HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/21/2019 14B Summary Report on Mainstreet Conference to\'4\lyy tbxk ik 1
• PPP
g.
A
ittYlltYlt.\ta.
BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEM ENT
Item No. 14.B.
For Meeting of: May 21, 2019
ITEM TITLE: Summary report on the Mainstreet Conference in Seattle, WA
SUBMITTED BY: Trevor Martin,Associate Planner
Colleda Monick, Community Development Specialist
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
On May 2, 2019, the Council Economic Development Committee requested that staff provide a
summary report on the Main Street Now Conference which they attended in March 2019.
Community Development Specialist Colleda Monick and Associate Planner Trevor Martin both
attended the conference.Attached are their summary reports.
ITEM BUDGETED: NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Economic Development
ft' if
APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL: lir
City Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
E II da °nick swum /20 I9 backup Material
Tre r Martin um a 5/9/20I9 ackup Material
2
NH NM DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
S Joan Davenport, AICP, Director
assmass My of YAKIMA Planning I ivis1on
• fl f m g Joseph Calhoun,Manager
a 129 North Second Street, 2nd Floor, Yakima, WA 98901
ask.planning@yakimawa.gov• www.yakimawa.gov/services/planning
NATIONAL MAIN STREET CONFERENCE SUMMARY REPORT
Seattle, WA// March 25-27, 2019
Colleda Monick, Community Development Specialist
SESSION: It's Hard But We Can Handle It: Tools for Building Community, Consensus,
and Collaboration in a Difficult World
This session delved into techniques for creating an atmosphere of YES in a world of NO,
using the case study of Eureka Springs, Alabama — Bike Eureka. Developing a team,
strong strategies and cultivating an entirely different culture, were some of the big picture
takeaways. Wolven, the Executive Director of Main Street Eureka Springs was the
presenter and she used her own real life experiences to paint a picture of how working
with a collective and a common consensus can drive change.
SESSION: Economic Development on Main Street
This session took a deep dive into the specifics of the economic role that Main Street
Organizations play in a community through different types of projects, trends; what and
who are driving these shifts and how to get there.
SESSION: Civic Leader Forum: How to Build a Strong Local Economy
Keynote speaker Ed McMahon, Board Chair of the National main Street Center and
Fellow at the Urban Land Institute made a powerful case for why local, place-based
economic development is the key to long-term economic and social prosperity.
SESSION: Artists on Main Street: A Model for Creative Community Development
The session featured three speakers on who spoke on Minnesota's program that
provides training and support for artists who want to address local community challenges
through creative placemaking strategies. The group highlighted several projects that
activated downtowns, increased pedestrian activity, and created welcoming spaces.
SESSION: Inside Out: Creating and Maintaining Authenticity
This session focused on two different Detroit metro places on how they maintained
authenticity while meeting the changing needs of their communities all on while keeping
an eye on preserving a cherished place that doesn't negatively impact or diminish its
authenticity to a community.
Yakima
hlf4®9airy
2014
1994
3
SESSION: Stimulating Economic Development through Preservation: A Case Study
Seattle developer and preservationist Kevin Daniels told the story of the Mark Tower and
how the Seattle skyline helped preserve the adjacent historic sanctuary. The session
focused on the importance of building a coalition of local and national support when
preserving historic spaces, the unique way a new Seattle development became a
catalyst for preserving existing spaces, and sparking new uses, along with how
commercial projects can both complement and celebrate historic structures.
SESSION: The Land of OZ: Pulling Back the Curtain on Opportunity Zones
Opportunity Zones 101 crash course delving into the program through a panel
discussion of experts that looked at investors, eligible projects, and how communities
can leverage this program.
SESSION: The "Opportunity" in Opportunity Zones
A deeper dive into Opportunity Zones presented by Opportunity Alabama. The
presentation focused on how the state has been taking advantage of this program, who
the major players are, and how to build the local funding ecosystem necessary to
attract Opportunity Zone capital to your community.
In summary, my greatest takeaway from these sessions was the 'Main Street Impact'.
Nationally, Main Street communities are driving downtown rehabilitation, investment, business
retention, economic development and small business development. Reinvestment Ratio for
Main Street programs is $26 to $1!
Downtowns can provide a sense of place, a sense of community, showcase historic assets, and
provide layers of product offerings. Small businesses are driving job growth. Older buildings
draw more shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
Things like walkable neighborhoods, less auto-dependence, a sense of community, gathering
spaces, a greater number of households without children, and trends towards being more
environmentally conscious are steering communities and businesses when it comes to making
decisions about business.
Opportunities like loan funds, and rent subsidies can assist in a downturn market, along with
proactive marketing of vacant properties. Historic Tax Credits (Federal and State), New Market
Tax Credits, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Community Block Grants, Brownfields, and
Opportunity Zones are all possible incentives.
Main Streets work because they provide a sense a place, a sense of community, historic assets,
and show the power of people.
National Main Street Conference
Colleda Monick, Community Development Specialist 2
4
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Joan Davenport, AICP, Director
��� �MA
Planning Division
Joseph Calhoun, Manager
129 North Second Street, 2nd Floor,Yakima,WA 98901
ask.planning@yakimawa.gov • www.yakimawa.gov/services/planning
2019 Main Street Now
Conference Report
May 9, 2019
Trevor Martin, Associate Planner
1. Parking [Public] Spaces
"The more downtown gets broken up and interspersed with parking lots, the duller and deader it
becomes. And there is nothing more repellent than a dead downtown." -Jane Jacobs
This course was an insight on how to manage common parking problems and leave with
proven, low-cost implementation strategies that will help transform vacant parking into places
that promote economic vitality. This course also mentions the integration of applied technology
to offer smart parking solutions with dynamic pricing that can help manage Main Streets
plagued with a lack of parking. Topics covered include creative solutions for activating unused
parking spaces to spur economic activity, implementation of shared parking agreements,
changes to land development code, and the truth of our future parking needs.
In the U.S. we've built an average of eight parking spaces for every car, creating a vastly over-
parked city scape with an abundance of surplus parking. The continuation of improved
technologies will have an impact on the way people use their vehicles and parking into the
future. Trips and travel will become more efficient, further emphasizing the abundance of over-
parking with cities.
With the amount of parking surface cities have installed over the past years, the questions of
parking lot maintenance, and who is going to pay for the parking lot maintenance comes into
question. As cities allow for free parking, cities lose out on potential revenue, and activates like
biking and walking are discourage because the amount of solo motorized vehicle trips
increases. Lack of a diversity of transportation increases congestions, further pollutes the
environment and creates heat islands, and decreases the overall health of the general public.
The address the issues of over-parking municipalities should start to examine the following:
• Repurposing parking spaces
• Improving opportunities for transit, biking, and walking
• Reinvisioning land development codes
o Infill development
o Shared parking
• Main street parking study
• Creative branding for parking awareness
Parking, and the way transportation is used, is going to continue to change and adapt. More and
more people are moving to areas where commute times are shorter and areas where there are
options for transportation. Fewer teenagers are getting driver's licenses today than in the 70's,
80's, and 90's, and this trend is anticipated to continue into the future. Cities need to evaluate
the way they perceive and use their parking areas, and ask the tough questions such as "Do we
need this, or could this space serve as something greater?".
Yakima
mr csr
t
2015
5
2. Magic Happens When the Property Owner Has Vision
This course addressed questions like - Do you struggle with connecting to property owners? Do
you get invited to the "party" too late? Have the spaces been leased for the good of your
downtown or to a "who will pay the rent" tenant? Do you have old buildings crying out for
rehabilitation?
Rory Turner and Linda Haglund gave a presentation on the rehabilitation and preservation of old
buildings. Rory mentioned how he was using various tax incentive programs, the same ones the
City of Yakima can access, to improve and rehab buildings.
3. Cultivating Community to Save a Theatre
After Hurricane Matthew blew through Downtown Edenton, NC and revealed a neglected and
potentially dangerous movie theatre, Destination Downtown Edenton, Inc. began rallying
community leaders and communicating with the theatre's absentee landlord to come up with a
solution. This session talked about the value of and need for historic preservation tools such as
a Demolition by Neglect Ordinance.
The City of Edenton had a historic theatre that was damaged during Hurricane Matthew. The
property owner lived out of state and did not understand the scope of the damage on the
building. The City and community had attempted to notify the property owner, but had minimal
luck in getting the property owner. The City used the tool of demolition of neglect, which got the
property owner's attention. The property owner eventually came to the City to inspect the
damage. After inspecting the actual damage the property owner worked with the City and local
business to relinquish control of the Theatre.
4. Housing Matters for Your Community, Downtown, and Historic Preservation
Strong downtowns and communities almost always have active residential space. Making use of
every inch of a building helps both property owners with cash flow and downtown residents
bring activity, life, and customers to the downtown. Because many rural downtowns have so
many underutilized and/or vacant buildings, there are lots of opportunities for this activity. It was
said frequently that there is a housing shortage. Identifying the appropriate housing types
desired is imperative.
During this session the speakers addressed the question —Why should we care about housing
downtown? First maintaining a vacant building in the downtown cost the community hundreds of
thousands of dollars. Turning those vacant buildings into operating spaces, specifically creating
more housing in the downtown areas within Cities.
Cultivating a diverse housing stock within the downtown core helps in many different aspects in
the health of a City.
• Homelessness - A lack of affordable housing options makes it more likely that vulnerable
individuals and families become homeless. The average chronically homeless person
costs taxpayers an estimated $40,000 a year through the utilization of public resources,
from hospital emergency room visits to police time.
• Low-wage Workforce - Lower-wage workers will be among the first to feel the pressures
from higher rents and prices if there is an insufficient supply of affordable housing. Look
for housing further out —* longer commuters, more traffic congestion Businesses have a
harder time finding workers —*fewer restaurant, retail, and health care options
• Moderate & High-wage Workers - Higher-wage workers have more housing choices;
however, even these households will face affordability challenges if there is not a
sufficient supply of housing, at the right prices/rents and in the right locations. Spending
2
6
more on housing —* less spending on goods and services in the local economy without
affordable homeownership opportunities —* may leave for other regions.
• A state, region, or city can continue to be an attractive place for businesses and
economic investment if it sees housing as a key part of an economic development
strategy. Businesses are increasingly saying that they are looking at quality of life,
economic diversity and cultural tolerance as they seek to locate or expand.
5. Pocket Parks — New third Place in Challenged Neighborhoods
The City of Milwaukee's HOME GR/OWN initiative has successfully transformed City-owned
vacant lots into over 35 new green, third spaces in just the last four years, in Milwaukee's most
challenged neighborhoods, with limited city funding and staffing, and receiving significant
national attention, book mentions and awards.
Unfortunately many cities have lots with a zero or negative value and have faced various
struggles on what to do with these lots. The lots may not have readily available utility
infrastructure, or the reinvestment into the area may not be worth the cost to a builder. This
initiative focuses on using local community investment to create spaces that are meaningful to
the local neighborhoods. In Milwaukee, the objective is to work with north side neighborhoods,
which are predominately black and poor. In order to create a space that will be used and
successful, revitalization initiatives need the input from the people they aim to serve. That
means organizing neighborhood meetings, getting input from the targeted communities, and
using workers and volunteers from those neighborhoods to build those parks.
6. How to Prevent Development on Purpose or by Mistake
Private-Public Partnerships can make a positive difference for communities trying to encourage
development or redevelopment, particularly in their downtowns. But sometimes apathy, lack of
readiness, misinformation, and shortage of knowledge of the available development tools
prevent development. In this presentation you learn about "tools and surgical instruments" that
can be used to help communities with economic development.
Examining Economic Development vs. Community Development 4 how to attract households
4 change the attitude 4 accomplished by changing quality and perspective.
20'h Century Economic Development
• Luring investment and jobs
• Locally based
• Incentives, infrastructure, and job training
• Transactional/commodity mindset
New paradigms in job Creation
• Job creation does not necessarily lead to population growth
• Capital investment is equipment does not necessarily tie to greater job creation
Cities should begin to shift policies towards those that create households such as schools, safe
and livable communities, and recreational amenities.
21 s' Century Economic Development
• Luring people (talent attraction, retention, and development)
• Locally based (traditional ED becomes regional)
• Upper-story and infill
• Quality of services
• Assumes jobs move to people
• Values-added mindset—"The value proposition"
o Leveraging development projects for greater community impact
3
7
• Mixed uses, shared greenspace, improved infrastructure
The end goal for development of downtown and historic spaces is to create a sense of place 4
turning space into place.
7. Stimulating Economic Development through Preservation: A Case Study
Seattle developer and preservationist Kevin Daniels teamed with award-winning architect Allyn
Stellmacher of ZGF architects to tell the story of The Mark Tower. This iconic addition to the
downtown Seattle skyline helped preserve the adjacent historic sanctuary: the nation's oldest
Beaux-style building and downtown Seattle's the oldest church. We learned how to build a
coalition of local and national support to preserve historic spaces, the unique way a new Seattle
development became a catalyst for preserving existing spaces and sparking new uses, and how
new commercial projects can both complement and celebrate existing historic structures.
8. Inside Out: Creating and Maintaining Authenticity
Two very different Detroit metro places focused on the concept of authenticity and the need to
either enhance your business districts authenticity. If you are in a place that is regarded as
generic; or to maintain your authenticity; or if you are place experiencing a sudden surge in real
estate investment that threatens to transform your cherished place in ways that diminish
authenticity there are programs and methods that can be sued to help strengthen or reinforce
your community culture.
Authenticity 4 The real deal 4 true to one's character
• This concept resides within the person looking at an object and what is used to bind
people to a place.
Learn to distinguish Trends vs. Fads.
Invest in long term trends and trends that are appropriate for your community.
When looking to make investments, a variety of designs are required, a community needs to be
inclusive of all who use the space.
Items to consider when celebrating authenticity
• Art
o Who?, What?, and Where?
• Design of buildings and street scape (downtown and historic places)
9. The "Opportunity" in Opportunity Zones
The new Opportunity Zone program has the potential to be the largest single economic
development program in U.S. history by making trillions of dollars of capital gains available for
reinvestment in designated Opportunity Zones. This reviewed how the program works, who the
major players are, and how to build the local funding ecosystem necessary to attract
Opportunity Zone capital to the community.
Essentially, Opportunity zones are a tool for Capital gains investment. There are set criteria of
thresholds needed prior to anyone using this program.
TAKEAWAY
It's a fairly simple takeaway— Downtowns define the culture and health of a City. It's a
centralized location that should serve all people of the community. Without investment in our
downtowns, and subsequently the historic areas around them, communities begin to become
disengaged, they start to forget their culture, and apathy begins to takeover.
Investment in the downtown is necessary for a city to survive into the future.
4