Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee to launch business and resident surveys after review of local data and commercial trends
Summary
Members tasked staff and committee volunteers to consolidate business-survey questions and run targeted data pulls; CoStar and other data presented showed a modest projected dip in population and an aging housing stock, prompting calls for more municipal-level data to guide economic recommendations.
The committee agreed to consolidate and revise sample business surveys, gather contact lists from city staff and run commercial-occupancy and demographic reports to inform a draft recommendation to the City Commission.
Committee member John McQuiston said he pulled several data views and noted that a one-mile radius population figure from CoStar showed 16,338 in 2023 with a slightly lower projection for 2028, and that the broader ZIP-area data showed negative growth from 2010 to 2023. "If we do the 1-mile radius, it's 2023 is 16,338," McQuiston said while sharing the screen. He also noted that a sizable share of housing stock dates to the 1950s''60s and that only 88 housing units have been built in the area since 2010.
Planner Dave Dixon offered to provide publicly available tables and to add municipal-level projections in the next packet so the committee and the public can review the source data. Staff also said they will share a list of recent business-license applicants to seed the survey contact list and that two separate instruments will be used: one targeted at business owners/operators and one aimed at residents about permitting and experience with city processes.
Committee members set a two-week deadline for draft edits to the survey and asked staff to compile consolidated suggestions for the next meeting. The committee also discussed categorizing local businesses to ensure the survey captures marine/maritime and other industry-specific needs.
