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2024-04-17 Economic Development Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING April 17, 2024 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Matt Cox, Chair via Zoom Allan Townsend, Vice -Chair Nicole Hughes Darrol Haug Natalie Seitz Kate Nolan — Student Representative COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Kevin Harris - excused Nick Perrault—unexcused Pete Spear— unexcused LIAISONS PRESENT: Vacant — Planning Board, ex-officio Selena Killin, Port Commissioner, ex-officio Chris Eck, Councilmember, ex-officio LIAISONS ABSENT: Ryan Crowther, Chamber, ex-officio GUESTS: STAFF PRESENT: Todd Tatum, Director CCED via Zoom Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator CCED Economic Development Commission meeting called to order by Matt Cox at 6:01 p.m. Call to Order 1. Roll Call and Recognition of Approved Absences: Kevin H excused, Nick and Pete unexcused, 2. Approval of Agenda: Allan moves to add an item before Item 9, Joint Planning Board Meeting, Natalie seconds, motion passes. Natalie moves to add Item 8.e. The Waterfront Revitalization Comp Plan as a separate 5-minute discussion, Nicole seconds, all approve other than Darrol. Allan adds that the date at the bottom of the agenda calling out the next meeting needs to be updated to 2024. Allan moves to approve the agenda as amended; Natalie seconds; motion passes. 3. Approval of March 20, 2024, Meeting Summary: Allan moves to approve the meeting summary; Nicole seconds; motion passed. 4. Audience Comments: No Audience Comments. 5. Introductions - new members: Carrie took a few minutes to introduce herself. 6. Discussion: Comp Plan Economic Development Goals and Measurements: Todd sent out the updated goals prior to the meeting. The DEIA Commission will be hearing about the Comp Plan at their next meeting. The drafts are due to the consultant on April 301h. There will be a broader internal review of all the elements after that. It is projected date that the Council will see a draft in June. Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 1 Todd went through the document requesting feedback from the Commissioners: • Improve transition between context and definitions. • Work from home details, should be adjusted, specifics are likely to evolve over the next 10 years. • Neighborhoods of Opportunity — o Natalie feels strongly about the language here due to the City's history of where they invest. This is lip service without action and hurtful. She wants direction to take this section and drop it directly into policies. She's happy for it to be in the preamble if it's also in policy. o Selena proposes updating the education beginning marker from Kindergarten to Pre-K, as studies show impacts can begin that early. She also suggests being consistent with citations and she's happy to help with providing some and helping with research as her background is in education. • Placemaking— o Nicole suggests being clear throughout the preambles that there is a desire to invest throughout the City and not all downtown. Add a map. GOALS: Natalie shares a variety of thoughts, suggestions and edits throughout the goals. They are attached as Exhibit A. Goal A — Natalie points out that in number 3. It should be waterfront locations rather than singular. Strike historic downtown. She would like to strike 4 out entirely because she feels the organizations listed have focused on downtown and not all of Edmonds. Todd shares that the partnerships could be improved, and the intent would be for the entire City. He does not agree with removing it. Natalie feels the Port is only focused on downtown. Darrol explains that this is a 20-year plan, the Port of Edmonds can cross boundaries away from the shoreline. Matt also doesn't agree with striking 4. He suggests re -wording the point to include community organizations. Natalie feels the city continually invests in just downtown and the bulk of sales tax revenue is not generated downtown. Darrol doesn't think that focusing on the sales tax as the bulk of the city's revenue as it comes from car dealerships now, the car industry could look drastically different 20 years from, it's wise to focus on one economic driver. Natalie emphasizes the resources need to be focused in the areas of greatest need. Goal B — Nicole explains that the Comp Plan Work Group had some conversations about updating the language. Matt wonders how to measure success for number 4. He adds A.S. might would be more appropriate under B. Goal C— Nicole shares some updates to the goal, change to "in all neighborhoods". The focus is to create an inclusive Edmonds and focus on the community, the people. Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 2 Selena wonders if this group does any workshops for Edmonds businesses to retain employees or focus on economic growth. Todd explains that B.5 could include business education or elevate the Biz Booster website. Matt suggests adding language in C.1 to include tracking for measurement. Kate suggests adding safety to C.1 due to the health component. Todd will work on wordsmithing this. Goal D — Allan shares some thoughts. Is there a way to call out supporting digital infrastructure to support work from home models, not specific to broadband as we don't know how technology will evolve over the next 20 years. He also suggests incentivizing working from home. Kate suggests adding FinTech into Goal D (D.3 specifically). Matt touches on permitting and making the process more user friendly. He wonders if we should add the anti -displacement tools and that the City's going to utilize them. Regulatory framework to anti -displacement. Selena suggests changing "ensure" to "encourage". She also calls out keeping the tense consistent. Nicole adds that the workgroup will meet to prepare for the DEIA Commission meeting. Any additional feedback, please send to Todd soon as they meet soon. 7. Updates/Debriefs: a. City Council Presentation: The presentation was well received. Council appreciates the work the Commission has been doing. Councilmember Chen talked about revisiting the public building assessment and/or relocation. Keep thinking about ways to creatively engage the community like the Hwy 99 field trip meeting. Councilmember Eck echoes that the presentation was well done. Darrol agrees. Matt adds that the Biz Booster was highlighted, and we shouldn't lose sight of it. b. Landmark 99 Subgroup: The RFP closed, two submissions were received, interviews were held yesterday. The evaluation process is still active. Allan enjoyed the experience. c. Mayor's State of the City presentation: Darrol explains that the Blue -Ribbon Committee is digging into the cause of the reserve decline. The GF continues to decline. We are still spending more than we are receiving. There will be discussions on what government services are expected. Mayor Rosen has a lot of work to do and there are some hard decisions to make. Natalie encourages outlook to be looked at broadly. Councilmember Eck adds that input from the entire community is needed. 8. Liaison Updates: a. City Council (Chris Eck): Council is working on a lot of important issues already this year. Comp Plan; Growth Alternatives. There is a town hall scheduled tomorrow at PW Works building from 7pm to 9pm. b. Port of Edmonds (Selena Killin): There is a ribbon cutting on April 26th for the Admin Building. c. Chamber of Commerce (Ryan Crowther): Absent d. Planning Board — Vacant Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 3 e. Waterfront Revitalization Comp Plan: There was visioning charette at the WFC with the Port to discuss the UNOCAL property and potential for added infrastructure. The Port is also working on an update to their strategic plan. Joint meeting with Planning Board on May 22"d: Allan moves that the EDC join the May 22"d Planning Board meeting. Darrol amends the motion to move the regular EDC meeting from May 15th to May 22"d at 6pm in the Fourtner and join the Planning Board meeting at 7pm in the Brackett room. Matt moves to approve the motion with the amendment, Carrie seconds, all yes except Allan is opposed to the amendment. Motion passes. 9. Roundtable Discussion: No comments. 10. Adjourn: 8:08 p.m. Next meeting: May 15, 2024, 6 PM location Hybrid — Brackett Room & Zoom Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 4 EXHIBIT A Goals and Policies A. Diversify and grow the City's jobs and economy to build robust and differentiated employment sectors, enhance local employment opportunities, strengthen the city's unique identities, attract spending from nearby communities, and increase municipal tax revenues to support local services. 1. Grow employment within Edmonds' key employment and economy sectors by enabling existing employers in these sectors to thrive, and actively attracting employers and jobs in these sectors. Identify and prioritize areas with blighted commercial areas for investment. Develop or maintain business recruitment programs, including a tool kit of incentives, to encourage business growth. o Maintain and enhance community commercial areas by providing effective and accessible human services that are culturally relevant, accessible, affordable and immediate. 2. Be an exceptional place for employees to work remotely —from home, community spaces, or other "third places." Enhance infrastructure and arts and culture activities in underserved areas to attract creative -class workers, living wadge employees and remote workers. 3. Market Edmonds as a year-round destination to visitors from within and beyond the Puget Sound region, for its waterfront locations, , arts and culture, eating and drinking establishments, international shopping and dining, natural amenities, gardens and flower displays, parks and recreational assets, etc. 4. Actively partner with local and regional economic development organizations such as the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, Port of Edmonds, Snohomish County, PSRC's Central Puget Sound Economic Development District Board, and the Department of Commerce to grow the City's Economy in low opportunity areas. Continue to solicit and address feedback to enhance the business environment. 5. Acknowledge that producing adequate affordable and workforce housing requires an active role from city government. While community -based organizations and housing developers are the primary movers of this work, the city should allocate staff time to partnership, grant writing, planning, and advocating in this space. o Facilitate a variety of home ownership opportunities by allowing and supporting condos, community cooperatives, associations and equity building 6. Improve access to commercial parcels negatively impacted by state highway infrastructure. Promote access and walking to commercial areas in areas least served by pedestrian enhancements. B. Revitalize and enhance the city's business districts and neighborhood hubs through placemaking and destination development approaches, while balancing the needs for housing, commerce and employment development with neighborhood character, amenities, and scale. 1. Commit to, and invest in, an active and continuous engagement with the community, with particular emphasis on neighborhoods. Encourage Involvement of historically marginalized Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 5 groups that have been under -represented in community goal setting, and work with communities to prevent displacement of low-income households and small businesses. 2. Create destination management plans and engage in holistic planning, implementation, and reporting of their progress. Branding and destination marketing are key elements of destination management. 3. Prioritize revitalization and enhancements to communities with a low opportunity index. Actively target infrastructure improvements to provide equitable access to public facilities and services. Plan, track, and create realistic financing strategies to support the creation of spaces attractive and affordable to businesses threatened with displacement. 4. Acknowledge that this work is local and regional and requires a steady investment in time, energy, and focus over years to ensure impacts and benefits are equitably dispersed across Edmonds. It requires work at every level of our government. 5. Address business displacement through supporting businesses - directly or through connections - with grants, technical assistance, capacity -building expertise, marketing, and branding. o Develop relocation options in Edmonds for those displaced from mobile home parks and engage with communities to make those resources known o Minimize housing displacement created from development - identify properties at risk of commercial and housing displacement in commercial areas o Support safety and more attractive areas through grants, loans and other financial support C. Support and enhance the community's quality of life for residents of all backgrounds and incomes, workers, and visitors in order to sustain and attract business and investment, and enhance economic well-being. 1. Establish a shared metrics of quality of life that incorporates the following measures as a starting point, possibly with the addition of other elements to be determined: • Connection • Mobility • Sociability • Stability - particularly with respect to housing stability • Health 2. Work to ensure that all Edmonds residents have the opportunity to thrive —regardless of age, race, gender, or other factors. i. Continue to foster an open and accepting community culture that respects diversity, in part because progressive communities are better able to attract and retain business. ii. Identify neighborhoods where displacement risk is high and: 1. Identify the sources of risk 2. Devote staff time and budget to creating programs which mitigate and manage this risk. Be a convener when necessary. Be a supporter always. Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 6 3. Help build strong community -led organizations and foster resilient resident engagement. 4. Align economic development efforts with the City's other values, including environmental sustainability, equity, and cultural engagement. 5. Bea leader within the South County area on improving access to transit. 6. Support and enhance social, cultural, artistic, and recreational activities for residents, visitors, and employees. 7. Provide public facilities and civic spaces for the City's growing population to gather, connect and build community 8. Develop strategies to address heat islands in commercial areas 9. Recognize businesses with significance to the community 10. Build capacity for meaningful and authentic community engagement 11. Prioritize projects to improve quality of the built and natural environments in low opportunity areas to support communities thriving D. Ensure that the City's zoning, permitting, business support, and investments facilitate economic development goals. 1. Continually strive to offer an efficient, timely and predictable regulatory environment, and a high level of customer service to those seeking permits from the City. Establish performance metrics and track them, acknowledging that learning and improving is the primary goal of this work. 2. Ensure that the City's investments are aligned with our economic development goals and ensure that they are reflected, at a minimum, in the following areas: a. Capital Improvement Program b. Impact fees structures, which can vary based on the degree to which a project supports comprehensive plan goals. For example, projects that create more walk trips and fewer auto trips may pay lower impact fees. c. Taxes, including overall tax burden. d. Programs, grants, loans, and other incentives, particularly those which support anti - displacement strategies and support for existing entrepreneurs. 3. Investigate Tax Increment Financing, Local Improvement Districts, area -specific impact fees and other methods to improve infrastructure in targeted areas of the city. 4. Create an ESJ toolkit to minimize displacement of Existing Businesses and residents 5. Incorporate equity into decision -making. Analyze resource distribution and opportunity indexes 6. Foster inclusive communities by overcoming disparities in access to municipal resources Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 7 7. Support maintenance and weatherization of low-income homes 8. Design city efforts to reduce disparity 9. Promote equity in all city programs. 10. Relocation assistance for businesses. 11. Identify areas that may be available for small businesses, small business finance and management assistance 12. Develop a framework to assess CIPs and ordinances for consistency with policies 13. Prioritize low economic opportunity areas 14. Improve access to contracting opportunities for women and minority owned businesses Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission April 17, 2024 Page 8