BACKGROUND:
During the September 28, 2022 study session, Council directed staff to create an economic development resolution. This resolution is intended to memorialize the Council’s interest in encouraging development within the NCSP and NCESP.
DISCUSSION:
The North City (NCSP) and North City Extended Specific Plan (NCESP) are the governing documents directing the development of the nearly 5,500 acres within Cathedral City North- of-Interstate 10 city limits. While the general plan “lays out the future of the city’s development”, the zoning ordinance and, more specifically, specific plans are the “workhorses” of general plan implementation (Fulton & Shigley, 2018 p. 107 and 229).
As discussed during the September 28 th study session, creating or modifying detailed specific plans are costly and time consuming. Given a rapidly changing economic environment, forecasting commercial, industrial, and office demand within a tourism- dependent economy is challenging. A low-to-no cost and quick-to-implement economic development resolution may be the ideal tool to encourage the development within the NCSP and NCESP.
By encouraging development within the NCSP and NCESP, Council is striving to generate a material increase in city revenues, create quality jobs for Cathedral City residents, facilitate the installation of infrastructure throughout all portions of both plans, and finally, construct industrial, office, and/or commercial spaces intended to improve Cathedral City’s ability to attract a diverse array of traded sector businesses.
The resolution is intended to signal that Council will consider development proposals which further the Council policy objectives identified in the proposed resolution:
1. Creates industrial, manufacturing, office, and/or commercial spaces which improve Cathedral City’s ability to attract a diverse array of traded sector businesses;
2. Generates increased city revenues beyond simple increases in annual property tax revenues;
3. Creates a diversity of quality employment opportunities, with benefits, for Cathedral City residents;
4. Provides backbone infrastructure which facilitates the future development within one or both plans, and
5. Proposed developments enhance the visual attractiveness of Cathedral City.
Attached is the Economic Development Resolution for review and discussion. This resolution is the product of a three-way collaboration between the Planning & Building, Engineering & Public Works, and Economic Development departments.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The resolution itself has no fiscal impact.