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South Coast Chamber unveils five‑year strategic plan and new foundation to boost regional economic vitality
Summary
Local chamber leaders told the Santa Barbara City Council on Feb. 10 they have adopted a five‑year strategic plan focusing on permitting reform, workforce development, data collection and regional partnerships, and announced a new 501(c)(3) foundation to expand economic development work across cities and universities.
Leaders of the South Coast Chamber presented a five‑year strategic plan to the Santa Barbara City Council on Feb. 10 and announced creation of a separate foundation to broaden workforce, housing and data initiatives across the region.
Anthony Valdez (city deputy liaison) introduced chamber leadership and highlighted the city’s recent staffing changes to coordinate housing, homelessness and economic development work. Chamber president Randy Burke and CEO Kristen Miller described the plan’s five strategic priorities — streamlining permits, strengthening workforce pipelines, supporting hospitality and the ‘‘blue economy,’’ expanding data collection for local decision‑making, and growing partnerships across cities and higher‑education institutions.
"Hace 5 años ocurrió algo extraordinario... ese grupo creó una chispa, encendió un movimiento para unificar nuestras 3 cámaras de comercio," Kristen Miller said, summarizing the chamber’s merger and membership growth and outlining goals to support startups, training programs and regional collaboration.
The chamber also announced the formation of the Foundation for Economic Development of Santa Barbara, a separate 501(c)(3) entity intended to collect and share economic and business data, administer workforce programs and partner with cities, counties and universities. Chamber officials said the foundation will provide data to help local governments and businesses make more timely, locally relevant decisions and will support permitting reform and workforce retention programs.
Councilmembers welcomed the focus on workforce and data. Several members asked how the chamber’s new foundation would coordinate with city planning and housing work and encouraged continued collaboration to align permitting reforms with local sustainability and housing goals.
The chamber’s presentation was informational; no formal council action was requested at the meeting. The council thanked chamber leaders and indicated interest in continued engagement on permit reform and workforce initiatives.
