Carlsbad officials highlight small‑business support, new digital hub and $1.7 billion visitor impact

Carlsbad Economic Development staff and leaders of three local business organizations updated the Economic Development Subcommittee Wednesday on customer‑level assistance for small businesses, a new online business data hub and the city’s visitor economy, and the subcommittee adopted its meeting calendar for the remainder of the year and approved minutes from a March special meeting.

The updates matter because the city is seeing mixed economic signals—strong group‑business demand at local hotels but declines in leisure travel and sectoral uncertainty—while city staff are rolling out programs to help small and medium enterprises navigate rising rents, permitting and cost‑of‑capital pressures.

Christine Davis, executive director of the Carlsbad Village Association, told the subcommittee the city’s small business liaison program helped a downtown chocolatier resolve a “tricky and unfortunate permit issue” that had held up a planned opening. Davis said the liaison connected the owner with code enforcement and community development staff and that a building permit was expected the next day. Davis also described recent lease‑relocation successes, a prioritization of downtown lighting work and upcoming events including a new “Taste of Carlsbad Village: Brunch Edition” (tickets sold out in under two weeks), the Art in the Village event on June 22 and the weekly farmers market (2:30–7 p.m. Wednesdays).

Brett Schonzenbach, president and CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, said uncertainty is the word of the moment for local businesses. He described hiring freezes and some layoffs among larger employers, weaker consumer demand affecting restaurants, and inventory decisions by mid‑sized firms. He also noted large event sponsorships have tightened as some sponsors “pull back because of the uncertainty.” Schonzenbach urged continued coordination on legislative advocacy with the California Chamber and said the chamber tracks state legislative activity during the season.

Kim Sidorak, CEO of Visit Carlsbad, presented the city’s visitor economic impact for calendar year 2024 and short‑term trends: visitors spent $1,700,000,000 in Carlsbad in 2024, transient occupancy taxes contributed $34,600,000 to the city’s general fund and visitor‑related sales tax was $13,600,000, according to the report Visit Carlsbad commissions every two years. For 2025 year‑to‑date through March, Sidorak said occupancy was up 3%, average daily rate was up 3.9% and revenue per available room was up 7%, driven largely by group business (group segment +33% year‑to‑date; leisure segment down about 4.9%). She said hotel renovations and relocated events have driven group demand and highlighted that Carlsbad is hosting the NCAA Division I golf championships through at least 2028, producing an estimated 3,800 room nights this year.

City economic development staff provided a broader strategic update about work under the department’s strategic actions. Staff described industry gatherings that have expanded from a handful of participants to more than 50, and said Carlsbad has seen inbound interest from international companies considering U.S. manufacturing locations. Staff also flagged an erosion of some federal grant funding in life sciences (NIH and other grants mentioned) that has an outsized effect locally because of the city’s concentration of life‑science firms; staff said county‑level data are available but that figures specific to Carlsbad were not provided at the meeting.

Rachel Maltz, the city’s small business liaison in the Economic Development Department, reported on program rollout: businesses use an online intake form to request assistance; staff coordinate directly with community development (planning, building and code enforcement); and the city is developing small business office hours (proposed at the Cole or Dove Library) and an expanded small business workshop series (topics under consideration include foreign trade zones and zoning). Maltz announced the city launched a digital resource hub on carlsbadca.gov/business/digital.hub that provides market benchmarking and supplier/competitor searches; staff reported the tool has seen significant use—“to date” almost 1,100 businesses had accessed the tool and, as of the day before the meeting, staff reported “almost 6,400 businesses” had used the specific business insights report. Maltz also said UC San Diego’s I4x program will present its final product on May 22 at 4:30 p.m. (demo day at UCSD’s Design and Innovation Building) and that the committee‑recommended signage improvement program was not included in the city manager’s budget recommendation for funding.

Discussion at the subcommittee included requests for more granular data about the NIH funding cuts at a congressional district level and follow‑up on strategies to encourage residents to spend locally (staycation and local‑experience promotions). Staff said a quarterly economic scan will go to full City Council May 13 and that staff will provide further materials and talking points for council members.

Votes at a glance

• Approval of minutes from the special meeting of March 5, 2025 — motion made and seconded; recorded as passing unanimously. (Motion text not specified in transcript.)

• Adoption of the regular meeting calendar for the subcommittee for the remainder of the year — motion made and seconded; recorded as passing unanimously. (Motion text not specified in transcript.)

The subcommittee concluded with member requests for future agenda items, including a presentation on Visit Carlsbad’s newly approved three‑year strategic plan (July 1, 2025–June 30, 2028) and further work on local experiences and young talent connection efforts. The meeting adjourned.