3*/
TO: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC FROM: Nanci Klein
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: CITY ROADMAP: SMALL BUSINESS DATE: March 16, 2022
RECOVERY
Approved Date
COUNCIL DISTRICT: CITY-WIDE
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the status report on small business recovery work being undertaken by the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs as part of the approved City Roadmap for FY 2021- 2022.
BACKGROUND
The Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA) last provided a broadbased update on the City’s business environment and economic recovery progress at the September 2021 Community and Economic Development Committee meeting. While that report detailed overall economic conditions and trends, this memorandum is more tightly focused on the state of small business and current and planned work to support this vital sector, which numbers approximately 60,000 small companies in the City. This work benefits from the City Council’s investment of more than $8.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds specifically for small business recovery. These funds are being put to work as part of OEDCA’s BoostBiz SJ initiative, which focuses on supporting the most vulnerable members of our business community.
Business assistance has evolved over the course of the last two years, moving from immediate response toward an equitable-recovery framework. The initial focus was on emergency communications—ensuring business owners were aware of changing rules, safety guidelines and critical resources. Next came efforts to provide businesses with government aid and to loosen regulations (such as changes to enable Al Fresco business operations) to shore up revenue. As the crisis endured, the City and nonprofit partners stood up webinars, a new Internet-based training series on a wide range of business subjects, both pandemic and non-pandemic. In 2021, the City added enhanced technical assistance services targeting specific business geographies CED COMMITTEE AGENDA: 3/28/22
FILE: CC 22-069
ITEM: d(4)
3/17/22
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
and sectors. Moving into 2022, OEDCA’s business development team is deploying targeted financial assistance and more intensive technical support and assistance for business districts.
Woven throughout this work is a focus on serving the needs of the most vulnerable and underserved businesses and enhancing the resilience of the San José business community so that it can be better prepared for the next crisis.
2020 2021 2022
Figure 1: Evolution of Business Assistance
ANALYSIS
Small businesses are the backbone of San Jose. They generate jobs for residents, provide a wealth ladder for entrepreneurs and their families, and contribute to neighborhood character.
Throughout the pandemic, small businesses have also been saddled with heavy burdens, including mandated public health closures, new and changing regulations, and rapidly shifting consumer habits.
As we enter the third year of the pandemic, the small business community continues to experience ongoing challenges. In recent months, these included another COVID-19 surge (Omicron); the return of inflation; and persistent supply chain and labor issues. Yet we have clearly entered a new phase of this story—one defined by adaptation and, in many cases, resilience. Public health shutdowns and capacity restrictions are squarely in the rearview mirror, and business owners can focus on their core competency—stabilizing and growing their businesses—rather than adapting to ever-changing rules and regulations. Indeed, throughout San Jose, entrepreneurs are taking risks, forming new companies, expanding their operations, and hiring staff.
This is not to say things have fully returned to normal. At this point, businesses that have survived the pandemic have indeed made it through the gauntlet. But they may not be strong.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
The recently released Small Business Credit Survey1, a project of all 12 Federal Reserve banks, found most small businesses were still struggling to recover. Among the findings:
• Revenue remains below pre-pandemic levels for 63% of firms. Employment is lower for 43% of firms.
• A majority (59%) of firms said they were in fair or poor financial condition (little changed from the 2020 survey). This rate was higher for minority business owners: Asian (81%), Black (76%), Hispanic (74%) as compared to White (55%). • Business owners of color also were less likely to receive the full amount of pandemicrelated funding sought. Nearly 70% of Black business owners reported receiving none or only some of the funding applied for compared to 65% of Hispanic, 52% of Asian and 44% of White business owners.
• Leisure and hospitality firms were most likely to report fair or poor financial condition (75%) compared to professional services (52%) and manufacturing (51%). • The top concerns for business owners were hiring/retaining staff (60%), supply chain issues (60%), reaching customers (53%), complying with regulations (40%), health and safety (38%) and using technology (26%).
The OEDCA business development staff have spoken with dozens of small business owners since the start of 2022 during twice-monthly business walks. The following are some of the issues currently top of mind, many of which dovetail with the national Federal Reserve survey.
Focus Area Takeaway
Return to
Office
San José has the second-lowest office-worker occupancy2 of any major U.S. metro (just ahead of San Francisco). This impacts the small business community as it reduces demand for services such as dry cleaning, beauty services, catering, restaurants, apparel, vehicle maintenance, etc. As Omicron recedes, more major tech firms are re-affirming return-to-office plans, potentially providing a light at the end of the tunnel for businesses dependent on office worker customers.
Omicron Businesses that started to recover last fall were dealt with another setback as the Omicron wave surged, dampening demand for certain products and services as consumers pulled back. Data from tracktherecovery.org shows that while the State of California’s small-business “open rate” has recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels, consumer spending at small businesses is still down more than 9% compared to January 2020.
1 Survey was conducted September through November 2021 and included 10,914 responses from a nationwide survey of small employer firms across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Available at https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2022/report-on-employer-firms 2 Data from Kastle Systems weekly office occupancy tracker. Low office occupancy does not equate to office vacancy; San Jose’s office vacancy rate remains relatively low, as buildings remain leased but many workers largely work from home.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
Real Estate Several issues have surfaced as it relates to real estate. First is back rent.
Businesses that avoided paying rent under the county’s eviction moratorium had until February 19, 2022, to pay back at least 50% of rent debt and until August 2022 to pay any remaining outstanding balance.
There are no official records on how many San José businesses owe back rent, the average amounts, or how many are on track to pay it back. Calls to a City-supported business eviction hotline have been steady but not overwhelming so far. Second, despite the challenges of the last two years, rents have continued to increase with retail up about 5.4%, industrial up 13%. This has put pressure on businesses facing a renewal or relocation.
Access to
Capital
San José saw a large spike in Small Business Administration (SBA) lending products issued to San José businesses, indicating business growth.
In 2021, San Jose saw $168.3M in SBA 7a/504 loans, up more than 100% vs. the year prior. (The number of loans was 145, a nearly 19% increase.) These loans are used for purchasing real estate, equipment, or refinancing.
This suggests that those businesses healthy enough to be approved for loans are investing in San José prior to anticipated interest rate increases.
However, for businesses that are just barely surviving and are not as creditworthy, the options are bleaker as all significant government pandemic relief programs have ended.
Labor Small businesses owners are often working more hours themselves due to an inability to find available workers. A recent survey3 of 6,367 small businesses through February 3, 2022, found 60% of businesses said they could not find workers. That number was highest among personal services like beauty salons (80%), but restaurants (66%), retailers (59%) and gyms (57%) were also elevated.
Supply Chain The pandemic created interruptions to the supply chain as major transport hubs experienced backlogs and factories experienced worker shortages related to the virus. This has resulted in shortages in key materials at the same time demand surged as consumers, flush with cash, shifted to buying more things rather than services.
Inflation Inflation as measured by the Consumer and Producer Price Indexes have reached rates not seen in decades, partly because of the supply chain crisis.
Prices paid by Western U.S. consumers in February 2022 increased by
8.1% across all categories, with food up 8.1% and energy up 26.7%. But businesses are often limited in what can be passed on to customers. ‘Cost of Doing
Business’
Businesses continue to report concerns about regulations, permitting, disability access lawsuits, security, labor costs, and taxes. These issues are not new but carry extra weight given all the stressors affecting small businesses. Business break-ins are also a common theme during discussions, especially for retail businesses. Issues related to homelessness, 3 Survey conducted 1/25/2022 through 2/3/2022 by Alignable, a small business referral network. Available at https://www.alignable.com/forum/60-of-small-businesses-stil-cant-solve-labor-shortage
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
graffiti, dumping are also frequent. These issues are not new, but concerns have grown.
BoostBiz SJ Initiative
The OEDCA business development team consists of 12 people, with seven focused on small business outreach and assistance efforts, whereas San José’s business community consists of more than 60,000 small businesses. To make the biggest impact, the goal of current and planned work is to support the conditions for a stronger, self-supporting business ecosystem that is more resilient.
The following summarizes the main BoostBiz SJ programs and priorities, which deal with increasing City staff capacity, providing business financial assistance, improving available technical resources, strengthening business districts, and supporting vulnerable communities.
The matrix found in Appendix A details the status of each BoostBiz SJ program. This work is proceeding alongside OEDCA’s other intensive initiatives to assist business including, but not limited to, Flea Market vendor assistance and market relocation efforts, the development and implementation of a Cannabis Equity Academy and the formulation of a citywide business displacement policy.
1. Increased City Staff Capacity. In February, OEDCA hired three staff members in the business development team. Two staff were hired to focus primarily on small business assistance, while one staff member will also focus on administrative support and program management. These hires have brought additional Spanish and Mandarin language capacity to the team. The addition of a Vietnamese-speaking business outreach staff member is in progress.
2. Direct Financial Assistance. The economic shock of COVID-19 spurred a wave of financial assistance programs at the federal, state, and local level, all aimed at blunting the impact on businesses. These included the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Impact Disaster Loans, and state-led Small Business Relief Grants. In addition, the City of San José provided 499 grants to businesses, totaling $6 million through various sources.
By late 2021, most of the significant government direct aid for businesses had been exhausted.
The City’s American Rescue Program Act (ARPA) funds now provide a new opportunity to provide additional financial assistance to targeted small businesses, and for specific uses that meet the moment’s current needs. Staff are currently working to establish two grant programs using ARPA funding:
• Small Business Recovery Grants. While Santa Clara County small businesses benefitted from an eviction moratorium (which ended in August 2021), commercial rent debt was not forgiven. This $2.75 million program will fund grants of up to $15,000 to help businesses struggling with outstanding rent or utility debt. Staff are contracting with the Enterprise Foundation to launch the program and process the applications. When the program launches in April 2022, priority will be given to businesses that did not receive
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
previous government COVID-19-related relief. Staff will seek approval for this program at the March 22 City Council meeting.
• Storefront Activation Grants. City Council has long funded the Storefronts Grants program, which assists small business owners filling vacant storefronts. In 2021, Council approved the allocation of an additional $200,000 in ARPA funding for this program. At the same time, staff has made changes to better align it with current needs. The current program includes three grant types as described below. All applicants must provide a lease agreement with at least three years remaining on the lease.
Grant Name Amount (up to) Allowed Use of Funds
Vacant Storefronts $15,000 Occupying a ground-floor retail/commercial space. Space must be vacant for at least
three months prior to leasing.
Exterior Improvements $10,000 Enliven façade/add exterior amenities to a ground-floor retail/commercial space.
Parklet Conversions $25,000 Increase seating capacity. Priority given to businesses interested in transitioning
temporary SJ Al Fresco program parklets to
permanent ones.
• Accessibility Compliance Grants. Since 2020, the City has offered a grant program to offset the costs associated with hiring a Certified Access Specialist. These professionals help business owners identify accessibility improvements necessary for complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This grant program also pays for a portion of the permits for improvements required, up to $8,000. While not strictly a pandemicrecovery initiative, ADA compliance has been a growing concern for the business community over the last several years.
• Cultural Funding. Investing in the arts and culture sector is also part of supporting small business recovery. The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) grant portfolio includes three large grant programs: Operating Grants (which provide partial support to San José arts organizations with professional staff and year-round programming); Festival, Parade, and Celebration Grants (which provide partial support for community events held in San Jose and organized by nonprofit organizations); and take pART (which provides partial support for publicly accessible San Jose arts activities by San Jose organizations). OCA is completing 107 FY 21-22 grants to nonprofit art and culture organizations. OCA has solicited applications for the FY 22-23 cycle and will be making recommendations in the spring. In partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation, OCA also has Quick Grants available for creative entrepreneurs to support their business needs, awarded on a monthly rolling cycle.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
3. Technical Assistance. With all the disruption that COVID-19 has caused on small businesses, expert advice is needed now more than ever. Technical assistance for small businesses consists of advisory services such as business planning, access to capital, marketing, legal assistance, and financial education. Because City staff cannot provide direct technical assistance to all businesses that need it, the OEDCA team’s focus is on providing City businesses with inclusive, in-language access to quality, free or low-cost technical assistance providers. The following describes the City’s current and planned efforts on this front. • Webinars. Zoom-based workshops have served a key role in disseminating information during the pandemic. Subject matter has broadened since inception in early 2020; while the first set of webinars focused on pandemic financial relief, they have since tackled issues such as crime prevention, taxes, SBA loans, ADA compliance, and marketing.
This reflects a commitment to helping small businesses tackle issues beyond immediate pandemic relief as we move forward into the next stages of recovery. Webinars occur on a monthly schedule and are provided with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. Moving forward, staff continues to work to refine and improve content, access, and variety.
• BusinessOwnerSpace Refresh. Since 2008, the City has convened a roundtable of business-support providers that includes technical assistance providers, lenders, and the San José Public Library. Called BusinessOwnerSpace (BOS), this consortium (with its associated website, businessowerspace.com) is dedicated to assisting businesses with any number of issues—from training to business formation to getting a loan. BOS also serves as a “brain trust” providing a window into business conditions, issues, and opportunities by advisors on the ground. The opportunity exists to better position BOS, making it more accessible, inclusive, and effective. Business development staff is heading up an effort to revamp the current BOS program and improve the consortium’s collaboration and effectiveness. The project should be completed by the end of 2022. • Virtual Small Business Center. Startup businesses are the lifeblood of the City. Current information and service offerings for startups across the business-support ecosystem are somewhat disjointed. In order to better centralize services for new entrepreneurs, staff is planning a Virtual Small Business Center that will operate hand in hand with the BOS network, providing a one-stop shop for startup businesses to access services and networks.
• Real Estate Technical Assistance. Following the shock of forced closures and consumerspending changes, state and county governments implemented commercial eviction moratoriums that lasted until the fall of 2021. While the eviction moratoria are no longer in place, the experience revealed a need among some small business owners for basic
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
training in commercial real estate beyond the moratoria’s ins and outs. Earlier this year, OEDCA finalized a contract with Start Small Think Big to provide a combination of services focused on foundational real estate training and 1:1 information provision. This includes a series of multilingual workshops and a hotline that provides callers access to information, including tenant rights and responsibilities under the eviction moratorium, how to read a lease and how to negotiate with a landlord. • Economic Development Administration-Funded Business Recovery Support. In February 2021, the City received approval for a $1.1 million grant to provide additional technical support resources to support small businesses and manufacturers in targeted areas of the City. These areas, which include significant portions of Downtown, central, and East San José, were chosen because they were most impacted by COVID-19 at the time of the grant. Two staff positions dedicated to these areas have been hired and are working within nonprofits Manufacture: San José and the San José Downtown Association. They provide business outreach and service referrals for small businesses and manufacturers. The Economic Development Administration grant also provides funding to hire several additional technical assistance providers to work with business owners on strengthening their operations and resiliency. Staff is currently finalizing a request for proposals to bring on these service providers. • Arts and Culture Technical Assistance. OCA invests in ongoing trainings and technical assistance workshop series aimed at knowledge and skill-building for San Jose’s creative entrepreneur and arts nonprofit sector. The workshops series topics have included key themes such as marketing, fundraising, financial health, and pivoting in a post-pandemic world. OCA is working with SVCreates on this initiative and has provided increased resources this year to meet the current needs of the community.
4. Thriving Neighborhood Business Districts and Outreach. San Jose’s commercial corridors— from street-retail districts to strip centers to major shopping centers—are a key part of our City’s identity and economic engine. These commercial districts are also where small businesses startup, grow and thrive. At the heart of a strong commercial corridor is often a group of passionate people—volunteers or paid staff who focus on technical assistance for business owners, permit assistance, blight and safety, or advocating to the City for resources. Compared to other cities in our size range, San José has relatively few formal business district associations—just six formal business associations, plus several less formal volunteer groups. The following activities describe efforts to build more resilient and self-sustaining place-based business communities by strengthening the small business ecosystem.
• Business District Managers. The City will fund business district managers focused on the Monterey Road and Tully Road corridors. Earlier this year, economic development consulting firm Intrépide Enterprises was selected to spearhead the effort on Monterey
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
Road. The firm will help formalize the volunteer-led Monterey Corridor Business Association; design and implement a marketing campaign, and help address vacant and blighted spaces. Staff is currently evaluating RFP submissions for the Tully Road business district manager opportunity.
• PBID Formation. Property-based improvement districts (PBIDs) are critical tools for local government to enable local business districts to empower themselves by assessing a sustainable source of funding. This funding can address issues of blight, safety, marketing, as well as the ability to promote their districts through marketing campaigns and events. Staff is currently working on a proposed PBID, east of HWY 101, along Alum Rock. Having completed a feasibility phase in collaboration with the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association and the District 5 Council office, work is now progressing to the Petition Phase. A revised timeline anticipates City Council’s consideration of the formation of this district in fall 2022. • BizWalks. Beginning in mid-2021, OEDCA business development staff began regular walks in key commercial corridors and shopping centers to talk to small business owners about economic conditions, hear their concerns, and connect them to available resources or services. These walks help staff to get beyond official economic statistics to better understand what is happening on the ground. They also allow staff to explain programs and services in a one-on-one setting and in the business staff’s own language. Some key takeaways are described in the Small Business Pulse section above. While staff cannot visit with every business across the City, the goal is to identify common problems and seed information that can provide the most in-need businesses with critical information and resources. By the end of March, staff will have conducted business walks in every Council district. The BizWalks also inform staff work, as in the case of crime, safety, and blight. To better educate businesses on how to avoid being a target of crime, business development staff has hosted SJPD Crime Prevention staff for webinars. OED staff is also providing information on the STOP program and how to report abandoned vehicles, graffiti, and illegal dumping via the San José 311 app, as well as how to request services for homeless individuals in the neighborhood.
• Return of Special Events. The OEDCA special events staff coordinate and authorize outdoor special events which drive the City’s cultural, community, and economic development goals. Special events drive traffic to nearby businesses before, during, and after events – and often feature small businesses as part of event programming. After two years, the number of events and attendees is climbing back towards pre-pandemic levels.
Calendar year 2019 saw 97 events in Downtown San José, bringing in more than two million attendees. From March 2020 through June 15, 2021, state and county restrictions allowed only nine events, which brought in about 640,000 attendees. Since June 2021,
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
staff have facilitated 46 events, which brough 1.6 million people back to public outdoor spaces. The rest of the calendar year looks strong.
5. Assisting Immigrant Business Owners and the Most Vulnerable. Since pivoting to small business assistance during the pandemic, the business development team’s guiding principle has been to focus attention and energy toward the most vulnerable members of the business community who often face systemic barriers to accessing services and resources. OEDCA business development team’s response includes hiring additional language-competent staff, ensuring website, webinars, outreach, mailings, and all written content and collateral is available in multiple languages (Spanish, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese), working with communitybased organizations to reach underserved populations, focusing outreach in underserved communities, and paying special attention to the needs of immigrant and women entrepreneurs.
This is especially important when it comes to financial assistance programs, so staff plans to focus on targeting the most vulnerable businesses with information on how to apply for upcoming grant initiatives.
One example is the soon-to-open Quetzal Gardens Small Business Center in East San José. This new mixed-use, affordable housing project will include an Excite Credit Union branch, plus a new home for Somos Mayfair and the Latino Business Foundation. This will enable the provision of much needed services directly to small businesses in where those services are needed most, in the heart of one of the City’s historical small-business corridors.
6. Coordination with the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force. In September 2021, the City Council established the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force (Task Force). One of the key responsibilities of the Task Force is to advise and monitor progress on the City Roadmap Recovery Initiatives, as well as help connect residents to existing City services. As small business recovery is one of the City Roadmap Recovery Initiatives, OEDCA staff have presented updates to the Task Force and serve as a resource to the recently formed Supporting Small Businesses Committee of the Task Force.
CONCLUSION
The pandemic has shifted the OEDCA’s business development team’s focus substantially toward small business support. The current and future small business recovery efforts are substantial investments in City resources, both funding and staff time. Many of these initiatives require complex procurement processes. The recent investment in staff will help get programs off the ground but will take time to reach full capacity.
The last two years have shown the resilience of San Jose’s small business community, while also revealing vulnerabilities of the existing ecosystem. Based on lessons learned, OEDCA is committed to strengthening the conditions for business success. This includes assisting the most
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOMENT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: Small Business Recovery Status Report
vulnerable, beefing up the small business ecosystem, providing targeted financial assistance and access to capital, and focusing on improving the vitality of commercial corridors. /s/
Nanci Klein
Director of Economic Development and
Cultural Affairs
For questions, please contact Nathan Donato-Weinstein, Business Development Officer, at (408) 535-8178.
Appendix A
Workplan
Area
Description Status
Assisting the
Most
Vulnerable
New staff members joined the OEDCA
business development team in February 2022
to focus on business outreach and service
referrals in vulnerable communities.
Spanish and Mandarin
speakers hired in
February. Vietnamesespeaking staff member in
process of being hired.
Provide enhanced language access services,
including live interpretation for webinars and
translation for website, eblasts, and collateral.
Underway
Support for the Quetzal Gardens Small
Business Center in East San José will enable
the Latino Business Foundation to provide
much needed services directly to small
businesses in partnership with Excite Credit
Union.
Anticipated opening in
May 2022.
Small business anti-eviction helpline launched
to educate business owners on rights,
responsibilities, and resources. Dovetails with
commercial real estate basics webinar series to
help vulnerable businesses better understand
how to negotiate a lease or landlord/tenant
issue.
Underway
Building the
Small Business
Ecosystem
A revamp of the businessownerspace.com
technical-assistance network’s website and
operations will enhance access.
Request for proposals
being drafted to seek
consultant (anticipated
award summer 2022)
Additional funding (EDA and ARPA) to
support technical assistance providers working
with underserved populations
Request for proposals
being drafted to seek
consultants.
A virtual business startup center will create
pathways for residents to confidently plan for
and launch a new business and attract
entrepreneurs to San Jose.
Contract awarded by the
end of 2022.
A “digital hub” that will provide existing and
emerging neighborhood business organizations
an online space to share meeting agendas and
reports, presentations and host business
member marketing initiatives.
Request for proposal to
seek consultant is being
drafted.
Direct
Financial
Assistance and
Access to
Capital
Launch $2.75 million grant program will target
small business owners who did not already
receive government funding.
Targeting April 2022
launch.
Offer BoostBiz SJ grants to support businesses
moving into vacant storefronts, making
exterior improvements, or installing permanent
parklets.
Ongoing
Monitor and promote additional funding
opportunities, such as state microgrants,
current/future SBA lending products, and
County programs.
Ongoing
Continue to support and promote disability
access compliance, including through current
and planned City programs such as the CASp
grant.
Current/ongoing
Stronger
Commercial
Corridors
Property Based Improvement District
formation support in Alum Rock.
Anticipate bringing ballots
to council in the fall.
Business district manager/consultants will
assist business associations scale up, plan
marketing work, and work on blight reduction.
Monterey Corridor
manager selected and
contract under
development. Tully Road
selection is underway.
Outreach for the Boost Biz SJ grants program
will be expanded and focused on vulnerable
communities, to support small businesses reoccupying vacant spaces.
Current/ongoing
BizWalks to target primarily underserved
commercial corridors with information and
resources.
Ongoing; now on a
biweekly cadence.
A Monterey Corridor digital hub will promote
the key commercial/industrial area and
centralize the work of the Monterey Corridor
Task Force.
Web design is underway.
Monitoring the
City’s
Economic
Health
The pandemic has revealed the need for more
nimble and creative economic data. Staff are
working on a new economic dashboard that
will provide more frequently updated data on
the City’s economic activity. A new service
that provides insight into consumer spending
throughout the city using spending data is also
in the works. This will help the City better
target populations and geographies for
enhanced outreach and service delivery.
Aiming for summer
contract execution for
credit card data provider
and dashboard launch.