Stantec proposes $55,000 plan to update Sunnyvale economic development strategy

Sunnyvale staff presented a proposed professional‑services agreement with Stantec to update the town’s Economic Development Strategic Plan and to perform site‑specific market analysis for a priority Sunnyvale parcel. The agreement was described as not to exceed $55,000, and staff said they plan to return an executed agreement for council and 4B consideration on April 13.

Tom Layton, the Stantec project manager, described a multi‑phase work plan that begins with an in‑person visioning and site visit, followed by research (SWOT, demographic and market baselines), target‑industry selection and strategy development, and a final phase that provides market analysis and conceptual visualizations for a key site. “We really wanna listen before we push ideas on you,” Layton said, emphasizing that the consultant would use visioning sessions and stakeholder interviews to surface testable hypotheses and candidate strategies.

Board members asked whether residents and businesses would be engaged beyond staff and the 4B board; Layton and staff said they will draw on the town’s recent comprehensive‑plan outreach to reduce duplication, supplement that with focused interviews and focus groups as needed, and bring draft strategies back for local validation. Staff noted the town has “about 300 plus acres of vacant land” that the plan should help market intelligently to developers.

Several council and 4B members pressed for deliverables tied to priorities and outcomes, such as fiscal impact or ROI analyses for candidate projects. Layton said Stantec can produce fiscal‑impact and economic‑impact analyses to estimate municipal revenue and job creation tied to development scenarios. Staff and the board directed the consultant to craft a workshop‑style visioning session so members can surface hypotheses to be tested in the analysis. The item was informational; staff will return a finalized agreement at the April 13 meeting for formal consideration.