Economic Development
Most Recent Version of Draft Vision Statement, Goals, Policies, and Actions
Draft Vision Statement
The River Road and Santa Clara communities support sustainable economic development, a variety of employment opportunities for all residents, and local entrepreneurship. Economic activity, especially that of local businesses, contributes to a shared neighborhood identity, while providing places to gather and build community. Natural assets, such as the river and fertile soils, benefit local residents and support thriving businesses. Residents can safely access essential goods and services within a short distance from home.
Draft Goals
Goal 1: Improve the neighborhood economy and empower local residents by encouraging the growth and creation of local businesses.
Goal 2: Promote redevelopment that enhances the character of our neighborhood while increasing access to daily needs.
Goal 3: Promote living wage employment and business ownership opportunities within the neighborhood.
Draft Policies and Actions
Review the most recent draft policies and actions for the Economic Development Goals below.
Click on each draft goal, policy, or action to provide feedback!
Tell us what you like, what you have concerns about, or questions you may have about these drafts.
Goal 1
Improve the neighborhood economy and empower local residents by encouraging the growth and creation of local businesses.
1.1
Incentives for Local Businesses: Use existing city/county loan programs to support growth and creation of neighborhood businesses.
1.1.1
Create neighborhood-based resources for small business with sustainable funding from tax increment financing or other instruments.
1.1.2
City/County work with neighborhood residents to develop other incentive programs for local business.
1.2
Neighborhood Assets: Base local economic development on neighborhood assets.
1.2.1
Inventory local businesses, including homebased businesses and services.
Analyze present business mix and possible future economic development through the lens of acceptability and desirability for the neighborhood.
1.2.2
Analyze present business mix and possible future economic development through the lens of acceptability and desirability for the neighborhood.
1.2.3
Develop and adopt land use code that favors small independent businesses over large national chains.
1.2.4
Inventory commercial and industrial land, assess location and serviceability, and environmental suitability for business development.
1.3
Patronage of Locally Owned Businesses: Encourage patronage of locally owned businesses.
1.3.1
Create a neighborhood business network or association that includes the diverse spectrum of enterprises.
1.3.2
Brand the neighborhoods as a recognizable identity that draws on our assets (eg: “River and Farm district”).
1.3.3
Use neighborhood brand and network to create a visible “buy local” campaign that leverages collective advertising and neighborhood identity.
1.3.4
Use neighborhood gathering spaces to support the buy local campaign.
1.3.5
Develop a farm to table strategy to promote neighborhood businesses using locally produced foods.
1.3.6
Develop a local market featuring neighborhood farmers and makers of hand-crafted goods
1.3.7
E-commerce and Technology: Foster entrepreneurship and support start-up companies with the buy local campaign, including the e-commerce and technology sectors.
1.3.8
Develop “co-work” spaces that create a sense of community among workers and entrepreneurs, including those in the tech sector.
1.3.9
Connect neighborhoods to EUGNet fiber network for internet service.
1.4
Regulatory Environment: Ensure regulatory environment is supportive of economic development in line with neighborhood vision.
1.4.1
Research how local permitting and regulatory processes work to encourage or discourage business activity. Address incongruities.
1.4.2
Develop a guiding plan for redevelopment of smaller commercial nodes that includes a strategy for encouraging the co-location of complementary businesses.
1.4.3
Adjust land use regulations to encourage local community investments that produce employment opportunities recognizing the importance of living and working within the neighborhood.
1.4.4
Reduce zoning barriers that preclude urban farmers from collectively selling produce on-site.
1.4.5
Storage and warehouse facilities should only be allowed as an accessory (30% of the gross floor area of building or the first level of multi-level building).
1.4.6
Self-storage facilities should only be allowed in Employment and Industrial zones.
Goal 2
Promote redevelopment that enhances the character of our 20-minute neighborhood while increasing access to daily needs.
2.1
Vibrancy: Incentivize and support redevelopment that fosters vibrancy.
2.1.1
Inventory and map property available for redevelopment that can be re-zoned for mixed-use.
2.1.2
Utilize available funding and property tax breaks to incentivize mixed-use development.
2.2
Small Business Development: Promote small business development that supports vibrant mixed-use areas.
2.2.1
Identify funding sources (grants, loans, tax incentives) for targeted small business development.
2.2.2
Continue communication, outreach and assistance to small business owners regarding funding opportunities.
2.2.3
Outreach to local small businesses to discuss market analysis and neighborhood business opportunities.
Goal 3
Promote living wage employment opportunities within the neighborhood.
3.1
Residential Employment: Encourage business growth in residential locations that complements the surrounding neighborhood.
3.1.1
Review land use codes to determine if code changes can assist in creating more employment opportunities within the neighborhoods.
3.1.2
Allow for the rezoning of properties along River Road to support employment growth consistent with the neighborhood vision. (i.e. E2)
3.1.3
Incentivize the development of work/live projects.
3.1.4
(See 2.1.2) Utilize available funding and property tax breaks to incentivize mixed use development.
3.1.5
Rezone properties for neighborhood commercial as appropriate.
3.2
Employment Opportunities: Promote the creation of employment opportunities.
3.2.1
Identify areas for light industrial/manufacturing uses.
3.2.2
Assure that commercial development near the River Road/Beltline intersection is appropriately sized for compatibility with neighborhoods.
3.2.3
Assess the need for more density to better support creation of employment opportunities.
3.2.4
Encourage co-locating commercial growth in conjunction with transportation options.
Economic Development Working Group Materials
December 5, 2018
Working group members reviewed the draft policies by sorting them into cross-cutting themes and identifying gaps.
- Meeting Handout: Full list of draft goals, policies and actions
- Meeting Results:: Draft policies sorted by theme
September 27, 2018
At the September 27 working group meeting, working group members, their Community Advisory Committee leaders, and Technical Advisory Committee members provided their final edits to the draft goals. They then began consolidating and reworking the draft policies that were submitted.
August 28, 2018
At the August 28 working group meeting, participants signed up to write draft policies under each goal using the accompanying worksheets. Goals on these worksheets reflect the August draft of the goals, which have been updated by working group members since.
Working group members will also use the following documents while drafting goals, policies and actions.
- Worksheet Glossary (A cheat sheet with definitions and a guide to completing the worksheet)
- Economic Development Data packet (Data collected over the course of the fall related to economic development)
April 23, 2018
- Economic Development Action Planning
- Economic Development Vision Themes (Produced at the March 20, 2018 workshop)
March 20, 2018
- SCRRIPT Vision Statements (created in 2015)
- Summary of "Value Now" Activity
- Economic Development Values Statements (Produced at the February 7, 2018 workshop)
February 7, 2018