Defining an economic development strategy

[luckless pedestrian]

my comp plan committee has taken on an "any development is good development" strategy saying we shouldn't say in our plan we have priority areas as we don't want to limit people if they want to do something - so they basically want all corridors as "designated growth areas" - I'm trying to explain the concept of priority areas and specific stuff we want to see but they don't want to do it - even with EDA grant pursuit as a carrot, they aren't getting it

so what say you, in 3 sentences - what do you say to an "any development is good development" bumper sticker philosophy

[Wannaplan?]

I'm not an economic developer, but if your Muni owns property and would like to get it back on to the tax rolls, it seems like a no-brainer that certain definable "priority areas" could easily float to the top.

[Suburb Repairman]

I like redneck analogies. You don't go hunting deer with a shotgun. You end up wearing yourself out chasing it (assuming you can even track it & critically wounded it) and you spend forever picking the lead out. When done, the meat is in bad condition and you end up disappointed. Focus & precision are what makes a good hunter.

I would emphasize that promoting certain areas of the city doesn't mean growth is discouraged elsewhere--just that these are areas that you really want to see something happen, and have policies in place to incentivize/simplify making that a reality. It helps to focus finite resources so that you can get better bang for the buck, especially if growth prospects require capital infrastructure improvements. If they want to assume all development is good, let them--you don't have to win that battle today. You might simply say all development is good, but some developments are better than others. Also, if you're really in a pinch you can write into your policy an "out" that allows direct negotiation with a special project of significance.

Do you have anyone from the site selection team on your committee? That person could potentially be the most help to you.

[mike gurnee]

I feel your pain. Landing a Walgreens is not economic development. Creating an infrastructure and institutional system to entice Walgreens is economic development. Oh, you most likely will not win.

[NHPlanner]

As I have always "preached," don't forget about your existing businesses. IMO any good Econ Dev strategy has to start with nurturing, retaining, and assisting your existing businesses to expand. As I stated in my interview a couple of years ago before I started my current job, it's great to land the "big fish" from out of town, but my time and resources are far better spent engaging the existing businesses to ensure we are doing what we can to help them become and remain successful. I look at a 70%-30% ratio of spending time and resources on existing businesses vs attraction and marketing to those from outside the community.

If you haven't already, suggest a local business visitation program...get out with the Town's key players and visit your local businesses, find out what they do, what they like, what they don't like, and what you as a town can do to open lines of communication. It's immeasurably valuable to establish those connections.

So, there's my 2 cents.

[Brocktoon]

Be careful what you wish for. I have seen small cities with no university, low higher educational attainment and a high unemployment rate decide to focus on biomed companies.

Some very small and/or bedroom communities that have no industry or competitive advantage might benefit from any development is good development strategy. In that case focus on developing infrastructure, workforce and support structures that would entice development. If you have no water or sewer capacity, available buildings then focusing on targeted industry is pointless until you get the ingredients in place.
For example. a neighboring community developed one of the best economic development strategy money could buy, hired a killer staff and funded the ED department at a level consistent with cities 4 times it size. They identified targeted industry sectors and ran a stellar attraction campaign. The result was no companies. They had plenty of land but none of it was suitable for development. They had no water or sewer lines to places ideal for development, no existing office or industrial buildings, severe flood plan issues and were 15 miles from the interstate and 30 miles from the metro area.

If you have available real estate (vacant land does not count) then start looking at your clusters and possible competitive advantages. Look at your development corridors and see what the community can do to make them more attractive. Also, how is the community going to participate if a company asks for assistance.

Also, attraction is only one aspect of economic development. If the group is only focusing on new development and don't care they type then focus on the other aspects of ED.

NHPlanner hits the retention efforts necessary on the head. What about helping both small businesses and entrepreneurs (they are not the same.) Each has a very specific needs. Consider and do a needs assessment on a business incubator.

Does the community have established partners in the economic development world? Is your utility, colleges, universities, SBDC etc engaged in the efforts.

Is downtown an issue?

How strong is the workforce. Can programs be developed to enhance the workforce? Any site selctor will tell you that workforce is the top issue for companies they represent.

[Cardinal]

As a city you want to minimize your investment and operational costs while maximizing the revenue stream available to you. Market demand is finite. Just because you open up everything to development does not mean that you will fill it. Instead what you will end up with is scattered development that requires more infrastructure to serve and at the same time has low value. If there is a limited amount of land available for development (I like a ratio of about 1.5 times projected demand) it is worth more than if there is an unlimited supply, resulting in higher revenue generation. At the same time you are having to provide less infrastructure by serving a smaller land area with a greater number of users. Additionally, the businesses will see a benefit through concentration that helps to drive traffic to their vicinity, and you are less likely to see vacancies opening up in older commercial areas. This is why I always say to start planning with a market analysis. When you know that your community can accommodate x square fet of new retail, ysquare feet of office, and z square feet of industrial, you can plan where best to locate it and how best to serve it in a way that benefits the community.