Economic Development Strategic Plan
City Council Meeting April 9, 2024
Gabe Osburn, Director
Jill Scott, Acting Deputy Director
Planning & Economic Development
Department
1 Economic Development Strategic Plan
2 COUNCIL GOAL STATEMENT
Economic & Community Vibrancy:
Sustain and develop a diverse and thriving economy that benefits Santa Rosa residents and businesses and contributes to the community’s economic health while preserving historical and cultural integrity.
City of Santa Rosa Mission Statement:
To provide high-quality public services and cultivate a vibrant, resilient, livable city.
General Plan Update:
Emerging themes and alignment – live, work, recreation
Community and Partner Engagement
3 Most important issues for the Future of SR
Business owners and residents prioritized housing and affordability.
Business owners selected business development next, whereas non- business owners selected equity and inclusion.
44 Santa Rosa Business
Community Life
5 6
Business Attraction,
Retention, and
Expansion
Create a business-friendly, sustainable, and strong economy by attracting new businesses and expanding, retaining, and supporting existing businesses.
Actively support and empower the existing small business ecosystem while establishing clear pathways to enable successful and fulfilling small business ownership.
7 Goals:
• Create fiscal stability for the City, businesses,
and property owners
• Support a thriving workforce
• Support and grow existing small business
• Support and promote opportunities for
entrepreneurship
• Understand and remove barriers for
immigrant, BIPOC, and women-owned
businesses.
Economic
Vibrancy and
Resiliency
Create a vibrant and livable city by promoting and creating innovative infrastructure in support of economic accelerators. 8 Goals:
• Bolster Downtown housing, commercial and retail business • Increase revenue to businesses and the City
• Support a thriving economy
• Support walkable neighborhoods
• Promote and enhance climate action goals and sustainability principles
Community Investment
Invest in and support our diverse community to fortify against current and future economic challenges. 9 Goals:
• Increase economic opportunity through
upstream investment
• Support the diverse needs of all Council
districts
• Address childhood poverty
• Strengthen early childhood education
sector
Implementation
10 Development of 5-year
implementation plan
Staff driven Organize staffing
resources to best
align with the
fulfillment of
objectives
Develop tracking
platforms and report
out procedures
Be nimble and
respond to the needs
of the community
and the market
Questions?
Gabe Osburn, Director
Jill Scott, Acting Deputy Director
11