating a menu
of activities for the immediate, medium, and
longer term to promote, stimulate, and develop
food related businesses.
Leader: Lane County
6.Strengthen Key Industries
The growth and expansion of key local industries is the economic engine for job creation, and
understanding the factors for their success is important to the process of fostering opportunity.
Revealing the competitive strengths of our industries and our region will guide future
investments and actions. Recent activity includes:
a.Initial Cluster Analysis: The Chamber of
Commerce commissioned a study by
Creative Class consulting group to identify
potential clusters in the Eugene area. A review of data of our region’s industry portfolio
is largely consistent with the JEO list of key industries. The study recommended
additional study of the following list of clusters: biosciences, environmental services and
waste remediation, food processing and manufacturing, computer software and IT
services, and specialized manufacturing.
Leader: Eugene Chamber of Commerce
b.Chamber’s Regional Prosperity Initiative: The Eugene
Area Chamber of Commerce is promoting business
alliances in key industries, providing support for early-
stage companies with education, network, and capital
formation, and marketing industry areas already in
development.
Leader: Eugene Chamber of Commerce
c.Competitive Advantage Study and Cluster Strategy:
The Cities of Eugene and Springfield and Lane County,
working as members of the Lane Livability
Attachment A
Consortium, will investigate regional economic specialization, recommend new
strategies, conduct market research for each cluster, and create corresponding
marketing materials. Revealing place-based competitive advantages is another step on
a path to strengthening our understanding of regional clusters and developing strategies
to support growth. Areas that strategic recommendations for increasing returns to the
region’s human, social, physical, and natural capital might include: education and
workforce, information sharing, technical assistance, regulatory changes, infrastructure
investments, forging new partnerships and alliances.
Leader: City of Eugene and Lane County