AGENDA REPORT
City Council
MEETING
DATE:
August 19, 2026
PREPARED
BY:
Delilah Welnick
Management Analyst III
DEPARTMENT
DIRECTOR:
Jennifer Campbell
DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office CITY
MANAGER:
Jennifer Campbell
SUBJECT:
Business Commission Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work Plan RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve the Business Commission Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work Plan ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The action being considered by the City Council is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project” under Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The action is also exempt from CEQA under Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines because it involves an organizational or administrative activity of government that will not result in the direct or indirect physical change in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN/CITY COUNCIL FOCUS AREAS:
This agenda items relates to City Council focus area 5. Ensuring and Preserving Community Character and Economic Vitality, Goal 2.1, Bring plan forward to City Council for approval with the Business Commission involvement; included with that plan will be the creation of a future marketing plan to support the EDSP.
FISCAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There is no fiscal impact associated with approving the Draft Work Plan. The Draft Work Plan includes goals to explore certain programs that may have a fiscal impact at which point, staff will request the funding associated with the programs during the next budget adoption cycle.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Encinitas has several commissions that serve in an advisory capacity to the City 2026-08-19 Item #12B Page 1 of 6
Council, as established in the Encinitas Municipal Code (EMC). EMC Chapter 2.30 establishes the general provisions governing City boards, commissions, and committees, including member appointments, terms of office, and operating procedures. On January 21, 2026, the City Council unanimously approved the establishment of a seven- to nine-member Business Commission, with regular meetings to be held every other month in accordance with EMC Chapter 2.42.
The Business Commission held its inaugural meeting on April 27, 2026, where Commissioners received an overview of the City's economic development program and began discussing priorities and objectives for developing the Commission's Annual Work Plan.
During the next three meetings, the Commission directed staff to provide additional information and resources to support development of the work plan, received updates from the City's economic development partners, established district-specific subcommittees to conduct business outreach within each City Council district, and identified priority focus areas for the Commission.
Using the information gathered throughout this process, the Commission developed a Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work Plan consisting of eleven work plan items.
ANALYSIS:
The Business Commission serves as an advisory body to the City Council on matters relating policies, programs, and strategies that strengthen the local business environment and support businesses of all sizes and industry sectors.
Development of the Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work Plan was informed by a comprehensive review of current economic conditions, stakeholder input, and City priorities.
Throughout the work plan development process, Commissioners:
• Received an introduction to economic development principles from the San Diego North Economic Development Council.
• Reviewed demographic, labor market, visitor, and economic data. • Received presentations from the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce, Cardiff 101 Main Street Association, Encinitas 101 Main Street Association, Leucadia 101 Main Street Association, and the Encinitas Environmental Education Collaborative regarding their missions, programs, services, and community partnerships. • Reviewed analytical reports related to commercial, retail, industrial, hospitality, and vacant land properties within the City.
• Received an overview of the City's development review and permitting processes from Development Services staff, including Planning, Building, Fire, and Code Enforcement. • Conducted outreach through district-specific subcommittees to gather feedback from businesses regarding local opportunities, priorities, and challenges.
Collectively, this information provided the foundation for development of the Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work Plan. The work plan establishes the Commission's proposed priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, identifies implementation timelines and anticipated fiscal impacts, and aligns the Commission's work with the Fiscal Year 2026-27 City Council Work Plan. If approved by the City Council, the Annual Work Plan will serve as the Commission's guiding document for prioritizing work efforts, tracking progress, and making recommendations to the City Council throughout the fiscal year.
Staff recommends approving the Business Commission Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work 2026-08-19 Item #12B Page 2 of 6
Plan.
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Business Commission Draft Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Work Plan 2026-08-19 Item #12B Page 3 of 6
CITY OF ENCINITAS BUSINESS COMMISSION DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 WORK PLAN Commission Approved:
Council Approved:
Business Commission
# Priority
(Low, Med, High) Commission Goal/Project Members Involved Timeline
(Q1, Q2,
Q3, Q4)
Fiscal Impact
Low<$10K,
Med $10-$100K,
High >$100K
Deliverables City Council Focus Area /
General Plan Notes
1 High Perform a SWOT Analysis of the City’s
Economic Development situation
Lead: Miller
Support: Pascale, Janecek Q1 Low ($0)
- Request additional information to
establish the background/history
for future discussions
- Create a timeline to accomplish
the analysis
- Determine who will perform the
analysis
- Create/Approve the elements of
the SWOT
- Define a competitive set of
comparable cities
- Produce a final analysis
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
2 High
Create a Sub-Committee to Review the
City’s Permittee Process
Lead: Janecek
Support: Hutchinson,
Jennings
Q1 Low ($0)
- Business and residential permits
overview with times and different
experiences (good and not so
good)
- Review and compare permit
processes used by neighboring
cities
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 3: Establish
Clear and Concise City
Permit Process
3 High Economic Development functions and
resource alignment
Lead: Crider
Support: Khoury Q1 Low ($0)
- Ensure Economic Development
resources are aligned with the
business community
- Identify opportunities to increase
impact
- Inventory current Econ Dev
functions and responsibilities
- Understand activities supporting
business retention and outreach
- Review approaches from other
cities
- Identify opportunities to improve
coordination
- Explore a Business Liaison
position or business concierge
program description
- Evaluate current headcount and
determine if there is a need to
increase headcount in certain
departments
- Create and recommend
performance and accountability
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
2026-08-19 Item #12B Page 4 of 6
CITY OF ENCINITAS BUSINESS COMMISSION DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 WORK PLAN Commission Approved:
Council Approved:
metrics with published timelines
by role and function within the
permitting process.
4 Med
Develop a prioritized work plan for each
sub-community in the City: Leucadia
101, Encinitas 101, Cardiff 101, North
Coast Business Park, North El Camino
Real, and South El Camino Real, E3
Collaborative, and Olivenhain.
Lead: Jennings
Support: Crider, City staff Q1 Low ($0)
- Receive map of each business
jurisdiction
- Review the El Camino Real
Specific Plan to ensure the
incentives are important to
investors and entrepreneurs and
make one or two of the objective
design standards a requirement
- Learn what can be readjusted in
the ECRSP to increase
beautification, lighting and events
along ECR
- Explore ways to increase
walkability along ECR corridor
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
5 Med
Create a sub-committee to assess and
recommend outdoor dining
requirements and opportunities
Lead: Dellamano
Support: Miller Q2 Low ($0)
- Meet with City staff to make
recommendations on outdoor
dining requirements
- Review outdoor dining’s effects
on parking and possible solutions
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 3: Establish
Clear and Concise City
Permit Process
6 Low Create a sub-committee to maximize
business related tax revenue
Lead: Dellamano
Support: Jennings Q2 Low ($0)
- Create a list of target businesses
the City should focus on
attracting to Encinitas that fit
within the ethos of the community
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
7 Low Create a sub-committee to increase
tourism and TOT
Lead: Hutchinson
Support: Schade,
Pascale, Dellamano
Q2 Low ($)
- Explore hotel and hospitality
opportunities
- Review tourism demand drivers
and assess opportunities
- Assess opportunities to
collaborate with State Parks
- Explore possibility of having a
large City event
- Locate a site for small/boutique
hotel
- Evaluate STR costs
- Explore a heads in beds program
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
8 Low Provide input on the City’s Draft
Economic Development Strategic Plan All Commissioners Q3 Low ($0) - Provide completed SWOT
Analysis to City staff (from Goal 4)
- Use sub-committee deliverables
to incorporate into EDSP
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
2026-08-19 Item #12B Page 5 of 6
CITY OF ENCINITAS BUSINESS COMMISSION DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 WORK PLAN Commission Approved:
Council Approved:
9 Med
Explore ways to maximize business
occupancy and business improvement
incentives
Lead: Khoury
Support: Schade Q3/Q4 Med (<$50K)
- Explore creation of a Storefront
Improvement Program to make
exterior improvements to façade
and landscaping and maximizing
participation from all parties to
enhance beautification of
storefronts and lighting.
- Explore vacancy tax
- Evaluate what was done in the
past
- What should be included in a new
program (e.g. local
owner/operator incentive to
owner, program participants will
attempt to purchase products or
services locally)
- Explore creating a streamlined
permitting process for low-impact
activation activities, e.g. art, live
music, etc.
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 2: Develop
Economic Development
Strategic Plan
10 Low
Assess and Create Recommendations
to Enhance the City’s Business
Engagement in the Community
Lead: Crider
Support: Khoury Q3/Q4 Med ($15k-$30k)
- Inventory existing business
communication channels
- Gather input from business and
residents regarding
communication needs.
- Review examples and best
practices used by other
communities
- Identify opportunities and
recommend improvements to the
City for business outreach,
education, communication, and
engagement.
Focus Area 2. Effective and
Reliable City Services,
Infrastructure and
Communications, Goal 3:
Maintain and Improve Critical
City Services and
Infrastructure
11 Low
Consider a fourth event yet to be
identified. It may include the idea of a
large single event as an attraction or
partner with an existing event for the
entire City
Lead: Janecek
Support: Schade Q3/Q4 Med ($10k+)
- Enhance existing significant
events (e.g. Switchfoot BroAm
and Surfride Pro-Am)
- Activate local influencers and
local athletes to promote events
Focus Area 5. Ensuring and
Preserving Community
Character and Economic
Vitality, Goal 4: Work with
community organizations to
support projects and
programs that preserve
community character
2026-08-19 Item #12B Page 6 of 6