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File Number: 13-601 <br />San Leandro last adopted an Economic Development Strategy in 1997. Although most of the <br />principles outlined in that strategy are still relevant, many conditions have obviously changed. <br />As noted in the Work Plan , four particularly significant changes since that time are the <br />adoption of the City’s Transit Oriented Development Strategy in 2007, the economic recession <br />that began in 2009, the elimination of redevelopment agencies in 2011, and the <br />implementation of Lit San Leandro, also in 2011. All of these changes, and many others, have <br />impacted the City’s ability to grow the business community and attract quality jobs to San <br />Leandro. <br />The Economic Development Work Plan is intended to inventory and categorize ongoing and <br />planned economic development projects and programs in San Leandro. Many of these <br />projects are likely to change and evolve substantially over time. Therefore, this document is in <br />many ways a snapshot of our current environment and will evolve over time. For the sake of <br />organization, economic development activities are categorized into one of nine initiatives. In <br />reality, programs and projects overlap and generally further more than one objective. The <br />main initiatives are as follows: <br />1.Support and Retention of Existing Businesses <br />2.Marketing and Business Attraction <br />3.Completion of Strategic Development Projects <br />4.Downtown San Leandro <br />5.Development of Infrastructure Critical to Business Activity <br />6.Lit San Leandro and Broadband <br />7.Development of a Healthy Tech and Innovation Ecosystem <br />8.Regional Coordination and Policy Development <br />9.Successful Completion of Redevelopment Agency Unwinding <br />Public Outreach <br />Since the May 13 Work Session, staff has presented and distributed the draft Work Plan in an <br />effort to gather feedback from the Community . The Work Plan was announced via a press <br />release and requests for feedback were posted on both the City website and San Leandro <br />Next. Additionally, staff developed a PowerPoint presentation of the Work Plan and presented <br />it to community groups on five occasions. Feedback from the community was particularly <br />helpful as it relates to specific projects, rather than the overall Work Plan in general . Planned <br />development projects, in particular, generated substantial interest from the community. <br />Work Plan Revisions <br />As noted in the Work Plan , the economic development initiatives are certain to evolve over <br />time. Several developments that took place in 2013 have been incorporated into the final draft <br />of this document. Those changes include: <br />·City Council adoption of a Business License Tax Holiday that will waive the business <br />license fee for one year for almost all business that are new to San Leandro. This <br />program will enhance the City’s ability to attract new business (initiative #2). <br />·The formation of the Downtown San Leandro Community Benefit District. This <br />District will provide a substantial and ongoing funding source to support Downtown San <br />Leandro (initiative #4). <br />Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 12/10/2013