PROPOSAL FOR AN ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
CITY OF ALAMEDA
August 17, 2026
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 2 August 17, 2026
Dwayne Dalman
Economic Development Division Manager
City of Alameda
Base Reuse and Economic Development Department
950 West Mall Square, Suite 205
Alameda, CA 94501
Proposal for Economic Development Strategic Plan
Dear Mr. Dalman:
Harris & Associates (Harris) is pleased to submit our proposal to prepare an updated Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP or Strategic Plan) for the City of Alameda (City). Alameda is at an important point in its economic evolution.
Major redevelopment opportunities, distinctive commercial districts, an expanding innovation economy, significant waterfront and employment assets, and the continued transformation of Alameda Point create tremendous potential.
At the same time, the City must navigate regional competition, changing workplace and real estate trends, workforce constraints, housing costs, and the need to align economic development priorities with available staff and resources.
Harris has assembled a multidisciplinary team specifically suited to help Alameda translate these opportunities and challenges into a focused, actionable economic development strategy. Harris will lead the engagement in partnership with Chabin Concepts, Economic Forensics and Analytics (EFA), and Urban Scenarios (collectively, Harris Team or Team), combining economic development strategy, economic and workforce analysis, real estate and place-based analysis, economic positioning and marketing, stakeholder engagement, and implementation expertise. The Team structure allows us to move explicitly from economic reality to organizational capacity, to stakeholder testing, to strategic direction and implementation.
The Team brings several advantages to Alameda:
Direct Experience in Alameda. Our Team begins with an understanding of Alameda rather than starting from scratch.
Chabin Concepts and Urban Scenarios are currently working with the City’s Base Reuse and Economic Development Department on a Building Inventory Analysis Vacancy Strategy focused on vacant and underutilized properties within Alameda’s urban core. This work provides familiarity with Alameda’s economic centers, development environment, property conditions, zoning and permitting considerations, and City staff. We will build on, not duplicate, this existing knowledge.
A Market-Driven, Data-Informed Approach. The Strategic Plan must be grounded in an accurate understanding of where Alameda fits within the broader Bay Area economy. Dr. Robert Eyler of EFA will lead key economic and demographic analysis, examining employment, industries, wages, workforce, housing, and regional competitive conditions. Harris and Urban Scenarios will complement this work with fiscal, policy, industry, real estate, and placebased analysis. Using resources including CoStar and an ESRI StoryMap platform, our Team will connect economic trends with Alameda’s physical assets and development opportunities so the City can see not only which industries and opportunities warrant attention, but where those opportunities can realistically occur.
Economic Development Strategy That Connects Place, Industry, and Positioning. Alameda does not need a generic list of target industries. Our approach will test the six sectors identified in the prior Economic Development Strategic Plan against current market conditions and identify the industries, subsectors, and business opportunities for which Alameda can establish a meaningful competitive niche. We will distinguish strategies for business retention and expansion, entrepreneurship and small-business development, and targeted business attraction. Chabin Concepts will translate this work into an economic positioning and marketing strategy that clearly articulates Alameda’s value proposition and provides practical approaches to building awareness, telling Alameda’s economic development story, and reaching priority businesses, investors, developers, brokers, and other audiences.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 3 A Strategy Designed for Implementation. The value of a Strategic Plan is ultimately measured by what happens after it is adopted. Harris will evaluate the City’s economic development capacity, internal coordination, resources, partnerships, and existing work program alongside the market analysis. Recommendations will identify who should lead, who should partner, what resources are required, how actions should be sequenced, and how progress should be measured. The resulting implementation road map will distinguish actions achievable with existing resources from those requiring additional investment, staffing, technology, consultants, or partnerships. This approach will give the City Council and staff a realistic basis for setting priorities and allocating resources.
An Experienced, Integrated Team. Project Director Megan Quinn and Project Manager Lynn Kelly will provide consistent leadership and a single point of accountability for the City throughout the assignment. Harris brings extensive experience helping California public agencies evaluate economic conditions, development feasibility, fiscal implications, organizational capacity, and implementation strategies. Audrey Taylor of Chabin Concepts brings decades of economic development strategy and marketing experience, having led more than 400 projects for approximately 200 clients in 25 states. Dr. Robert Eyler brings deep expertise in economic analysis, forecasting, workforce development, and economic development planning. Thatch Moyle of Urban Scenarios adds 25 years of experience in economic development, land use planning, GIS, real estate analysis, data visualization, and scenario modeling. Together, our Team offers the breadth of expertise necessary for this assignment without losing the responsiveness and direct senior-level involvement that are critical to a successful planning process.
Our goal is not simply to produce another economic development plan. We will help Alameda establish a clear understanding of its competitive position, determine where the City can most effectively focus its resources, strengthen coordination among the many organizations that influence economic development, and create an implementation framework that City staff and partners can use well beyond completion of this assignment.
We appreciate the opportunity to support the City of Alameda at this important moment and look forward to helping the City establish a practical, market-informed, and measurable economic development strategy for the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Harris & Associates, Inc.
Megan Quinn (Authorized Signor) Lynn Kelly
Sr. Director, Municipal + District Finance EDSP Project Manager 916.306.5704 [email protected] Sr. Project Manager, Municipal + District Finance 949.536.2529 [email protected]
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 FIRM QUALIFICATIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 Harris & Associates ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 Subconsultants .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Chabin Concepts ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. (EFA) .................................................................................................................... 8 PROJECT UNDERSTANDING ....................................................................................................................................................... 8 Key Opportunities ................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Key Challenges to Address .................................................................................................................................................. 10 TECHNICAL APPROACH AND SCOPE OF SERVICES .................................................................................................................. 12 Phase 1: Project Management and Initiation .......................................................................................................................... 12 Phase 2: Economic Reality and Competitive Position Assessment ......................................................................................... 12
2.1. Current Economic Conditions and Trends .................................................................................................................... 12
2.2. Policy and Planning Alignment ..................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3. Competitive Benchmarking and SWOT Analysis .......................................................................................................... 13
2.4. Industry and Workforce Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 13
2.5. Real Estate and Place-Based Asset Inventory .............................................................................................................. 14
2.6. Business Climate, Image, and Perceptions ................................................................................................................... 14 Phase 3: Economic Development Capacity Assessment ......................................................................................................... 14
3.1. Review of Existing Program .......................................................................................................................................... 15
3.2. Organizational Capacity Assessment............................................................................................................................ 15
3.3. Internal Economic Development Ecosystem Evaluation .............................................................................................. 15
3.4. External Partners and Service Delivery Assessment .................................................................................................... 15 Phase 4: Stakeholder Engagement .......................................................................................................................................... 15
4.1. City Leadership and Staff Engagement ........................................................................................................................ 16
4.2. Advisory and Focus Groups .......................................................................................................................................... 16
4.3. Major Business, Developer, and Property-Owner Interviews ...................................................................................... 16
4.4. Engagement Analysis.................................................................................................................................................... 16 Phase 5: Strategic Direction and Economic Development Strategic Plan ............................................................................... 16
5.1. Vision, Desired Outcomes, and Strategic Direction ..................................................................................................... 17
5.2. Business Climate and Competitiveness Strategy ......................................................................................................... 17 CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 5
5.3. Industry and Economic Growth Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 17
5.4. Workforce Development Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 17 Phase 6: Economic Positioning and Marketing Plan ............................................................................................................... 18 Task 6.1: Economic Identity, Positioning & Value Proposition ........................................................................................ 18 Task 6.2: Awareness & Storytelling Strategy ................................................................................................................... 19 Task 6.3: Targeted Attraction & Marketing Strategy ...................................................................................................... 19 Scope Clarification / Optional Creative Services .............................................................................................................. 19 Phase 7: Implementation Road Map ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Phase 8: Performance Measurement and Reporting .............................................................................................................. 20 Phase 9: Public Review and Adoption Support ....................................................................................................................... 20 PROJECT SCHEDULE ................................................................................................................................................................. 21 PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................................................................................................ 23 RELATED PROJECT EXPERIENCE ............................................................................................................................................... 24 City of Fairfield 2021–2025 Economic Development Strategic Plan ................................................................................... 24 City of Vallejo Economic Development Strategic Plan ........................................................................................................ 25 City of Vacaville Economic Development Strategic Plan ..................................................................................................... 25 City of Campbell Economic Development Strategic Plan .................................................................................................... 25 City of Fresno Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) ........................................................................... 25 City of Benicia Community Benefit Program Economic Analysis ........................................................................................ 25 City of Manteca Fiscal Impact Analysis Peer Review and Development Impact Fee Updates ............................................ 26 City of Chula Vista Public Facilities Financing Plan and Fiscal Impact Analysis Peer Review .............................................. 26 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................................ 27 COST PROPOSAL ...................................................................................................................................................................... 28 SERVICES AGREEMENT AND CONFLICTS ................................................................................................................................. 31 Insurance ............................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Services Agreement / Exceptions ........................................................................................................................................ 31 Conflict of Interest Statement ............................................................................................................................................. 32 APPENDIX A – PROJECT TEAM RESUMES ................................................................................................................................ 33 CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 6
FIRM QUALIFICATIONS
Harris & Associates
Harris is a 100% employee-owned, multidisciplinary consulting firm focused on helping public agencies solve complex challenges in planning, municipal finance, economic and fiscal analysis, environmental compliance, civil engineering, and construction management. For more than 50 years, Harris has helped communities throughout California and the West Coast plan, finance, and implement public priorities. Our Municipal + District Finance practice has served more than 100 public agencies and brings expertise in economic and fiscal analysis, real estate economics, market analysis, public finance, development implementation, and performance-based decision support.
For this assignment, Harris will serve as prime consultant, contract holder, and single point of accountability. Harris will manage schedule, budget, quality control, City coordination, data integration, organizational capacity analysis, strategic-plan integration, implementation planning, performance measurement, and final deliverables. The Team structure also draws on specialized quantitative, real estate, stakeholder-engagement, and economic-development marketing expertise.
An Integrated and Efficient Team Structure
This team structure combines specialized expertise with a streamlined approach to City coordination. Harris will serve as the City’s single point of contact and will direct assignments to the appropriate technical specialists, integrate findings across workstreams, and resolve overlaps before materials are presented to City staff. The team will use a coordinated work plan, consolidated data requests, shared interview protocols, and combined progress meetings to avoid duplicative requests and reduce the time required from City staff and stakeholders.
Each firm will contribute where its experience is strongest: EFA will provide the quantitative economic foundation; Urban Scenarios will connect industry and real-estate findings to Alameda’s employment areas and stakeholder perspectives; Chabin Concepts will translate the analysis into economic positioning and a practical marketing framework; and Harris will integrate the work into a prioritized, resource-conscious Strategic Plan. This structure allows the City to benefit from a multidisciplinary team without having to manage multiple consultants or reconcile separate technical products.
Harris will also calibrate the level of analysis and engagement to the decisions the City needs to make. Staff involvement will be concentrated at key points, including project initiation, validation of findings, confirmation of priorities, and review of recommendations, while the consultant team handles data organization, meeting preparation, documentation, analysis, and synthesis. The result will be one coherent plan with clear ownership, realistic resource options, and implementable actions, developed with focused and efficient use of City staff time.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 7 Team Roles and Responsibilities
Firm Role Primary Responsibilities
Harris & Associates Prime consultant; integration
and strategy
Project management; policy alignment;
competitive benchmarking; organizational
capacity; business climate and
development process; workforce strategy;
implementation; performance
measurement; QA/QC; report and
presentation integration.
Chabin Concepts Economic positioning and
marketing lead
Economic identity and positioning; audiencespecific value propositions; awareness and storytelling strategy; targeted attraction and
marketing strategy; implementation and
marketing performance support.
Economic Forensics and
Analytics, Inc. (EFA)
Quantitative economic and realestate lead
Dr. Robert Eyler leads economic conditions
and trends; quantitative industry/
workforce analysis; regional
competitiveness and trend analysis; real
estate and place-based asset analysis; and
KPI/data support.
Urban Scenarios Market, place, industry and
engagement support
Industry and workforce analysis; real
estate and place-based analysis; business
climate and perceptions; stakeholder
engagement; place-based and industry
strategy support.
Subconsultants
Chabin Concepts
Chabin Concepts is an economic development and marketing firm serving national and international clients.
Chabin has served over 400 communities and organizations since our formation in 1989, including four state assignments. Chabin was founded by Audrey Taylor, President and CEO, and operates out of Chico in Northern California. Their areas of expertise include Strategic Roadmaps: helping a community create a competitive advantage to encourage, expand, and attract business; Corporate Location Assessment: helping communities to see how they rank in a site selector's eyes; Industry Targeting: finding best sectors and matching those to a community's economic centers and assets; and Capacity Building: working with the community's economic development team to ensure delivery of critical services.
Since 2020, Chabin has prepared ten (10) economic strategic plans, as well as preparing sixteen (16) Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS). Their in-depth approach encompasses stakeholder interviews and surveys, economic analysis, retail and marketing analysis, mapping and other tools to ascertain the challenges and opportunities affecting a city or county's economic well-being. The result is a comprehensive and practical roadmap detailing timelines and resources.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 8 Urban Scenarios
Urban Scenarios is a Portland, Oregon-based sole proprietorship S-Corporation founded in 2018. Principal Thatch Moyle brings 25 years of experience in economic development, urban and regional planning, master planning, GIS analysis, data visualization, scenario modeling, and project management. The firm specializes in translating market, land-use, and real-estate information into place-based strategies and visual tools that help public agencies, property owners, developers, and stakeholders understand opportunities and make implementable decisions.
Urban Scenarios brings direct Alameda experience through its current work with Chabin Concepts for the City of Alameda Base Reuse and Economic Development Department on a Building Inventory Analysis Vacancy Strategy. That effort examines vacant and blighted properties in the urban core and evaluates zoning, permitting, historic-property designation, building condition, and potential tools to incentivize reinvestment and tenanting. The firm also brings recent California economic development strategy and CEDS experience in Chico, Vacaville, Campbell, Fairfield, Merced County, Stanislaus County, Lake County, Kings County, Fresno, Oakley, and multiple multi-county regions.
A key differentiator is Urban Scenarios’ use of ESRI StoryMaps to create interactive real-estate portfolios and “economic center” tools. For Alameda, this capability will support the real estate and place-based asset inventory by organizing available properties, opportunity sites, relevant capital projects, and links to supporting studies in a visual, accessible platform. Thatch Moyle will serve as Urban Scenarios’ lead for this assignment.
Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. (EFA)
Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. (EFA) is a Petaluma-based economic and public-policy consulting firm established in 2000. EFA specializes in economic and workforce development planning, economic impact modeling, strategic evaluation, forecasting, and data analysis for public agencies and private-sector clients. Its team combines consulting experience with economics and policy-making education, allowing EFA to translate complex regional economic, demographic, industry, and workforce trends into practical information for decision-makers.
EFA brings extensive California and Bay Area experience, including work with cities, counties, regional economicdevelopment organizations, and workforce-development professionals. The firm draws on public- and private-sector databases to assess economic and demographic conditions, population and workforce forecasts, industry performance, key performance indicators, and competitive position. EFA also develops data visualizations and dashboards designed to make technical findings accessible to public officials, employers, residents, and other stakeholders.
For this EDSP, EFA will be led by Dr. Robert Eyler, President of the firm and Professor of Economics at Sonoma State University. EFA has served as a strategic partner with Chabin Concepts on multiple assignments, including economic development strategic planning and comprehensive economic development strategies.
PROJECT UNDERSTANDING
The City is seeking more than an update to its 2018 Economic Development Strategic Plan. The Team understands that the City desires a fact-based, market-disciplined strategy designed to create new job opportunities, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, enhancing fiscal sustainability, investing in catalyst commercial and development areas, and increasing private investment throughout the City. The EDSP calls for a coordinated assessment of Alameda’s economic reality and competitive position, the City’s internal capacity and partnership ecosystem, representative stakeholder input, and a strategic direction that can be implemented and measured. The EDSP will reassess the six prior business sectors, identify more precise industry opportunities where warranted, evaluate place- CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 9 based real estate and investment assets, improve business climate and development predictability, clarify the City’s role in workforce development, and establish a credible economic-development position and marketing playbook.
The City’s competitive position varies materially by place. Downtown, West Alameda, Harbor Bay, Marina Village/Research Park, Alameda Point, the Northern Waterfront, and other strategic areas each have different property types, infrastructure, ownership patterns, tenant profiles, access conditions, and investment opportunities.
A Citywide plan therefore needs both a consistent strategic framework and place- and audience-specific recommendations.
Key Opportunities
The Strategic Plan provides an opportunity to build on Alameda’s distinctive economic assets while sharpening its competitive position, industry priorities, partnerships, and approach to economic development marketing. Key opportunities include:
• Develop a differentiated, evidence-based value proposition. Alameda Municipal Power, waterfront and maritime assets, established employment districts, multimodal transportation choices, quality of life, and proximity to regional markets can become stronger components of the City’s competitive positioning. The Plan should identify which advantages matter most to different industries and business audiences, support each claim with credible data and examples, and acknowledge where access, site readiness, infrastructure, or development costs may temper the message.
• Refine broad sector categories into actionable targets. The six sectors identified in the 2018 plan provide a valuable starting point, but categories such as life sciences, clean technology, high technology, blue technology, and advanced manufacturing encompass businesses with substantially different site, workforce, infrastructure, and regulatory requirements. Employment, establishment, specialization, growth, investment, workforce, real estate, and stakeholder evidence should be used to identify the subsectors in which the City has the strongest combination of existing assets, market opportunity, and ability to compete. • Build sector strategies around Alameda’s existing business base. Existing employers, entrepreneurs, research activities, supply-chain relationships, specialized facilities, and industry networks can provide a foundation for future growth. The Strategic Plan should identify opportunities to retain and expand established companies, support local business-to-business connections, address common operating barriers, and use successful Alameda businesses as credible ambassadors to prospective employers and investors. This will also help determine where retention and expansion should take priority over external attraction. • Align target industries with available and developable real estate. The City’s employment areas serve different market functions and should not be promoted through a single citywide real-estate narrative. The Plan can connect target sectors and business types with the particular characteristics of Alameda Point, Harbor Bay, Marina Village, the Northern Waterfront, Downtown, West Alameda, and other commercial areas. This should include identifying market-ready opportunities, properties requiring additional investment or coordination, and longerterm sites whose potential depends on infrastructure, entitlement, resilience, or financing actions. • Strengthen cross departmental economic development delivery. Economic development outcomes are shaped by Planning, Building, Public Works, Finance, Police and Fire, Alameda Municipal Power, and other City functions.
The Plan offers an opportunity to establish clearer roles, referral and escalation protocols, coordinated responses to significant projects, and shared performance expectations. A more intentional service-delivery framework can improve business experience while ensuring that external marketing is consistent with what the City can operationally provide.
• Mobilize external partners around clearly defined roles. Workforce organizations, business associations, educational institutions, property owners, developers, brokers, industry groups, utilities, and regional initiatives can expand the City’s reach and implementation capacity. The Plan should move beyond general calls for CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 10 collaboration by identifying the specific contribution expected from each partner, the mechanism for coordination, and the outcomes the partnership is intended to produce. • Connect workforce development to employer demand. Rather than positioning workforce development as a broad stand-alone objective, the Plan can define the City’s appropriate convening and partnership role. Employer interviews and sector analysis should identify recurring occupational, recruitment, training, and retention needs and connect those needs with education, workforce, labor, and transportation partners. This will help focus limited City involvement on gaps where convening, information sharing, advocacy, or partnership development can have the greatest effect.
• Create a more intentional small-business and entrepreneurship platform. Alameda’s commercial districts, locally owned businesses, arts community, small manufacturers, and emerging companies provide opportunities to support entrepreneurship as both an economic-development and place-building strategy. Recommendations could connect technical assistance, access to capital, permitting navigation, commercial-space needs, procurement opportunities, business-to-business networks, and succession planning into a more coherent support system.
• Translate Alameda’s economic story into audience-specific positioning and outreach. The marketing framework should distinguish among the needs of existing businesses, entrepreneurs, targeted employers, brokers, site selectors, developers, investors, and regional partners. For each audience, it should define the desired perception, supporting proof points, priority messages, appropriate channels, calls to action, and measures of engagement.
This approach will be more effective than relying on a general destination message or presenting the same information to every audience.
• Establish a practical approach to using and maintaining data. The Strategic Plan should identify a limited set of information that City staff can realistically maintain, such as priority-sector activity, major business engagements, available properties, development inquiries, and a small number of performance measures. Simple tracking tools, clear update responsibilities, and an annual review can help staff monitor progress, communicate results, and adjust priorities without creating an overly burdensome new reporting system.
Together, these opportunities position the Strategic Plan as more than a policy document: it can become a practical framework for focusing limited resources, coordinating City and partner actions, strengthening Alameda’s business experience, and communicating a credible case for investment.
Key Challenges to Address
At the same time, the Strategic Plan must address the practical constraints that will influence the City’s ability to compete for investment and successfully implement its economic development priorities. • Limited implementation capacity will require disciplined prioritization. The Economic Development Division’s staff members currently have full workloads, while many economic-development outcomes depend on functions performed by other City departments and external partners. The Plan must establish a manageable sequence of priorities, distinguish near-term actions from longer-term opportunities, identify activities that can be delivered within existing resources, and present realistic alternatives for initiatives requiring additional funding or capacity. Each priority should have a clear lead, supporting partners, resource requirements, dependencies, timing, and measurable outcome. • Economic development is a cross departmental service delivery function. Business retention, expansion, attraction, and development are influenced by planning, building, public works, transportation, utilities, public safety, and other City functions. The Plan must clarify the role of Economic Development in coordinating these functions without assigning it responsibility for matters outside its authority or capacity. Recommendations should establish a practical “who does what” framework, including interdepartmental coordination, and service standards for projects that cross departmental lines.
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Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 11 • Alameda’s island geography creates both a market identity and an access challenge. The City’s waterfront setting, proximity to San Francisco and Oakland, ferry service, bicycle network, and access to Oakland International Airport are meaningful competitive assets. At the same time, dependence on bridges, tunnels, ferries, and connecting transit can affect employee commuting, customer and visitor access, freight movement, emergency resilience, and perceptions among employers, brokers, and investors. The analysis should distinguish measurable conditions from perceived barriers and identify where transportation partnerships, employer programs, information, or targeted infrastructure improvements could expand competitiveness.
• Market conditions differ substantially by property type and subarea. Vacancy, asking rents, absorption, tenant demand, building condition, infrastructure readiness, ownership structure, and development feasibility are unlikely to be uniform across Downtown, West Alameda, Harbor Bay, Marina Village, Alameda Point, and other commercial areas. Conditions will also differ among retail, office, industrial, laboratory, research and development, and flexible production space. Citywide averages could conceal the specific opportunities and barriers affecting individual submarkets. Quantitative findings should be partnered with qualitative data from interviews with property owners, brokers, developers, employers, and prospective users. • Available space is not necessarily market-ready space. The inventory should examine more than vacancies and rents. It should consider whether available properties meet contemporary user requirements, including configuration, condition, loading and access, utility capacity, entitlement status, environmental constraints, tenant improvement needs, and timing. This will help the City distinguish between a marketing challenge, a product readiness challenge, and a broader feasibility or infrastructure challenge. • Infrastructure, resilience, and funding conditions may constrain attractive opportunities. This is particularly important at Alameda Point, where infrastructure investments are generally expected to be supported by revenues from property leasing or disposition, as well as in shoreline areas exposed to sea level rise risks. The Plan should identify where infrastructure capacity, adaptation requirements, site preparation costs, or financing arrangements affect competitiveness. Recommendations should separate actions within the City’s immediate control from longer term capital, policy, or partnership needs. • Sector targeting must be selective and grounded in Alameda’s ability to compete. The Plan must reassess the six sectors identified in 2018, determine where retention and expansion should take precedence over external attraction, and identify more focused industry or NAICS opportunities where appropriate. Sector recommendations should consider Alameda’s existing company base, available real estate, workforce access, infrastructure, regional clusters, competitive positioning, and capacity to support a credible business development program. The result should be actionable playbooks within a consolidated Citywide strategy. • Stakeholder expectations will need to be reconciled with market evidence and municipal authority.
Businesses, property owners, developers, brokers, arts organizations, business associations, and City departments may define economic development success differently or identify solutions beyond the City’s control. Engagement should be used to test quantitative findings, identify implementation partners, and surface operational barriers. The EDSP should clearly distinguish City led actions, partnership initiatives, advocacy priorities, and private-sector responsibilities. • Marketing recommendations must be credible and operationally supportable. External positioning should accurately reflect Alameda’s market assets while remaining consistent with the City’s service delivery, regulatory environment, organizational capacity, and desired business experience. The marketing plan should define priority audiences, positioning, messages, proof points, channels, tactics, content requirements, and implementation specifications for a future marketing partner. Recommendations should be supported by evidence and reflect a customer experience the City is prepared to deliver. • The Plan will need a usable performance management structure. The City does not currently have detailed performance measurement information for the prior plan’s individual strategies. The new Plan should establish a practical baseline and a limited set of measures that staff can maintain. Metrics should distinguish CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 12 activities from outcomes, identify reporting responsibility and cadence, and allow priorities to be adjusted as market conditions, resources, and implementation experience change.
TECHNICAL APPROACH AND SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Harris Team understands that the City seeks to develop an Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) to provide a roadmap for the City in determining where to allocate resources and identify priorities over a five-year period in business attraction, retention, and expansion. Our scope is organized into nine coordinated delivery phases below.
Scope alignment. The nine delivery phases implement the four workstreams in the approach previously shared with and approved by the City: (1) Economic Reality Assessment (Phases 1–2); (2) Economic Development Capacity Assessment (Phase 3); (3) Stakeholder Engagement (Phase 4); and (4) Strategic Direction (Phases 5–9). This delivery structure also maps directly to RFP Task Areas A–C and does not expand the approved scope. Harris will serve as prime consultant and integrator; EFA, Urban Scenarios, and Chabin Concepts will work from a common data foundation, participate in cross-team working sessions, review intersecting findings, and contribute to the integrated draft and final deliverables.
Phase 1: Project Management and Initiation
The Harris Team will schedule and host a virtual kickoff meeting to discuss the objectives of the project, discuss potential methodologies, establish communication protocols, exchange information with City staff, and confirm the project schedule.
Harris will prepare an agenda for the kickoff meeting and meeting minutes, an updated schedule, and a data request following the meeting.
Throughout the project, the Team will prepare and maintain the project work plan, stakeholder coordination protocol, interview tracker, and quality-control plan. Harris will coordinate regular project-management meetings with City staff and integrate work products across all team members. The Team will maintain consistent data definitions, geographic assumptions, source documentation, and version control across technical analyses and plan chapters.
Deliverables: Project work plan, schedule, data request, stakeholder engagement plan, monthly invoice summaries.
Meetings: One (1) kickoff meeting, up to four (4) project coordination meetings. Stakeholder meetings are accounted for in Phase 4.
Phase 2: Economic Reality and Competitive Position Assessment The Team will establish a quantitative and qualitative baseline of Alameda’s economy, competitive position, real estate market, business climate, and growth opportunities.
2.1. Current Economic Conditions and Trends
Lead: Dr. Robert Eyler (EFA), with Harris and Urban Scenarios This analysis will establish a data-driven baseline of Alameda’s current economic position, examining the trends and conditions shaping business growth, workforce availability, investment, and competitiveness within the broader Bay Area. Led by Dr. Eyler, the Team will complete the following:
• Analyze employment, establishments, wages, and gross regional product by industry sector. • Evaluate historical economic and demographic trends affecting Alameda.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 13 • Review sales tax and transient occupancy tax trends by available district or subarea and compare results with Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and the broader East Bay. • Analyze housing costs and multifamily rents relative to Alameda and Contra Costa counties. • Identify economic conditions that could affect business retention, attraction, workforce availability, and commercial development.
• Use these data to describe Alameda’s competitive position across the broader Bay Area, including comparisons with Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties and, where relevant, Solano and Marin counties.
• Use City-provided sales tax and TOT data, including HdL data where available; if confidential or district-level data are unavailable, complete the analysis at the highest defensible geographic level using publicly available information.
Deliverable: Summary of current economic conditions and trends.
Meetings: Up to one (1) virtual meeting to discuss economic conditions and trends.
2.2. Policy and Planning Alignment
Lead: Harris & Associates, with coordinated input from EFA, Urban Scenarios, and Chabin Concepts Harris will review the City Council Strategic Plan, General Plan, Economic Development Work Plan, and other relevant City policies to understand the policy framework guiding Alameda’s economic development efforts. This review will evaluate the continued relevance of the six business sectors identified in the prior Economic Development Strategic Plan and assess their alignment with current City priorities and regional initiatives, including California Jobs First and other relevant county and East Bay economic development plans and priorities available during the project.
2.3. Competitive Benchmarking and SWOT Analysis
Lead: Harris, with support from Dr. Robert Eyler (EFA) and Urban Scenarios Led by Harris, the Team will conduct a SWOT analysis of Alameda’s economic and competitive position and benchmark the City against Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and selected peer cities recommended by the Team based on sector fit, economic structure, geography, scale, and data comparability. The assessment will compare Alameda’s development environment, fees, taxes, approval processes, incentives, infrastructure, housing costs, utilities, and overall business climate with regional practices, including a general assessment of water, sewer, and electrical rates to identify potential competitive advantages or disadvantages. The Team will also review existing economic development programs and incentives against relevant regional best practices and identify opportunities to improve development processes, predictability, interdepartmental coordination, and customer service. The SWOT will triangulate quantitative indicators, document review, stakeholder evidence, and broker/developer perspectives so that each finding is traceable to supporting evidence.
Deliverable: SWOT Matrix
Meetings: One virtual meeting to discuss preliminary SWOT Matrix
2.4. Industry and Workforce Analysis
Lead: Harris and Urban Scenarios, with quantitative support from Dr. Robert Eyler (EFA) The Team will evaluate the six business sectors identified in the 2018 Economic Development Strategic Plan to determine whether they remain appropriate growth opportunities under current market conditions and identify more specific industries and NAICS subsectors where Alameda can compete effectively given regional competition and published growth expectations. The analysis will compare Alameda’s industry performance and competitiveness with CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 14 Alameda and Contra Costa counties and identify the fastest growing and most competitive industries using quantitative analysis, specialization measures, published growth projections, recent investment activity, and insights from broker and industry interviews. We will also evaluate regional workforce availability, occupational requirements, educational pipelines, skills gaps, and workforce-development partnerships; distinguish sectors best suited for business retention and expansion, entrepreneurial and small business development, and business attraction; and consider alignment with California Jobs First, catalyst projects, critical services, sustainability initiatives, and other regional economic priorities. A transparent sector screening matrix will combine specialization, employment and establishment trends, wages, occupational and talent requirements, real estate fit, infrastructure needs, recent investment, stakeholder evidence, and alignment with City and regional priorities. The result will be an evidence-based ranking and an individual playbook for each recommended priority sector within the consolidated strategy.
Deliverable: Industry and Workforce Analysis to be included in the draft and final EDSP
2.5. Real Estate and Place-Based Asset Inventory
Lead: Dr. Robert Eyler (EFA) and Urban Scenarios
Dr. Eyler and Urban Scenarios will develop an inventory of available retail, office, industrial, laboratory, research and development, and flex space using the City provided vacancy website and third-party datasets, supplemented by broker interviews and other reliable market sources. The inventory will document asking rents, available and total square footage, vacancy rates, available development sites or land, and relevant development and redevelopment opportunities, organized by the Downtown Alameda Business Association district, West Alameda Business Association district, Harbor Bay, Marina Village/Research Park, Alameda Point, and other strategic areas, including the Northern Waterfront where appropriate. The Team will map major real estate assets, catalyst projects, infrastructure, and development opportunities and assess the competitive implications of Alameda’s location, electrical utility, waterfront, employment districts, transportation access, and proximity to regional markets.
Deliverable: Inventory of available space; map of major real estate assets, catalyst projects, infrastructure, and development opportunities
Meetings: One meeting to discuss inventory and opportunities map
2.6. Business Climate, Image, and Perceptions
Lead: Harris and Urban Scenarios
We will assess the City’s regulatory and development environment and examine perceptions of Alameda among businesses, property owners, developers, brokers, and community stakeholders. This assessment will also evaluate Alameda’s current economic development identity, external image, and level of market awareness, culminating in a summary of the principal economic challenges and opportunities that should inform the Strategic Plan.
Deliverable: Economic Reality, Market, Real Estate, Industry, and Competitive Position Assessment, including the SWOT analysis, supporting data/mapping to be included in the Draft and Final EDSP. This will also include a StoryMap platform with an inventory of available properties within the subareas across retail, office, industrial, R&D and flex space. The StoryMap will include property listings, opportunity sites, a summary of relevant capital projects and links to any relevant documents or studies.
Phase 3: Economic Development Capacity Assessment
Lead: Harris & Associates, with coordinated input from EFA, Urban Scenarios, and Chabin Concepts The Team will assess the City’s organizational capacity to implement an effective economic development program.
The capacity findings will directly shape recommendations in Phase 5 so the final strategy is ambitious but executable.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 15
3.1. Review of Existing Program
Consistent with the addendum, the Team will use the implementation summary in the RFP as the baseline for the 2018 Economic Development Strategic Plan rather than independently reconstructing prior-plan outcomes. We will review the City’s current Economic Development Work Plan, programs, incentives, services, and performance measures and conduct the required current evaluation of the six business sectors and four critical service categories.
The assessment will identify current priorities, catalyst projects, critical services, and staff workload to establish a clear understanding of the City’s existing program and implementation capacity.
Meetings: Up to three meetings with staff to discuss staff capacity, current priorities, catalyst projects, critical services, organization capacity, and staff workload.
3.2. Organizational Capacity Assessment
We will review the City’s current economic development staffing, roles and responsibilities, budget, technology, data resources, and overall implementation capacity. This assessment will evaluate whether existing staffing and resources are aligned with City Council priorities and desired economic development outcomes and identify which activities can be accomplished within existing resources and which may require additional funding, staffing, partnerships, or outside expertise.
Meetings: included in 3.1
3.3. Internal Economic Development Ecosystem Evaluation The Team will assess the City’s internal economic development culture and business service mindset to evaluate interdepartmental coordination, decision making, project support, and accountability. We will recommend ways to foster a consistent, organization-wide and business friendly approach. The Team will document economic development roles performed by Alameda Municipal Power, Planning, Building, Public Works, Finance, Police and Fire, and other relevant City functions.
Meetings: included in 3.1
3.4. External Partners and Service Delivery Assessment
We will assess Alameda’s broader economic development ecosystem to clarify the roles of external partners and identify opportunities to strengthen coordination and service delivery. This assessment will examine the roles of county and regional agencies, trade associations, business organizations, educational institutions, labor organizations, workforce providers, brokers, developers, and other partners; identify service gaps and potential duplication; and recommend a practical “who does what” framework for delivering economic development services.
Deliverable: Economic Development Capacity and Partnership Assessment to be included in draft and final EDSP.
Meetings: Included in Task 3.1
Phase 4: Stakeholder Engagement
Lead: Harris and Urban Scenarios, with participation from EFA and Chabin Concepts The consultant team will develop and execute a stakeholder engagement plan designed to gather practical, candid, and representative input. Engagement will be used to test and refine the quantitative analysis, industry priorities, City role, capacity findings, positioning, and implementation strategies.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 16
4.1. City Leadership and Staff Engagement
We will interview the City Manager and key department leaders to understand organizational culture, mission, priorities, and implementation capacity, and engage the City Council to clarify desired outcomes, strategic priorities, and definitions of success for the Economic Development Strategic Plan. The team will also conduct interviews or workshops with relevant City staff and Alameda Municipal Power to incorporate departmental perspectives and identify opportunities for stronger coordination in advancing the City’s economic development priorities.
Deliverable: Summary to be included in the draft and final EDSP and Engagement Analysis Meetings: Up to five meetings with the City Manager and key department leaders. This will include meetings in Task
5.1. 4.2. Advisory and Focus Groups
• Members of the Mayor’s Economic Development Advisory Panel. • Representatives of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Alameda Business Association, and West Alameda Business Association.
• Alameda Point tenants and business owners.
• Developers and commercial brokers active in Alameda.
• Members of Alameda’s arts and creative community.
• Other business, workforce, education, and community stakeholders identified with the City.
Deliverable: Summary to be included in the draft and final EDSP and Engagement Analysis.
Meetings Up to six (6) stakeholder meetings
4.3. Major Business, Developer, and Property Owner Interviews Led by Urban Scenarios, the Team will conduct one-on-one interviews with selected major commercial owners, employers, and developers in Harbor Bay, Research Park at Marina Village, Alameda Point, the Northern Waterfront, and other strategic commercial districts. Urban Scenarios will coordinate broker and industry interviews with the Phase 2 market and industry analyses to avoid duplication and make each interview serve both fact finding and strategy development.
Deliverable: Summary to be included in the draft and final EDSP and Engagement Analysis.
Meetings: Up to ten (10) major business and property owner interviews.
4.4. Engagement Analysis
After the completion of tasks 4.1 through 4.3, the Team will summarize consistent themes, areas of agreement, divergent perspectives, barriers, and opportunities. We will use stakeholder findings to test and refine the quantitative analysis, industry priorities, City role, and recommended implementation strategies. The Team will document how engagement influenced major strategic choices while protecting sensitive or non-attributable comments where appropriate.
Deliverable: Stakeholder Engagement Plan, meeting materials, interview/focus group documentation, and Stakeholder Outreach Summary.
Phase 5: Strategic Direction and Economic Development Strategic Plan The consultant team will integrate the findings from Phases 1–4 into an actionable Economic Development Strategic Plan. The plan will establish a clear strategic direction, identify the City’s role and priorities, and translate recommendations into an implementation road map with defined responsibilities, resources, timing, and measures.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 17 EFA will validate the quantitative evidence; Urban Scenarios will connect industry, real estate, place, and stakeholder findings; Chabin Concepts will translate the resulting priorities into positioning and marketing recommendations; and Harris will reconcile the components into one strategy, implementation framework, and narrative.
5.1. Vision, Desired Outcomes, and Strategic Direction
Lead: Harris, with Urban Scenarios, Dr. Robert Eyler (EFA), and Chabin Concepts Drawing on the market analysis, organizational capacity assessment, stakeholder input, and City Council priorities, the Team will define the City’s desired economic development outcomes and translate them into a clear vision and actionable strategic framework. The Plan will establish economic development as a coordinated, organization-wide effort involving City departments and external partners. It will also define the City’s appropriate roles, including convener, facilitator, service provider, investor, regulator, partner, and marketer, to support effective implementation and advance shared economic development objectives.
5.2. Business Climate and Competitiveness Strategy
Lead: Harris
Harris will recommend actions to improve the City’s business friendly culture, regulatory environment, project coordination, development review, communication, interdepartmental coordination, and customer service. In addition, Harris will also compare City development processes, including fees, taxes, rates, and incentives, with regional best practices. This data will be used to identify appropriate uses of incentives, data, and performance information in allocating resources and making decisions.
Deliverable: Summary of best practices, recommended actions, recommended incentives.
Meetings: One (1) meeting to discuss recommendations; Staff meetings are covered in Phase 4.1.
5.3. Industry and Economic Growth Strategy
Lead: Harris and Urban Scenarios
The Team will develop strategies for business retention and expansion, targeted attraction of priority sectors and NAICS subsectors, small business and entrepreneur development, and commercial-district and place-based economic development, including catalyst project support. The strategy will also address arts, culture, and creative economy opportunities, sustainable and resilient economic development, and strategic partnerships. For each priority industry or opportunity area, we will define Alameda’s competitive value proposition, the appropriate balance among retention, expansion, and attraction, target businesses or subsectors, key constraints and prerequisites, recommended actions and partnerships, responsible organizations, required resources, performance measures, and implementation timeline. Where supported by available data, the Team will also provide sample economic or fiscal scenarios illustrating the potential effects of selected growth strategies.
Deliverable: Industry and Economic Growth Development Strategies to be included in the draft and final EDSP Meetings: One (1) meeting to discuss recommendations
5.4. Workforce Development Strategy
Lead: Harris, with support from Dr. Robert Eyler (EFA)
• Define the City’s appropriate role in workforce development. • Identify strategies to improve connections between employers, residents, education providers, workforce agencies, trade and professional schools, organized labor, and higher education. • Recommend actions addressing priority sector skills, job training, educational access, and career pathways.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 18 • Clarify the City’s workforce development niche within the broader Bay Area ecosystem and identify where Alameda can add value without duplicating regional services.
Deliverable: Workforce Development Strategy to be included in the draft and final EDSP.
Meetings: Up to two (2) meetings with City staff to discuss the City’s role in workforce development.
Phase 6: Economic Positioning and Marketing Plan
Led by Chabin Concepts, and informed by EFA’s economic evidence, Urban Scenarios’ place and stakeholder findings, and Harris’ policy and implementation analysis, the Team will identify the competitive position Alameda can credibly own for each priority audience and translate that position into a practical marketing playbook.
Chabin Concepts’ three-part marketing approach: define the position, build market presence, and activate targeted attraction.
Task 6.1: Economic Identity, Positioning & Value Proposition Lead: Chabin Concepts
Strong economic development marketing begins with the audiences the City seeks to influence. Office users, commercial businesses, industrial/R&D companies, developers and investors, and priority industries are not necessarily motivated by the same assets or opportunities.
Chabin Concepts will translate the findings and priorities of the Economic Development Strategic Plan into a shared economic identity for the City, supported by audience- and place-specific positioning and value propositions. This work establishes the foundation for all subsequent marketing and helps ensure Alameda’s messages are differentiated, credible, and aligned with the City’s economic goals and ability to deliver. • Define the overarching economic development identity and position Alameda seeks to establish. • Identify priority audiences based on the City’s economic development goals, market opportunities, priority industries, and investment objectives.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 19 • Develop audience specific value propositions, as appropriate, for office, commercial, industrial/R&D, development and place based opportunities, and targeted industries. • Identify the competitive advantages, proof points, and messages supporting each value proposition. • Ensure that external economic development positioning and messaging are aligned with the City’s internal service delivery, organizational capacity, and desired business experience so Alameda’s value proposition is both credible and deliverable.
Deliverable: Economic Identity, Positioning & Value Proposition Framework.
Task 6.2: Awareness & Storytelling Strategy
Lead: Chabin Concepts
Once Alameda’s identity, positioning, and value propositions are established, the next step is to build recognition and understanding of that economic story. Awareness is distinct from direct attraction: it creates familiarity, credibility, and a stronger sense of Alameda as a place for business and investment. Chabin Concepts will develop a practical framework to guide how the City and its partners consistently communicate Alameda’s assets, places, opportunities, investment activity, and successes across appropriate channels and audiences—building the visibility that supports more targeted attraction efforts over time.
• Identify priority audiences and key messages.
• Define economic development stories, proof points, and success themes. • Recommend communications channels and approaches for building awareness. • Identify opportunities for business and investment success stories, public relations, earned media, website and digital communications.
• Identify opportunities to coordinate messaging with City departments and economic development partners.
Deliverable: Awareness & Storytelling Framework.
Task 6.3: Targeted Attraction & Marketing Strategy
Lead: Chabin Concepts
Attraction turns Alameda’s positioning into focused market action. Rather than market broadly to everyone, Chabin Concepts will use the priority industries, investment opportunities, places, and audiences identified through the Economic Development Strategic Plan to guide targeted outreach to those most relevant to the City’s goals. The resulting strategy will serve as a practical guide for who to reach, what to communicate, and how to engage businesses, investors, developers, brokers, site selectors, and other priority audiences, allowing limited marketing resources to be focused on where they can have the greatest impact. • Identify priority attraction audiences.
• Apply audience specific messaging and value propositions to targeted outreach. • Recommend marketing and outreach approaches for priority industries and investment opportunities. • Identify broker, developer, investor, industry, and site selector engagement opportunities. • Recommend priority marketing tools and collateral needed to support attraction efforts. • Identify roles, resources, implementation priorities, schedules, and performance measures.
Deliverable: Targeted Attraction & Marketing Action Framework.
Meetings: One (1) meeting to discuss recommendations for Tasks 6.1 through 6.3.
Scope Clarification / Optional Creative Services
Consistent with the City’s RFP clarification, the Economic Development Marketing Plan will provide a strategic framework identifying target audiences, positioning, messaging, tactics, recommended marketing tools, and implementation priorities. The Plan will provide sufficient direction and specifications to guide subsequent CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 20 implementation by the City and/or a marketing firm. Production of final creative assets—including graphic identity systems, finished campaigns and collateral, website design and development, photography/video production, ongoing social media content, media placement, and campaign management—is anticipated to occur through the City’s subsequent marketing implementation effort and is therefore not included in this scope.
Phase 7: Implementation Road Map
Lead: Harris, with task ownership and resource input from Urban Scenarios Harris and Chabin Concepts will develop a practical implementation road map that translates the Strategic Plan into prioritized actions and recommends appropriate modifications to the City’s existing Economic Development Work Plan. The road map will distinguish actions achievable within existing resources from those requiring additional staffing, funding, consultants, technology, or partnerships and will describe the expected costs, benefits, dependencies, and tradeoffs associated with more resource intensive recommendations. The team will assign implementation responsibilities among City departments and external partners, prioritize actions as immediate, nearterm, mid-term, and longer-term, and identify critical sequencing considerations and implementation risks.
Deliverable: Road Map to be included in the draft and final EDSP.
Phase 8: Performance Measurement and Reports
Lead: Harris, with task ownership and resource input from Chabin Concepts, EFA, and Urban Scenarios Harris and Chabin Concepts will establish economic development performance metrics, data sources, baselines, and reporting responsibilities, including an appropriate monitoring cadence for each measure, such as quarterly, annual, biennial, or five-year review. The performance framework will address business retention and expansion, business formation and entrepreneurship, employment and wage growth, industry diversification, commercial vacancy and absorption, investment and development activity, sales tax and TOT performance, workforce outcomes, program delivery and customer service, marketing reach and engagement, and partnership effectiveness. The team will also recommend a practical format for communicating results to the City Council, businesses, partners, and the community, as well as the appropriate frequency and process for future updates to the Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Deliverables: Draft and final Economic Development Strategic Plan in editable Word and accessible PDF formats; standalone Economic Development Marketing Plan; implementation roadmap and performance measurement framework; stakeholder outreach summary; market/competitive assessment; advisory group presentation materials; and a final City Council presentation deck.
Meetings: Up to one (1) City Council meeting.
Phase 9: Public Review and Adoption Support
Lead: Harris & Associates, with coordinated input from EFA, Urban Scenarios, and Chabin Concepts Harris will support the City through public review and adoption of the Economic Development Strategic Plan, including preparation of clear, concise presentation materials that communicate key findings, strategic priorities, implementation recommendations, and performance measures. The Team will participate in City Council meetings as directed, present the draft and final Plan, respond to questions, document Council feedback and direction, and incorporate appropriate revisions into the final Strategic Plan and implementation materials.
Deliverables: Draft and final Economic Development Strategic Plan in editable Word and accessible PDF formats; standalone Economic Development Marketing Plan; implementation roadmap and performance measurement CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 21 framework; stakeholder outreach summary; market/competitive assessment; advisory group presentation materials; and a final City Council presentation deck.
Meetings: Up to two (2) City Council meetings.
PROJECT SCHEDULE
Our proposed schedule is structured to maintain momentum while allowing sufficient time for data collection and analysis, meaningful stakeholder engagement, City review, and refinement of key findings and recommendations. The nine delivery phases are intentionally coordinated and, where appropriate, will overlap so that economic, industry, workforce, real estate, capacity, and stakeholder findings can inform one another rather than proceed as separate efforts. Harris will manage the overall schedule and a single integrated production calendar for EFA, Urban Scenarios, and Chabin Concepts, with cross team working sessions before each major deliverable and will coordinate closely with the City to identify decisions and data needs early, maintain regular communication, and keep deliverables moving through review. The schedule below identifies the anticipated timing of major tasks, meetings, review periods, and deliverables and may be refined at project kickoff in coordination with City staff. Each City review period will be two weeks unless the City directs otherwise.
The Team will provide the Evaluation of Current Conditions and Trends and Strategic Plan background material for the January 2027 City Council Strategic Planning workshop and will target final delivery in June 2027, consistent with the addendum’s spring/summer 2027 expectation.
The proposed schedule is on the following page.
5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 1 8 15 22 1 8 15 22 29 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28 P 1 Phase 1: Project Management and Initiation Harris
T 1.1 Kickoff Meeting and Project Management Harris Oct 26, 2026 Jun 30, 2027 M M1 Virtual kickoff meeting Harris / City M
M M2 Project coordination meetings (up to 4) Harris / City M M M M D D1 Work plan, schedule, data request, stakeholder engagement plan Harris D P 2 Phase 2: Economic Reality and Competitive Position
Assessment
Integrated Team
T 2.1 Current Economic Conditions and Trends Analysis EFA / Harris Oct 26, 2026 Dec 4, 2026 D D2a
Evaluation of Current Conditions & Trends + Background Data sections (workshop package)
Integrated Team D
T 2.2 Policy and Planning Alignment Review Harris Nov 2, 2026 Dec 4, 2026 T 2.3 Competitive Benchmarking and SWOT Analysis Harris / EFA / Urban Nov 23, 2026 Jan 15, 2027 M M4 Preliminary SWOT Matrix review Harris / City M
T 2.4 Industry and Workforce Analysis Harris / Urban / EFA Dec 1, 2026 Jan 29, 2027 T 2.5 Real Estate and Place-Based Asset Inventory EFA / Urban Dec 1, 2026 Feb 12, 2027 M M5 Inventory and opportunities map review EFA / Urban / City M T 2.6 Business Climate, Image and Perceptions Assessment Harris / Urban Jan 4, 2027 Feb 12, 2027 D D2 Economic Reality / Competitive Position Assessment + StoryMap Integrated Team D R R1
City review: Evaluation of Current Conditions & Trends + Background Data (2 weeks)
City Dec 7, 2026 Dec 18, 2026 R R
M M6 January 2027 City Council Strategic Planning Workshop (date TBD) Harris / City Council M P 3 Phase 3: Economic Development Capacity Assessment Harris T 3.1 Review of Existing Economic Development Programs Harris Dec 7, 2026 Jan 15, 2027 T 3.2 Organizational Capacity Assessment Harris Jan 4, 2027 Feb 5, 2027 T 3.3 Internal Economic Development Ecosystem Evaluation Harris Jan 18, 2027 Feb 26, 2027 T 3.4 External Partner and Service Delivery Assessment Harris Feb 1, 2027 Mar 12, 2027 M M7 Staff capacity / priorities / workload sessions (up to 3) Harris / City M M M D D3 Economic Development Capacity and Partnership Assessment Harris D P 4 Phase 4: Stakeholder Engagement Harris / Urban
T 4.1 City Leadership and Staff Engagement Harris Dec 7, 2026 Jan 29, 2027 T 4.2 Advisory Panel and Focus Groups Harris / Urban Jan 4, 2027 Feb 26, 2027 T 4.3 Major Business, Developer and Property Owner Interviews Urban / Harris Jan 4, 2027 Feb 26, 2027 T 4.4 Stakeholder Engagement Analysis Harris / Urban Feb 15, 2027 Mar 19, 2027 M M8 City leadership and department meetings (up to 5) Harris / City M M M M M M M9 Advisory / focus group meetings (up to 6) Harris / Urban M M M M M M M M10 Business / property owner interviews (up to 10) Urban / Harris M M M M M M M D D4 Stakeholder Outreach Summary and engagement documentation Harris / Urban D P 5 Phase 5: Strategic Direction and Economic Development Strategic Plan
Integrated Team
T 5.1 Vision, Desired Outcomes and Strategic Direction Harris / Team Jan 18, 2027 Mar 5, 2027 T 5.2 Business Climate and Competitiveness Strategy Harris Feb 1, 2027 Mar 26, 2027 T 5.3 Industry and Economic Growth Strategy Harris / Urban Mar 1, 2027 Apr 16, 2027 T 5.4 Workforce Development Strategy Harris / EFA Mar 8, 2027 Apr 23, 2027 M M11 Strategy recommendation sessions (up to 4) Harris / City M M M M D D5 Strategic direction, business climate, industry and workforce strategies Harris / Team D P 6 Phase 6: Economic Positioning and Marketing Plan Chabin T 6.1 Economic Identity, Positioning and Value Proposition Chabin Feb 15, 2027 Mar 26, 2027 T 6.2 Awareness and Storytelling Strategy Chabin Mar 8, 2027 Apr 16, 2027 T 6.3 Targeted Attraction and Marketing Strategy Chabin Mar 22, 2027 May 7, 2027 T 6.4 Economic Development Marketing Plan Chabin / Harris Apr 5, 2027 May 14, 2027 M M12 Marketing recommendations meeting Chabin / City M D D6 Standalone Economic Development Marketing Plan Chabin D P 7 Phase 7: Implementation Road Map Harris / Team
T 7.1 Implementation Road Map and resource alternatives Harris / Team Apr 5, 2027 May 14, 2027 D D7 Implementation Road Map Harris D
P 8 Phase 8: Performance Measurement and Reports Harris / Team T 8.1 Performance Framework, Integrated Draft and Final EDSP Harris / Team May 3, 2027 Jun 25, 2027 D D8
Integrated Draft EDSP, performance framework, and supporting components
Harris D
R R2 City review of integrated draft City (2 weeks) May 17, 2027 May 28, 2027 R R D D9 Revised Draft EDSP for public review Harris D
D D10 Final EDSP, accessible PDF and presentation deck Harris D P 9 Phase 9: Public Review and Adoption Support Harris / Team T 9.1 Public Review and Adoption Support Harris / Team Jun 7, 2027 Jun 30, 2027 M M13 City Council presentations / adoption support (up to 2) Harris / City Council M M D D11 Final revisions and adoption package Harris D
April May June
LEGEND T - Task / work period M - Meeting D - DeliverableR - City reviewDates are planning assumptions and will be confirmed at kickoff; City review periods are two weeks unless otherwise directed.
October November December January February March
CITY OF ALAMEDA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Integrated Work Plan | October 2026 - June 2027 | RFP-aligned two-week City review periods Type ID Activity / Meeting / Deliverable Lead Start Finish 2026 2027
PROJECT TEAM
Organizational Chart
The project team will operate as one integrated unit led by Harris. Lynn Kelly will be the Project Manager and the City’s primary point of contact, coordinating work products, meetings, decisions, and all three subconsultants. Megan Quinn will provide executive oversight and strategic direction, and Alison Bouley, PE, will provide independent QA/QC.
The three subconsultants, EFA, Urban Scenarios, and Chabin Concepts, will participate in recurring coordination meetings, use version-controlled source files, and review the portions of each deliverable that depend on their work before Harris completes final QA/QC. Other Harris Municipal + District Finance staff will support the project as needed.
Key Harris Personnel
Megan Quinn, Project Director. Megan is a Senior Director on Harris’ Municipal + District Finance Team with more than 20 years of experience in public finance, real estate economics, land use planning, fiscal impact analysis, financial feasibility, economic and market analysis, and development related funding strategies. She will provide executive oversight and ensure the work remains aligned with Alameda’s policy objectives.
Alison Bouley, PE, QA/QC and Technical Advisor. Alison leads Harris’ Municipal + District Finance Team and has 25 years of experience managing infrastructure programming, public finance, development impact fees, fiscal analysis, and implementation programs. She will independently review major assumptions, methodologies, findings, recommendations, and deliverables.
Lynn Kelly, Project Manager. Lynn is a Senior Project Manager with more than 20 years of public-sector, government relations, and municipal consulting experience. She has managed fiscal impact, financial feasibility, land use, affordable housing, economic development, and strategic planning assignments and has worked with more than 70 California cities. She will serve as day-to-day point of contact and manage the integrated team.
Dima Galkin, Senior Technical Advisor. Dima has more than 13 years of experience providing economic, fiscal, and financial consulting services to cities, regional agencies, and private clients. His expertise includes economic and fiscal impact analysis, real estate market studies, pro forma and feasibility analysis, redevelopment and economic development strategy, and policy analysis.
Project Director
Megan Quinn
Sr. Technical
Advisor
Dima Galkin
Marketing Lead
Audrey Taylor, Chabin
Stakeholder Outreach
Thatch Moyle, Urban
Scenarios
Lead Economist
Dr. Robert Eyler
Lead Analyst
Zaire Marin
QA/QC
Alison Bouley, PE
Project Manager
Lynn Kelly
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 24 Zaire Marin, Lead Analyst. Zaire brings more than five years of economic, fiscal, and financial consulting experience, including fiscal impact analysis, real estate economics, financial feasibility, revenue modeling, housing and redevelopment finance, and municipal funding. He will support current conditions analysis, benchmarking, data workbooks, sector analysis, and performance metrics.
Sub-consultants
Audrey Taylor, Marketing and Storytelling Lead, Principal of Chabin Concepts. Since 1989, Audrey has led Chabin Concepts, a full-service economic development firm. Chabin has completed over 400 projects for roughly 200 clients in 25 states. These projects ranged from comprehensive marketing campaigns to location assessment and mentoring.
Not only has she assisted communities, regions, and states with strategic planning, she has successfully prepared over $89.6 million in grant applications for clients and private companies for strategic initiatives. Her portfolio is diverse and includes working directly with companies to access incentives as well as assisting communities with roadmaps that attract business investment and create jobs. Audrey’s expertise has been recognized with awards and honors, including a lifetime achievement award from CALED and California Governors' appointments to several state organizations, including the California Workforce Investment Board. She was recognized twice as “Woman of the Year” by the California State Assembly.
Robert Eyler, PhD, Lead Economist/Data Analyst. Dr. Eyler is President of Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. (EFA) and Professor of Economics at Sonoma State University. He specializes in public-policy analysis, economic development strategic planning, economic impact analysis, regional economic and demographic forecasting, industry and occupational cluster analysis, workforce development, and key performance indicators. He will lead the project’s quantitative economic analysis and support real estate, industry, workforce, and performance measure work.
Thatch Moyle, Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Principal of Urban Scenarios. Thatch Moyle is an Urban Planner and Project Manager with 25 years of experience in economic development, master planning, data visualization, GIS analysis and scenario modeling. His background in land use planning, economic development and project management is supported by a vision for collaborative input to achieve implementable actions and project consensus. Thatch’s project experience includes both public and private economic development plans, StoryMap platforms, master plans for districts and regions, office parks, industrial sites, retail centers, municipal facilities, and single-family and multifamily residential developments.
RELATED PROJECT EXPERIENCE
The following projects exhibit related project experience for the Team. References are found in the following section.
City of Fairfield 2021–2025 Economic Development Strategic Plan Client: City of Fairfield | Date: 2020–2021 | Lead Consultant: Chabin Concepts | Team Member: Urban Scenarios. The consulting team prepared an action oriented five-year economic development roadmap addressing the Heart of Fairfield, business and industrial parks, and marketing and business attraction. The work included extensive engagement with City departments, businesses, brokers, property owners, workforce and education partners, and community stakeholders; technical working papers; real estate inventories; industry and workforce analysis; perceptions and marketing analysis; measurable outcomes; tactical actions; milestone dates; and implementation budget ranges. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda with a comparable five-year EDSP, integrated Chabin/Urban Scenarios team experience, place- and industry-based strategy, broker and stakeholder engagement, business retention and attraction, marketing framework, measurable outcomes, and implementation planning.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 25 City of Vallejo Economic Development Strategic Plan
Client: City of Vallejo | Date: 2022–2024 | Lead Economist/Consultant: EFA | Strategic Partner: Chabin Concepts. EFA led economic and quantitative work and served as liaison with the City’s economic development team, staff, and City Council. The team conducted stakeholder conversations across all six council districts, prepared a data book and key performance indicators covering employment, housing mix and pricing, industrial mix, broadband connectivity, and commercial real-estate vacancy and pricing, and identified peer and aspirant cities for ongoing benchmarking. EFA and Chabin also developed 90- and 180-day road maps to initiate implementation. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda with a comparable Citywide EDSP, regional benchmarking, stakeholder engagement, real estate and economic indicators, KPIs, and near-term implementation planning.
City of Vacaville Economic Development Strategic Plan
Client: City of Vacaville | Date: 2021 | Lead Consultant: Chabin Concepts. | Team Member: Urban Scenarios. Chabin’s team prepared Vacaville’s 2020–2024 Pandemic Recovery Strategy. The City brought the team back to update the plan, with deep analysis in a Market Reality Scan assessing market conditions for the city and for key sectors driving the economy; identifying key issues and pressures in the economy; mapping Place-to-Sector Fit; identifying each economic center; and assessing performance as well as capacity for a new mix of businesses, reuse opportunities and emerging-industry fit. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda because the strategy involves sector development, place development and marketing strategies.
City of Campbell Economic Development Strategic Plan
Client: City of Campbell | Date: 2023 | Lead Consultant: Chabin Concepts. Chabin's team created an actionable economic development strategy aligning with the city’s vision for sustainable growth, enhancement to its business environment, and strengthening its competitive position within the San Jose region. An in-depth analysis of Campbell's economic landscape was conducted in six stages: 1) stakeholder engagement, 2) market and economic analysis, 3) strategic framework, 4) marketing to different target audiences, 5) implementation planning, 6) tool development.
Tangible outcomes included a GIS-based portfolio showcasing the city's economic centers, implementation of a brokers' network, resolution of zoning and permitting issues, and a cooperative effort toward developing a visitor market. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda because it provided an in-depth analysis of the economic landscape of the City and provided concrete implementation planning examples.
City of Fresno Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Client: City of Fresno | Date: 2024 | Lead Economist: EFA | Lead Consultant: Chabin Concepts. EFA prepared a data book and key performance indicators to support implementation of the City’s CEDS, analyzed Fresno’s economy within the county and broader region, identified industry and occupational clusters that revealed competitive strengths and gaps, and assessed demographic forecasts and their implications for economic and workforce development. Relevance to Alameda: economic and workforce analysis, industry cluster targeting, demographic forecasting, KPI development, regional competitiveness, and integration of quantitative findings into a broader strategic plan. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda because it uses quantitative data and demographic forecasts to develop a comprehensive strategy for the City of Fresno.
City of Benicia Community Benefit Program Economic Analysis Client: City of Benicia | Date: 2021 | Lead Consultant: Harris & Associates. The City of Benicia applied for Senate Bill 2 (SB2) Planning Grant funding from the State of California to support planning activities that could accelerate the production of housing in the City. The City used its SB2 Planning Grant funds to conduct the Eastern Gateway Study, which was a focused planning effort led by the City and intended to accommodate new housing and to streamline housing development in two key areas. Harris developed an economic and fiscal analysis that analyzed the economic and fiscal feasibility of development projects based on the incentive tiers in the Eastern Gateway study area. Harris CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 26 also conducted a proforma analysis to determine the residual land value of the projects within these areas. The analysis looked at mixed-use and mixed income projects in both areas. In January of 2022, the Benicia City Council adopted new policy and regulations for Mixed-Use development. These regulations include two new mixed-use districts, called Mixed-Use Infill and Mixed Use Limited, as well as a new community benefits program based on the analysis performed by Harris. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda because it demonstrates the breadth of economic and fiscal analysis Harris can provide to the City of Alameda.
City of Manteca Fiscal Impact Analysis Peer Review and Development Impact Fee Updates Client: City of Manteca | Date: 2024–2026 | Lead Consultant: Harris & Associates. Harris has supported the City of Manteca with development impact fee updates and fiscal analysis, including updates to the Government Buildings Facilities Fee (GBFF) and Parks Development Impact Fees. The GBFF was updated to reflect the City’s General Plan, infrastructure costs, growth assumptions, and AB 602 requirements and was adopted in 2024 and again in 2026. Harris also prepared the Parks Nexus Study, calculated fees, supported ordinance and agenda materials, and facilitated meetings with the development community, BIA, Planning Commission, and City Council.
Harris has also completed multiple independent peer reviews of applicant prepared fiscal impact analyses for proposed developments in Manteca. These reviews evaluate development assumptions, assessed values, General Fund revenues, municipal service costs, and net fiscal impacts, providing City staff with objective findings and practical recommendations to support development review, negotiations, and informed decision making. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda because it demonstrates Harris’s strong financial and fiscal analysis abilities and understanding of municipal operations.
City of Chula Vista Public Facilities Financing Plan and Fiscal Impact Analysis Peer Review Client: City of Chula Vista | Date: 2024–2026 | Lead Consultant: Harris & Associates. Harris provided an independent peer review of the project’s Fiscal Impact Analysis, Public Facilities Financing Plan, and the City’s fiscal model. The team evaluated key assumptions, development projections, revenues and expenditures, infrastructure costs, financing strategies, and project phasing for consistency with City policies, local conditions, and industry standards. Harris summarized its findings and recommendations in a peer review memorandum, identifying needed refinements and providing the City with an objective assessment to support decisions regarding the proposed development and its fiscal and infrastructure financing strategy. This experience is directly relevant to Alameda because it demonstrates Harris’ comprehensive knowledge of infrastructure and how it can be a tool for economic development.
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 27
REFERENCES
CITY OF FAIRFIELD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN (2021) Consultants: Chabin Concepts and Urban Scenarios
Jorge Barrera, Senior Economic Development Project Manager 1000 Webster Street, Fairfield, CA 94533
707.428.2594
[email protected]
CITY OF VACAVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (2021)
Consultant: Chabin Concepts and Urban Scenarios
Erin Morris, Community and Economic Development Director 650 Merchant Street
707.430.1820
[email protected]
CITY OF MANTECA DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEE UPDATES AND FISCAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PEER REVIEW (2024 – 2026)
Consultant: Harris & Associates
Brad Wungluck, Director of Development Services
1215 W. Center St. Suite 201, Manteca, CA 95337
209.456.8562
[email protected]
CITY OF CHULA VISTA PUBLIC FACILITIES FINANCING PLAN AND FISCAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PEER REVIEW (2026)
Consultant: Harris & Associates
Rebecca Bridgeford, Deputy Director of Development Services 276 Fourth Avenue, Building B, Chula Vista, CA 91910
619.769.2488
[email protected]
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO ONGOING ECONOMIC ANALYSIS SUPPORT (2007 – 2026) Consultant: EFA
Courtney A. Farrell, Assistant Director
North State Planning and Development Collective
California State University, Chico
530-570-5342
[email protected]
CITY OF VALLEJO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN (2022 – 2024) Consultant: EFA
Michael Nimon, Economic Development Director
City of Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, CA
[email protected]
925-943-5899 ext. 2282
CITY OF ALAMEDA | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 28
COST PROPOSAL
Our proposed fee reflects an integrated team approach designed to efficiently deliver the full scope of services while minimizing duplication across the nine coordinated delivery phases. Harris will manage the overall assignment and coordinate the specialized expertise of Chabin Concepts, Economic Forensics and Analytics (EFA), and Urban Scenarios so that economic and workforce analysis, real estate and market assessment, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and economic positioning are developed as complementary components of a single process. The cost proposal below identifies the anticipated level of effort by task and team member and is structured around the scope and deliverables described in this proposal. Our approach emphasizes senior-level involvement at key decision points while using the most appropriate team resources for data collection, analysis, engagement, and document preparation, allowing us to provide the City with a comprehensive and actionable Economic Development Strategic Plan within the established project budget.
The cost proposal is on the following page.
$335/hr $355/hr $270/hr $240/hr $230/hr $185/hr $165/hr $195/hr $150 $250 Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Phase 1: Project Management and InitiationTask 1.1: Kickoff Meeting and Project Management 6 1 0 22 2 0 2 $0 $8,435 5 $0 $975 10 $0 $1,500 6 $0 $1,500 $12,410 Phase 2: Economic Reality and Competitive Position Assessment Task 2.1: Current Economic Conditions and Trends Analysis 1 0 0 6 0 0 2 $0 $2,105 0 $0 $0 17 $0 $2,550 20 $1,000 $6,000 $10,655Task 2.2: Policy and Planning Alignment Review 4 1 0 10 0 0 16 $0 $6,735 0 $0 $0 12 $0 $1,800 0 $0 $0 $8,535Task 2.3: Competitive Benchmarking and SWOT Analysis 4 2 0 18 0 0 24 $0 $10,330 0 $0 $0 18 $0 $2,700 18 $0 $4,500 $17,530Task 2.4: Industry and Workforce Analysis 2 1 0 4 0 2 20 $0 $5,655 0 $0 $0 12 $0 $1,800 22 $1,000 $6,500 $13,955Task 2.5: Real Estate and Place-Based Asset Inventory 1 1 2 2 0 0 10 $500 $3,861 0 $0 $0 100 $0 $15,000 20 $0 $5,000 $23,861Task 2.6: Business Climate, Image and Perceptions Assessment 2 1 2 6 16 2 0 $0 $7,056 0 $0 $0 18 $0 $2,700 20 $0 $5,000 $14,756Subtotal Phase 2: Phase 2: Economic Reality and Competitive Position Assessment 14 6 4 46 16 4 72 $500 $35,742 0 $0 $0 177 $0 $26,550 100 $2,000 $27,000 $89,292 Phase 3: Economic Development Capacity Assessment
Task 3.1: Review of Existing Economic Development Programs 1 0 0 6 0 0 2 $0 $2,105 0 $0 $0 8 $0 $1,200 0 $0 $0 $3,305Task 3.2: Organizational Capacity Assessment 1 1 0 14 0 0 4 $0 $4,710 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $4,710Task 3.3: Internal Economic Development Ecosystem Evaluation 1 1 0 12 10 0 0 $0 $5,870 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $5,870Task 3.4: External Partner and Service Delivery Assessment 1 1 0 12 5 0 0 $0 $4,720 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $4,720Subtotal Phase 3: Economic Development Capacity Assessment 4 3 0 44 15 0 6 $0 $17,405 0 $0 $0 8 $0 $1,200 0 $0 $0 $18,605 Phase 4: Stakeholder Engagement
Task 4.1: City Leadership and Staff Engagement 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 $1,000 $2,775 0 $0 $0 10 $0 $1,500 0 $0 $0 $4,275Task 4.2: Advisory Committee and Focus Group 1 0 0 6 0 0 4 $0 $2,435 0 $0 $0 14 $3,000 $5,100 0 $0 $0 $7,535Task 4.3: Business, Developer and Property Owner Interviews 1 0 0 4 0 0 4 $0 $1,955 0 $0 $0 14 $0 $2,100 0 $0 $0 $4,055Task 4.4: Stakeholder Engagement Analysis 1 1 1 10 0 0 4 $0 $4,020 0 $0 $0 6 $0 $900 0 $0 $0 $4,920Subtotal Phase 4: Stakeholder Engagement 4 1 1 26 0 0 12 $1,000 $11,185 0 $0 $0 44 $3,000 $9,600 0 $0 $0 $20,785 Phase 5: Strategic Direction and Economic Development Strategic Plan Task 5.1: Vision, Desired Outcomes and Strategic Direction 2 1 0 10 8 0 0 $0 $5,265 0 $0 $0 15 $0 $2,250 0 $0 $0 $7,515Task 5.2: Business Climate and Competitiveness Strategy 2 1 0 8 8 0 0 $0 $4,785 0 $0 $0 15 $0 $2,250 0 $0 $0 $7,035Task 5.3: Industry and Economic Growth Strategy 2 1 0 8 8 0 0 $0 $4,785 0 $0 $0 15 $0 $2,250 0 $0 $0 $7,035Task 5.4: Workforce Development Strategy 2 1 0 10 8 0 0 $0 $5,265 0 $0 $0 15 $0 $2,250 0 $0 $0 $7,515Subtotal Phase 5: Strategic Direction and Economic Development Strategic Plan 8 4 0 36 32 0 0 $0 $20,100 0 $0 $0 60 $0 $9,000 0 $0 $0 $29,100 Phase 6: Economic Positioning and Marketing Plan
Task 6.1: Economic Identity, Positioning and Value Proposition 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 $0 $1,650 10 $0 $1,950 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $3,600Task 6.2: Awareness and Storytelling Strategy 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 $0 $1,650 10 $0 $1,950 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $3,600Task 6.3: Targeted Attraction and Marketing Strategy 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 $0 $1,650 10 $0 $1,950 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $3,600Task 6.4: Economic Development Marketing Plan 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 $0 $1,650 8 $0 $1,560 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $3,210Subtotal Phase 6: Economic Positioning and Marketing Plan 4 4 0 16 0 0 0 $0 $6,600 38 $500 $7,410 0 $0 $0 0 $0 $0 $14,010 Phase 7: Implementation Road Map and Performance Framework 4 2 2 16 2 6 24 $0 $11,961 0 $0 $0 8 $0 $1,200 0 $0 $0 $13,161Phase 8: Draft and Final Economic Development Strategic Plan and Reports 14 8 0 26 4 12 16 $0 $19,550 6 $0 $1,170 10 $0 $1,500 10 $0 $2,500 $24,720 Phase 9: Public Review and Adoption Support 4 2 0 12 0 0 8 $1,000 $7,250 0 $500 $500 8 $1,000 $2,200 5 $1,000 $2,250 $12,200 Subtotal 62 31 7 244 71 22 140 $2,500 $138,228 49 $1,000 $10,055 325 $4,000 $52,750 121 $3,000 $33,250 $234,283Sub Mark-Up (10%) $1,006 $5,275 $3,325 $9,606Total 62 31 7 244 71 22 140 $2,500 $138,228 49 $1,000 $11,061 325 $4,000 $58,025 121 $3,000 $36,575 $243,888 EFA Total Fee
Principal
Chabin Total FeeHarris Fee
Principal
Chabin Direct
Costs
Urban Scenarios
Direct Costs
US Total Fee
Principal
EFA Direct Costs
Total Estimated
Fee
Project
Director
QA/QC/
Senior Review
Project
Manager
Urban Scenarios EFA
Project
Analyst
Harris Direct
Costs
Harris & Associates Labor Chabin
Senior Project
Analyst
Technical
Editor
Technical
Advisor
Billing Rates
The following 2026 hourly rates apply through December 31, 2027:
Hourly rates are subject to an annual increase based on CPI beginning January 1, 2028, and rates are subject to staff promotions during the project period, without increasing the total authorized fee. Harris will invoice monthly based on actual time incurred, up to the authorized not-to-exceed amount. Harris may reallocate budget among tasks as needed without increasing the total authorized fee.
RFP Cost Summary
The table below summarizes the total costs for each of the main sections of the EDSP, as outlined in the RFP. The total not-to-exceed fee will not exceed $250,000.
Required RFP Budget Section Included Delivery Phases Estimated Hours Not-to-Exceed Fee Evaluation of Current Conditions and Trends Phases 1–2 493 $101,702 Stakeholder Engagement Phase 4 88 $20,785
Strategic Plan – Background, Economic
Development Review and Assessment Phases 3 80 $18,605
Strategic Plan – Identification & Specific
Plans Phases 5–6 202 $43,110
Strategic Plan – Final Components Phases 7–9 209 $50,081 TOTAL NOT-TO-EXCEED FEE All phases (including sub
markup) 1,072 $243,888
Harris Position 2027 Billing Rates
Vice President $312 -$364
Senior Directors $312 - $335
Directors $281 - $323
Senior Consultants $286 - $364
Assessment Engineer $229 - $354
Senior Project Managers $229 - $286
Project Managers $198 - $250
Deputy Project Managers $182 - $203
Senior Project Engineers $193 - $250
Project Engineers $156 - $203
Senior Project Analyst $167 - $198
Project Analyst $136 - $177
Technical Support $136 - $185
Administration $104 - $136
Subconsultants 2027 Billing Rates
Chabin Concepts $195
Urban Scenarios $150
EFA $250
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 31
SERVICES AGREEMENT AND CONFLICTS
Insurance
Harris & Associates acknowledges that the City’s insurance requirements are non-negotiable. Harris will provide the required insurance documentation and will require each subconsultant to furnish coverage applicable to its services, or documentation of any legally applicable exemption, before contract execution. Please see the note below on auto insurance.
EFA reports that it maintains general liability, professional liability, and corporate auto coverage. EFA also reports that it does not carry workers’ compensation insurance because it is exempt based on firm size and its use of outside consultants as team partners. Harris will confirm whether this exemption is acceptable under the City’s insurance requirements and will finalize compliance statements for all team members before submission.
Services Agreement / Exceptions
Harris & Associates has reviewed the City’s template Agreement for Professional Services and is prepared to execute and comply with the Agreement, subject only to the revisions identified below. Harris can meet the insurance requirements with the following clarifications and proposed revisions:
• Section 9 – Hold Harmless: Harris’s proposed revisions are reflected below. • Section 10.b.3 – Automobile Liability Insurance: Harris maintains automobile liability coverage with a limit of $1 million, consistent with customary coverage for professional services consultants. Harris respectfully requests confirmation that this limit satisfies the City’s requirements. • Section 15 – Reports: Harris proposes clarifying that the City’s ownership rights apply to final, commissioned deliverables. Harris would retain ownership of its pre-existing materials, methodologies, tools, and intellectual property. The proposed revision would also clarify that Harris is not responsible for the City’s reliance on draft documents or for any unauthorized modification, reuse, or distribution of project deliverables.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 32 Except for the requested revisions identified above, Harris accepts the terms of the City’s Agreement for Professional Service.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The proposed team has no known conflicts of interest that would impair its ability to provide independent and objective services to the City of Alameda. No proposed subconsultant will further subcontract any portion of the work.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 33 APPENDIX A – PROJECT TEAM RESUMES
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 34 Megan Quinn
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Megan is a municipal finance consultant dedicated to equitable growth, strategic planning, and practical funding solutions. As Senior Director of Municipal & District Finance at Harris & Associates, she leads the firm’s development impact fee and cost reimbursement review teams and has extensive expertise in fiscal impact analysis, financial feasibility, and development-related funding strategies. With over two decades of experience, Megan helps cities, counties, and special districts evaluate the fiscal implications of growth, development, and policy decisions. An accomplished project director, Megan leads multifaceted studies from inception through adoption, coordinating teams and stakeholders while translating complex fiscal findings into clear policy considerations and actionable recommendations. Her experience includes fiscal impact models, public facility financing plans, AB 1600 nexus studies, development impact fee due diligence, cost reimbursement reviews, financial feasibility analyses, economic and market analyses, land-secured financing strategies, and annual and five-year AB 1600 reporting.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
City of Manteca, Fiscal Impact Analysis Peer Review for Multiple Projects. Project Director. Megan provided seniorlevel oversight for Harris’ peer review of multiple fiscal impact analyses prepared other consultants. She guided the review of key assumptions and methodologies, revenue and expenditure estimates, local conditions, and consistency with industry best practices. Megan also provided quality assurance and strategic guidance to support the City’s evaluation of the analyses and its fiscal implications.
City of Chula Vista, Village 2 West Fiscal Impact Analysis, Fiscal Model, and Public Facilities Financing Plan Peer Review. Project Director. Megan provided senior-level oversight for Harris’ independent peer review of the Village 2 West Project’s Fiscal Impact Analysis and Public Facilities Financing Plan, as well as the City’s existing Fiscal Model. She guided the evaluation of fiscal assumptions and methodologies, revenue and expenditure projections, public facility costs, funding sources, development phasing, and infrastructure timing and triggers.
City of Foster City, Financial Feasibility Analysis Peer Review, 388 Vintage Park Drive. Project Manager. Megan served as Project Manager for the independent peer review of a financial feasibility analysis evaluating three redevelopment scenarios for 388 Vintage Park Drive. She assessed the development assumptions, costs, parking requirements, project values, yield-on-cost metrics, and developer return thresholds, and provided recommendations to improve the analysis’s accuracy, transparency, and defensibility for City decision-makers.
City of Highland, Citywide Public Safety Services Community Facilities District Fiscal Impact Analysis. Project Director.
Megan provided senior-level oversight for a citywide fiscal impact analysis evaluating whether revenues Megan provided senior-level oversight for a citywide fiscal impact analysis evaluating whether revenues from future residential and nonresidential development would offset the costs of police, fire, paramedic, and animal control services. She guided the land use and service-population assumptions, revenue and expenditure projections, fiscal impact analysis by development type, and evaluation of CFD tax rates and alternative funding strategies to protect long-term General Fund sustainability.
City of Benicia, Community Benefit Program Economic Analysis. Project Manager. Harris developed an economic and fiscal analysis that analyzed the economic and fiscal feasibility of development projects based on the incentive tiers in the Eastern Gateway study area. Harris also conducted a proforma analysis to determine the residual land value of the projects within the designated area. The analysis looked at mixed-use and mixed income projects in the Eastern Gateway and 5th Street study.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 35 Alison Bouley, PE
QA/QC AND TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Alison is the head of our Municipal & District Finance team and has twenty-five (25) years of experience in managing the programming and financing of infrastructure improvements. Financing for these improvements includes Assessment Districts, MelloRoos Community Facilities District bonds, and Development Impact Fees in accordance with AB1600. Alison has been responsible for preparing Development Impact Fee reports, budget and cash flow reports, development agreements, staff reports, and council presentations. Alison has also assisted with verifying and determining eligible reimbursements due to developers for the construction of facilities financed through the bond proceeds. Alison provides key support to city staff in overseeing many large development areas and verifies that funding is available for the infrastructure necessary to serve new development.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
City of Tracy, Citywide Master Plans and AB1600 Fee Studies and Ongoing Program Management. Project Manager/Project Director. Alison has supported the City’s development finance programs for more than 25 years, providing fiscal analysis, fee program development, and ongoing implementation support for the City’s major growth areas. Her work has included preparing and updating numerous Finance and Implementation Plans, establishing the City’s first citywide development impact fees, completing the Core Fee Consolidation, and evaluating infrastructure costs, funding obligations, growth assumptions, and cost allocations among new development, existing development, and other funding sources.
City of Millbrae, Fiscal Analysis, Development Impact Fee Nexus Study, Affordable Housing Fee Study, Commercial Linkage Fee Study, and CFD Formation Support. Project Director. Harris prepared nexus studies to support the City’s development impact fee, affordable housing fee, and commercial linkage fee programs. The work included evaluating projected growth, infrastructure and service needs, capital costs, development characteristics, and appropriate costallocation methodologies. Harris also assessed the relationship between new residential and nonresidential development and the demand for affordable housing. In addition, the team prepared a fiscal analysis to evaluate the revenues, service costs, and funding requirements associated with new development and support the formation of a Community Facilities District.
City and County of San Francisco, Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island Redevelopment Reimbursement Review Services. Principal-in- Charge. Harris’ services include advising on acquisition protocols, determining reimbursable expenses, reviewing reimbursement requests, and recommending developer reimbursement for the improvements to be acquired by the City. Under Alison’s oversight, Harris set up an audit review process to ensure all parties are on the same page throughout this long-term project. This included developing processes and templates for the team to use.
City of Mountain House, Community Facilities Fee Update, Transportation Improvement Fee Update, and Annexation Fee Development. Project Director/Project Manager. Harris supported the City in developing and implementing several interrelated development funding programs, including its annexation fee program, cost certification program, Impact Fee Programs, and other development impact fees. The team evaluated infrastructure costs, growth assumptions, fee allocation methodologies, and funding responsibilities to establish equitable and defensible charges for new development consistent with the Mitigation Fee Act. The team also prepared annexation fee calculations supported the certification of eligible development costs and presented the analyses and recommendations at multiple developer and board meetings.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 36 Lynn Kelly
PROJECT MANAGER
Lynn is a Senior Project Manager on our Municipal + District Finance Team with over twenty (20) years of experience in the public sector, government relations, and municipal consulting fields. Her broad background in both the public and private sectors enables her to perform a wide range of economic, policy, and financial analyses. In her previous roles, Lynn has managed projects related to fiscal impact analyses, financial feasibility studies, land use studies, affordable housing studies, and strategic planning. Lynn has worked with over seventy (70) cities across California, bringing a deep understanding of municipal operations, policy objectives, economic development, and development review processes. She is well-versed in how fiscal impact analyses integrate with project review and entitlement processes, helping communities evaluate the long-term financial implications of new development.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
City of Chula Vista, Village 2 West Fiscal Impact Analysis, Fiscal Model, and Public Facilities Financing Plan Peer Review. Project Manager. Lynn managed Harris’ independent peer review of the Village 2 West Project’s Fiscal Impact Analysis and Public Facilities Financing Plan, as well as the City’s existing Fiscal Model. She guided the evaluation of fiscal assumptions and methodologies, revenue and expenditure projections, public facility costs, funding sources, development phasing, and infrastructure timing and triggers. Lynn also provided guidance to confirm consistency with local conditions, City policies, and industry best practices.
City of Manteca, Fiscal Impact Analysis Peer Review. Project Manager. Lynn worked with the City of Manteca to peer review several FIAs prepared by other consultants. Lynn reviewed assumptions and methodology, revenue and expenditure estimates, and consistency with local conditions and industry best practices. Lynn was the main point of contact for the City.
City of Carlsbad, Economic Development Strategic Plan. Director and Project Manager.* Lynn served as Project Manager and Director for the City of Carlsbad’s five-year Economic Development Strategic Plan, leading a data driven planning and stakeholder engagement process to establish priorities for the City’s economic development program.
The effort integrated market analysis, community and business engagement, and a SWOT assessment to develop actionable strategies focused on supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, workforce and talent development, growth of key industries, and placemaking and engagement.
City of Corona, Economic Development Strategic Plan. Director and Project Manager.* Lynn served as Project Manager and Director for the development of the City of Corona’s five-year Strategic Plan, leading a comprehensive planning and community engagement process to establish Citywide priorities, objectives, implementation strategies, and performance measures. The resulting plan established six strategic goals addressing financial stability, economic development, infrastructure, public safety, sense of place, and high-performing government.
Habitat for Humanity, Advocacy and Innovation Strategic Plan. Director and Project Manager.* Lynn developed a comprehensive Advocacy & Innovation Strategy for Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley focused on affordable housing, strategic government partnerships, stakeholder engagement, education, and communications. She established actionable goals, implementation strategies, and performance metrics to strengthen relationships with local, state, and federal partners and advance affordable homeownership initiatives. *Projects completed prior to joining Harris & Associates
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 37 Dima Galkin
SENIOR TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Dima has more than thirteen (13) years of experience providing economic, fiscal, and financial consulting services to cities, regional agencies, and private-sector clients throughout California. His expertise includes fiscal and economic impact analyses, real estate market studies, financial feasibility and pro forma evaluations, redevelopment and economic development strategies, policy analysis, and special studies supporting complex public agency decisions. Dima has led analyses for General Plan updates, major mixed-use and redevelopment projects, economic development strategies, infrastructure investments, and public policy initiatives. Through this work, he has helped agencies evaluate long-term revenues and expenditures, market conditions, financial feasibility, and community economic impacts. His relevant experience includes preparing the Economic Development Element for the City of Irwindale and contributing to the Economic Development Strategy for the City of Santa Ana.
Gateway Cities Affordable Housing Trust (GCAHT), Financial Analysis and Underwriting. Project Manager. GCAHT engaged Harris to review the financial aspects of affordable housing development proposals under two Notices of Funding Availability. Under Dima’s direction, the Harris team reviewed nine proposals, focusing on developer experience and financial strength, the development pro forma, financial notes and assumptions, and the social services plan. Dima supported the Trust Manager in presenting findings to the Board and provided a strong framework for evaluating affordable housing proposals and related financial analyses.
San Joaquin Council of Governments. Regional Housing Fund Administration. Principal-in-Charge. Harris & Associates provides the SJCOG with ongoing administration of the Regional Housing Fund. One of the primary tasks included evaluation and financial underwriting of an affordable housing development pipeline, including due diligence gathering and review of information from developers seeking financial assistance. Harris’s recommendations of projects to fund will be presented to the Housing Fund Advisory Committee and to the Board of Directors for approval.
Dima oversaw the underwriting guidelines, assisting with preparation of meeting materials for Housing Fund Advisory Committee meetings, advising on management of current funding, and exploration and application for additional funding sources.
City of Del Mar and 22nd Agricultural District. Affordable Housing Development Feasibility Analysis. Task Manager.
Harris & Associates provided the City of Del Mar and the 22nd Agricultural District with a multi-disciplinary evaluation of development feasibility for affordable housing on six sites on and near the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The Community Development and Housing team evaluated the financial feasibility of different prototypes with different densities.
Other teams and subconsultants evaluated utility infrastructure, transportation, and environmental considerations.
Together, the analyses offered a thorough overview of the challenges and opportunities to develop affordable housing on the selected sites.
City of Santa Monica, Affordable Housing Development Evaluation. Project Manager. As part of a multi-year engagement with the City that includes other services (including grant applications), the Harris team reviewed nine proposals submitted in response to the Wilshire Sites RFP and assisted the City in the selection of a development team for the Wilshire Sites. As part of this effort, Harris evaluated the financial pro forma models for each of the proposing development teams and assisted City staff in evaluating the proposals according to the RFP’s scoring criteria. Prior to joining Harris, Dima worked for the City of Santa Monica in 2019 and 2020, providing pro forma review and project management for the City’s Housing Trust Fund loan applications. He was responsible for the review of two loan applications from affordable housing developers, one for acquisition-rehabilitation and one for new construction.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 38 Zaire Marin
LEAD ANALYST
Zaire brings more than five years of experience providing economic, fiscal, and financial consulting services to cities, counties, housing authorities, and special districts throughout California. His expertise includes fiscal and economic impact analyses, financial feasibility and pro forma evaluations, redevelopment and affordable housing finance, revenue modeling, special tax and assessment district formation, municipal bond financing, and real estate acquisition analysis. Zaire has led or supported fiscal impact analyses for development and annexation projects, evaluated mixed-use and inclusionary housing policies, prepared financial feasibility studies for affordable housing developments, and provided underwriting and peer review of development proposals. His experience also includes managing regional housing trust funds, securing grant funding, administering redevelopment obligations, and advising agencies on complex financial and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Harris, Zaire worked for a nationally recognized affordable housing developer, where he evaluated real estate acquisitions and investment opportunities across multiple states, further strengthening his expertise in real estate economics and development finance. As an MSRB-registered Municipal Advisor Representative, Zaire combines strong analytical capabilities with practical municipal finance experience to help public agencies make sound, data-driven economic and fiscal decisions.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
City of Highland, Citywide Public Safety Services Community Facilities District Fiscal Impact Analysis. Project Analyst.
Zaire quantified whether revenues generated by future residential and nonresidential development would be sufficient to offset the City’s costs of providing police, fire, paramedic, and animal control services. He analyzed the development of land use and service-population assumptions, revenue and expenditure projections, and the evaluation of fiscal impacts by development type. Zaire also analyzed potential Community Facilities District special tax rates and alternative funding strategies to address identified service deficits, support public safety facilities, and protect the City’s long-term General Fund sustainability.
City of Hawthorne, Affordable Housing Advisory Services. Deputy Project Manager. Harris guides the City on its use of affordable housing funds to help achieve the City’s objectives most economically. Harris is helping the City to allocate more than $10 million to various housing priorities, work with a non-profit to develop a City-owned site with a permanent supportive housing project for unhoused veterans, administer grant funds, and rehabilitate existing City owned affordable housing developments.
City of Millbrae, Inclusionary Housing Study, and 6th Cycle Housing Element. Deputy Project Manager. Zaire was part of the team that prepared an Inclusionary Housing Study involving a financial feasibility/proforma analysis for specific housing product types. He also assisted in the preparation of the Housing Element, including community engagement and coordination with HCD. The Housing Element was certified in early 2024.
City of Lodi, Fiscal Impact Analysis for Proposed Annexations.* Consultant. Zaire quantified the fiscal impact of three proposed land annexations and accompanying developments to the City’s General Fund. City staff used the analysis to renegotiate its property tax sharing agreement with San Joaquin County to create a more equitable revenue distribution structure to facilitate regional development. The County applied the updated revenue structure to all cities in its jurisdiction.
*Projects completed prior to joining Harris & Associates
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 39 Audrey Taylor | Chabin Concepts
ECONOMIC POSITIONING & MARKETING LEAD
Since 1989, Audrey has led Chabin Concepts, a full-service economic development firm.
Chabin has completed over 400 projects for roughly 200 clients in 25 states. These projects ranged from comprehensive marketing campaigns to location assessment and mentoring.
Not only has she assisted communities, regions, and states with strategic planning, she has successfully prepared over $89.6 million in grant applications for clients and private companies for strategic initiatives. Her portfolio is diverse and includes working directly with companies to access incentives as well as assisting communities with roadmaps that attract business investment and create jobs.
Audrey’s expertise has been recognized with awards and honors, including a lifetime achievement award from CALED and California Governors' appointments to several state organizations, including the California Workforce Investment Board.
She was recognized twice as “Woman of the Year” by the California State Assembly.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
City of Vacaville, Economic Development Strategy (2026-2030). Chabin’s team prepared Vacaville’s 2020–2024 Pandemic Recovery Strategy. The City brought the team back to update the plan, with deep analysis in a Market Reality Scan assessing market conditions for the city and for key sectors driving the economy; identifying key issues and pressures in the economy; mapping Place-to-Sector Fit; identifying each economic center; and assessing performance as well as capacity for a new mix of businesses, reuse opportunities and emerging-industry fit. The strategy involves sector development, place development and marketing strategies.
City of Fairfield, Five-Year Economic Development Strategy (2021). Preparing for expected growth, the city wanted to position itself as a destination on the I-80 corridor between San Francisco and Sacramento. The consulting team conducted over 70 individual interviews, collected data to document the city’s and county’s economic recovery, and hosted multiple webinars to collect input from stakeholders. Nineteen working papers formed the foundation for transformational initiatives covering workforce development, marketing concepts, retail analysis, real estate inventory, and financial feasibility. Three roadmaps laid out strategies, tactics, and recommended collaborators to guide the city's investment in downtown, business parks, and marketing.
City of Campbell, Economic Development Strategy (2023). Chabin's team created an actionable economic development strategy aligning with the city’s vision for sustainable growth, enhancement to its business environment, and strengthening its competitive position within the San Jose region. An in-depth analysis of Campbell's economic landscape was conducted in six stages: 1) stakeholder engagement, 2) market and economic analysis, 3) strategic framework, 4) marketing to different target audiences, 5) implementation planning, 6) tool development. Tangible outcomes included a GIS-based portfolio showcasing the city's economic centers, implementation of a brokers' network, resolution of zoning and permitting issues, and a cooperative effort toward developing a visitor market.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 40 Robert Eyler, PhD | Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. (EFA)
LEAD ECONOMIST / DATA ANALYST
Dr. Robert Eyler is President of Economic Forensics and Analytics, Inc. (EFA). EFA specializes in public policy analysis for firms and governments. Robert is also Professor of Economics at Sonoma State University. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis and a B.A. in Economics at CSU, Chico. EFA provides economic development strategic planning and economic impact analyses for both private firms and public entities to help guide public policy and private firms’ strategic planning. EFA has been a strategic partner on multiple projects with Chabin Concepts, Inc.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
City of Vallejo, Economic Development Strategic Plan, 2022-2024. EFA acted as the lead economist and lead consultant on this project, with Chabin Concepts as a strategic partner. EFA was the liaison with the City of Vallejo economic development team, city staff, and city council members to engage the city as a whole in stakeholder conversations across Vallejo (all six council districts held individual events and some citywide at city hall) about what Vallejo should do to move its city economy to a more competitive level regionally and perhaps globally. EFA provided a data book for Vallejo and key performance indicators for the city economy to track its progress in employment, housing mix and pricing, industrial mix, broadband-connected households, commercial real estate vacancy and pricing, all compared regionally. EFA and Chabin Concepts also identified peer and aspirant cities in California and in other states to monitor and compare city progress. The data allowed EFA to inform the City of Vallejo with a 90 and 180 roadmap to initiate the economic development strategic plan. 3CORE (Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties), Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), 2026. EFA acted as the lead economist and data analyst for this ongoing project as of August 2026, led by Chabin Concepts, Inc.
Data provided for 3CORE (the regional economic development organization) ranged from labor market analyses and forecasts to industrial mix and analysis of how foundation specific industries (agriculture, higher education and healthcare), and how each of the three counties play a role in supporting and extending the economic opportunities our team identified. Chabin Concepts and EFA provided presentations for each county individually and a regional assessment of economic conditions to set the stage for final economic development planning that integrates the region.
City of Fresno, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), 2024. EFA acted as the lead economist on this project, with Chabin Concepts as the lead consultant. EFA provided a data book and key performance indicators for the City of Fresno to consider in tracking progress once the CEDS was in place. A comprehensive analysis of Fresno as a city economy within Fresno County and regionally was generated as part of the CEDS deliverable. This included presentations on EFA helped identify industry and occupational clusters that showed where Fresno had both gaps and strengths to inform the SWOT analysis led by Chabin Concepts. A description of demographic change as currently forecasted and how that may affect Fresno as a city economy based on regional change added another layer of analysis to consider with respect to both economic and workforce development planning.
Harris & Associates, Inc. | City of Alameda Economic Development Strategic Plan 41 Thatch Moyle | Urban Scenarios
URBAN SCENARIOS LEAD / ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & PLACE STRATEGY Urban Planner and Project Manager with 25 years of experience in economic development, master planning, data visualization, GIS analysis and scenario modeling. My background in land use planning, economic development and project management is supported by a vision for collaborative input to achieve implementable actions and project consensus.
Project experience includes both public and private economic development action plans, StoryMap platforms, master plans for districts and regions, office parks, industrial sites, retail centers, municipal facilities, and single-family and multi-family residential developments.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
• Chico Economic Vitality Strategic Plan, Chico, CA
• Vacaville Economic Development Strategic Plan, Vacaville, CA • Merced County Opportunity Zone 2.0 Prospectus, Merced County, CA • 3CORE Opportunity Zone 2.0 Prospectus, Glenn, Tehama & Butte Counties, CA • Talent Gateway Hub Market Feasibility, Talent, OR
• Merced County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) • Lake Oswego Commercial & Industrial Sites Inventory, Lake Oswego, OR • Stanislaus County CEDS, Stanislaus County, CA
• Lake County CEDS, Lake County, CA
• Campbell Short-Term Economic Development Strategy, Campbell, CA • Kings County CEDS, Kings County, CA
• Fairfield Economic Development Strategic Plan, Fairfield, CA • Development Opportunities in Butte County StoryMap, Butte County, CA • Downtown Cottage Grove Retail Market Study, Cottage Grove, OR • Vacaville Economic Recovery Plan StoryMap, Vacaville, CA • Canon City Market/Industry Opportunity & Site Analysis, Canon City, CO • Investment Opportunities for the North County I-5 Corridor, Glenn & Tehama Counties • Rosecrans Airport Economic Development Action Plan StoryMap, St. Joseph, MO • Downtown Federal Way Retail Market Analysis, Federal Way, WA • Martinez Economic Development Action Plan StoryMap, Martinez, CA • Los Banos Industrial Areas in StoryMap, Los Banos, CA • West Virginia Craft Beverage Trail Feasibility Study
• City of Kingman Opportunity Zone Redevelopment Options, Kingman, AZ • Nyberg Rivers Commercial Master Plan, Tualatin, OR
• Port of Ridgefield, Miller’s Landing Waterfront Master Plan, Ridgefield, WA • Port of Chehalis Industrial Area Master Plan, Chehalis, WA • City of Hillsboro Baseball Stadium Site Plan Application, Hillsboro, OR