by Rob White
Below is a high-level description of the activities that we at City Hall are working on each and every day. Many of the activities are divided amongst two staff (Sarah Worley and myself), but we work closely with the City Council, City Manager, other City departments and staff, and community organizations to achieve these efforts.
** Support for local businesses – The Davis business environment has several recent success stories of companies receiving increased investment and funding and we are working with these high-growth companies to identify ways for them to increase the size of their facilities locally and add jobs. This in turn creates more sales and property tax and increased economic impact. These companies include examples like Schilling Robotics, Mori Seiki and Marrone Bio Innovations.
** Attract new companies to Davis – especially in conjunction with the UC Davis research in the areas of agriculture, bio-medicine, and advanced and software engineering. This again creates increased sales and property tax and increased economic impact. Examples of companies we are working with include HM Clause and Engage3.
** Working with the local entrepreneur and academic sectors – support for new business startups, which will hopefully grow to be large job generators. These efforts include working with DavisRoots, Hackerlab, and the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and College of Engineering, among others. These groups are also working together to create events that connect and encourage the startup community. This in turn attracts investment and research dollars from larger corporations.
** Facilitate off-campus research space – staff are working with the university, local businesses, and community groups to identify appropriate locations and funding mechanisms for small research incubators, maker spaces, incubators, accelerators and co-working environments. Some of this space exist through the partnership of the City with DavisRoots at the Hunt-Boyer Mansion on 2nd Street. We are also working with HackerLab to create a maker space (tinkerer workshop) that will focus on engineering and mechanical applications. And recently, two companies have engaged with the City staff to work on small incubators for agtech and engineering.
** Engagement with our local and regional business organizations – working to strengthen the networks and best practices, staff are frequently engaging with many organizations, including the Davis Chamber, techDAVIS, local service orgs, SARTA, the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Innovate North State, the federal research labs and local and regional universities. This increases our brand identity and leads to investment and research funding.
** Community discussions – staff are preparing to hold forums regarding an innovation business park that would increase sales and property taxes, as well as increase the opportunity for jobs in Davis. We will also be holding forums on other topics around innovation, entrepreneurs and economic development in the coming year.
** Creating and convening an Innovation Council – as the successor to the City’s Business and Economic Development Commission (BEDC), the Innovation Council will serve as an advisory group to the City Manager and myself on specific efforts around best practices for business. It will include many local and regional orgs and will meet monthly to discuss economic development needs and issues. This increases Davis’ brand, with the intent of attracting more companies to decide to move to Davis.
** Increased City collaboration and networking with the UCD research community – focused on a goal of increased university-based start-up activity and additional investment. That means relationship building with the colleges, faculty, institutes, grad students, alumni associations.
** Continued positive brand development – working with local organizations and the business community, staff are working diligently to create a unique brand and value proposition of Davis as a tech community, particularly through interaction with region, state, federal and international agencies and businesses. Part of the effort includes creating a new web presence for the City with regards to economic development, pitching positive news stories about events and businesses in Davis, reinforcing the quality of life aspects of Davis to the region, and using social media to create a recognized brand alignment.
** Increased partnership with the Yolo County, cities and local orgs – Staff have been working diligently on topics such as rail relocation, new transportation tech, sustainability, and policy development with our county-wide and regional partners. We are also very involved with SARTA and the Metro Chamber on the Next Economy and are providing regional leadership with respect to the innovation ecosystem.
** Traditional economic development tasks – these include city-wide business assistance, business outreach, new business attraction, business growth assistance, workforce development, and marketing of the city.
** Assist other city departments on key projects and proposals – these include the proposed Nishi gateway development, a Hotel/Conference Center, downtown densification, reuse of infill opportunity development sites, sustainability, housing, parking, and transportation.
Again, this is just a glossary list of some of specific efforts being worked on by staff at this time.
There is also work being done by the City Manager and Staff on a cohesive strategy for innovation and economic development. We hope to be presenting this strategy to Council this winter. The strategy that will outline specific actions being taken by staff to encourage increased revenue streams and seek direction on specific goals. It will attempt to encompass and summarize much of the previous work done over the last 5 years.
Lastly, don’t forget that yet another opportunity to discuss the Innovation Park Task Force and City Council findings from last November 2012 will be this coming Tuesday. The Task Force met on this last Tuesday and directed staff to begin holding a series of workshop style forums over the coming months. The information for the first of these forums is as follows:
** Innovation Park Community Forum **
Tuesday, NOV 5th from 5 to 8 pm
Location: Community Chambers, City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd
This is the first of what is proposed to be a series of community forums that will be held by the City to increase community dialogue. The focus of the forums will be to provide the City Council with actionable goals resulting from the Innovation Park Task Force recommendations adopted by City Council in November 2012. The forum will be noticed and information made available in accordance with open meeting requirements, though it is not an official Brown Act meeting. The Innovation Park Task Force webpage on the City website is found here: http://city-council.cityofdavis.org/on-going-committees/innovation-park-task-force
In a dialogue-based format, city staff will provide information, invite some representative stakeholders to provide brief presentations, and provide an opportunity for the community to give input and share ideas on locations, size, purpose and need for innovation business park(s) in and around Davis.
The format for the meeting will be as follows:
- Provide a brief overview of Innovation Park Task Force findings & recommendations.
- Summarize for the community what was discussed at the Oct 22nd Council meeting and the Oct 29th Innovation Park Task Force Meeting and how that direction can fit in to the larger plan for an innovation park.
- Provide opportunities for key stakeholder groups to present their vision and goals for the community as they relate to an innovation park
- Provide the community an opportunity to share their ideas
Some questions that staff will work to address at the community forum will include:
- What are the financial drivers in revenue shortfall for the City that make an innovation park an appropriate discussion at this time?
- What might be the appropriate tech/business uses at Nishi – size and scope?
- What are the specific needs of growth companies like Schilling Robotics, Marrone Bio Innovation, Engage3, HM Clause, etc?
- What were the needs of users that have decided to locate in other cities/regions that might have stayed in Davis and what was the magnitude of the lost revenue and jobs?
- Based on case studies, what might be the appropriate size of an innovation park too be both financially viable and attractive in the region?
- How does the Davis community meet its needs for open space and agricultural buffers while considering a tech park?
I look forward to seeing some of you there. If you cannot make it, please feel free to send me your thoughts by email to rwhite@cityofdavis.org. Please be sure to include your name and affiliation/address if you would like your views forwarded to the Innovation Park Task Force and City Council to be part of the public record.
thx Rob; will the forum be televised?
Great overview Rob.
From the point of view of a health professional, I would like to suggest that a couple of additional questions be considered early in the process
1)For each proposal, what are the potential adverse consequences on the environment ?
2) How can the city help incentivize each company to make early consideration of health related factors a major part of their planning, rather than being tacked on as an after thought.
I am raising this issue here specifically because I am not, as I have been characterized, against alll growth and change. I am against projects that may have a preventable negative impact on the health and we’ll being of present and future residents. I think part of the perceived animosity to business could be averted if it were to be acknowledged that many citizens of Davis are very environmentally aware and will not support changes that they perceive as degrading our unique environment or compromise our quality life. I feel that early recognition and prioritization of these concerns would do much to avoid what is seen as obstructionist behavior.
medwoman
could you give some examples? thx!
Happy to.
1. Respiratry problems are a major health factor in this region. A major contributor in our area is automobile emissions. I believe that any new significanttly sized development whether tech/business or residential should include as part of its initial planning be required to include means to mitigat or minimize the use of private automobiles. This could be done by active promotion of walking or biking. By provision of company group transit or….
Well I don’t know what else since I am not a planner. But I think it should be required up front, not something that has to be asked for late in the game by some health conscious citizen who then gets branded as obstructionist.
2. Planned use of chemicals and their safe disposal. Will their be any venting for example?
3.. On and off site safety considerations. I have yet to hear any estimate of how long it would take to emergently evacuate the Cannery site through the two potential public auto exits in this unlikely event of a catastrophe such as a gas pipeline explosion. We already have one very dangerous limited access community in Davis on Olive Drive. I would at least like to be assured that someone has considered this before we construct another.
I am not saying that these issues do not get addressed eventually. I just feel that they need to be addressed early and often during the planning process, not being haggled over late in the game as appears to be occurring with the Cannery in terms of bike access.
SODA- unfortunately, no it won’t be televised. There are no available staff resources and the City is not approving overtime right now due to the already projected budget shortfall for the fiscal year.
medwoman- great suggestions. I will put them in to the discussion.
medwoman wrote:
> I believe that any new significanttly sized
> development whether tech/business or residential
> should include as part of its initial planning
> be required to include means to mitigat or
> minimize the use of private automobiles.
As I’ve mentioned before I walk and ride my bikes more than most people (even most people in Davis). I would love to see more people walking and riding their bikes, but I can’t think of anything a tech/business or residential developer can do to get people to stop driving and start riding to work. As a test I’m wondering if medwoman will ask all her patients this week 1. If they road or walked to the appointment and 2. If the developer of the hospital made some change to the building or the site would that get them to walk or ride to their next appointment (I’m betting that few walk or ride and even less can think of an actual change that will get them to start walking and riding)…
> On and off site safety considerations. I have yet
> to hear any estimate of how long it would take to
> emergently evacuate the Cannery site through the
> two potential public auto exits in this unlikely
> event of a catastrophe such as a gas pipeline explosion.
I’m wondering if medmoman can think of the last time an entire neighborhood had to be evacuated (has El Macero or Wildhorse ever been evacuated)? Most new developments only have a single way in and out (and do not have open fields on two sides) so the Cannery site is safer than most. Does the Cannery site even have a major gas line (you need a big major line to have a big explosion)? Even if the main gas line for Yolo County runs under the middle of the site there will not be a big rush to evacuate if it blows (like in San Bruno a couple years ago) since the initial explosion will relieve pressure and the only people that will need to leave are the ones next to the fire area). I’m wondering if medwoman feared for the life of her kids living in Northstar for years since (like the proposed Cannery site) there were only two ways to get out in a car?
i][b]The Unseen Hand In Davis Politics[/b][/i]:The City of Davis is one of 544 American cities that are participating members of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Much information concerning this massive, multi-tentacled, organization can be found at (http://www.iclei.org.)
How much of the frenetic planning effort currently being experienced within (and around) Davis can be attributed to ICLEI efforts and influence? ICLEI is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to helping local elected officials (mayors, city councilmembers, etc.) implement progressive regional and international planning within their community as well as in adjacent unincorporated areas. Because of extensive unfavorable local reaction to a variety of ICLEI’s “Sustainable Development” and “Innovative Development” proposals within the Bay Area and other regions, ICLEI has had to rebrand itself as” Local Governments for Sustainability” to continue to gain access to and support of community staff and residents. Once support is gained, ICLEI can then provide numerous resources to the community. An essential step is to recommend that the community hire a full time “sustainability manager,” to implement relevant ICLEI policies. Once that is done, other benefits follow. Some of these include: (1)access to a network of Green experts, newsletters, conferences and workshops; (2) software programs to help set the goals for community development; (3) toolkits, online resources, case studies, fact sheets, policy and practice manuals, and blueprints successfully used by other communities; (4) notification of relevant grant opportunities conforming to ICLEI objectives; and, (5) training workshops for staff and elected officials on how to develop and implement ICLEI programs. Is this what we want here!?!
For a recent ICLEI “Success Story!?!” , please read how ICLEI’s “One Bay Area Plan” was rammed through the NineCounty Bay Area in spite of massive public objection: http://www.onebayarea.org/news/story/Plan-Bay-Area-Adopted.html. Is this what will be happening here!?!
Minor Edits to my 11-01-13 01-12 PM Posting Above
The proper web site citations are as follows: (1) for the ICLEI Web site http://www.iclei.org/ , and (2)for the approval of the One Bay Area Plan
http://onebayarea.org/regional-initiatives/plan-bay-area.html
Sorry for the inconvenience in this matter.
Third try a charm ?
http://www.onebayarea.org/regional-initiatives/plan-bay-area/final-plan-bay-area.html