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Making Your Community Thrive Attracting Developers to Spur Economic Growth

How innovative ideas and technologies drive dynamic cities and counties 3 After many difficult years,

3 This paper discusses the

cities and counties are anticipating growth for 2015 and beyond – but attracting developers and new businesses isn’t guaranteed.

importance of creating specific infrastructure plans – that incorporate interdepartmental communication, citizen engagement and technology – to attract the types of development and businesses that are aligned with local governments’ long-term strategic goals.

3 Leaders must employ targeted development strategies in addition to their general plans to thrive economically and ensure livability for their citizens.

3 Local governments can provide a platform to support practices aligned with their economic development policies and goals by using a combination of five key technologies: • Cloud Services • Open Data and GIS • Online Plan Management • Online Permitting • Mobile and Video Inspections

Read on to learn about cities and counties that have employed these strategies and technologies and achieved success.

Late in 2014, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced the launch of Boston 2030, a 15-year strategy to create 53,000 units of housing across demographics and neighborhoods, and effectively plan for anticipated growth at a scale the city has not seen for more than 50 years.1 Boston isn’t alone in anticipating growth. According to Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, his city permitted a record $2 billion in development in 2014. 2 Additionally, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors 2015 Metro Jobs Forecast, all 363 metro areas in the U.S. will see job growth in 2015.3 Meanwhile, the National Association of Counties (NACo) reports that job growth accelerated in 2014, while economic output expansion and county housing markets stabilized across the country.4 As the economic recovery spurs revitalization projects and new development, city and county leaders have increased opportunities to attract businesses and infrastructure investments and ensure their Is Your City communities are positioned to thrive. When or County Ready seeking to be destinations for citizens and to Capitalize businesses alike, it’s important for leaders to on Growth? All 363 metro areas examine the traditional way of doing things and work to develop more innovative in the U.S. are expected to see practices and processes. job growth in 2015. Boston provides a good example. The Meanwhile, economic Boston 2030 strategy includes a Housing output expansion Innovation Lab, which focuses primarily on and county housing markets have innovations that spur housing development. stabilized across “The intent of this lab is to help the city to the country. think about new approaches to design, new approaches to financing, new approaches to construction, which can achieve the goals of having Boston remain a place that all families can call home,” says Chris Osgood, co-chair of Boston’s Office of New Urban Mechanics.5 Additionally, more than ever before, local government leaders need to be in communication with their constituents and truly hear citizen preferences regarding where they work, live and play. Cities and counties must also adapt to a mobile public that craves 24/7 online access to services and expects convenient business transactions. This white paper will discuss how local government officials can employ the right mix of strategic planning, citizen engagement, project and performance management, and innovative technology to promote

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infrastructure investments, attract development, and appeal to new and growing businesses.

Attracting Developers and Building Business-Friendly Communities As demonstrated in Boston, it’s increasingly important for cities to have a strategic plan that outlines their development goals for the future based on the needs and wants of their constituents. For Boston, that meant making room for approximately 91,000 Bostonians over 15 years, including more housing for seniors, low- and middleincome households, and students. To the south, in Tampa, Mayor Buckhorn has spent his tenure focused on ensuring his city is prepared to succeed in the future with strategic initiatives that spur development. When it comes to economic activity, the city is no slouch, having been repeatedly selected as the venue for major conventions, hosting the NFL Super Bowl four times and serving as the home of the 2012 Republican National Convention. But in addition to these activities, Mayor Buckhorn has built a vision around creating strong communities and improving the city’s reputation as a good place to do business. In 2011, under Buckhorn’s leadership, the city began creating a master plan for Tampa’s Center City, known as the InVision Tampa Center City Plan, with a goal of creating a livable, collaborative community with vibrant and diverse neighborhoods that has the Hillsborough River as its center.6

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF TAMPA

Introduction

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has consistently strategically planned for growth. In 2011, the city began creating a master plan for Tampa’s Center City, known as the InVision Tampa Center City Plan.

Making Your Community Thrive: Attracting Developers to Spur Economic Growth

PHOTO COURTESY OF MELANIE ADAMS

Also in 2011, Buckhorn launched the Economic Competitiveness Committee, a 19-member group with diverse representatives from the community, including developers, attorneys, contractors, planners and other citizens. Buckhorn tasked the committee with reviewing the city’s permitting and regulatory processes and looking at current ways of operating that created challenges for economic growth and development.7 One of the committee’s recommendations was to reorganize the Tampa Planning and Development Department. Thomas Snelling, the director of the department, says: “We reorganized our department by bringing in the various reviewers – transportation, parks and recreation, storm water, water and sewer, zoning – into the same building. This has made a huge difference in our ability to better serve constituents. You have all of your permitting and development needs taken care of in the same building by a single department rather than a variety of departments.”8 By creating a one-stop shop for development, the city of Tampa has helped improve collaboration and eliminate silos – a strategy that Hillsboro, Ore., shares and has used to attract and retain businesses that help the local economy thrive. The center of the “Silicon Forest,” Hillsboro hosts multiple high-technology companies – including Intel, Salesforce and Oracle – that employ thousands of skilled workers. In fact, Intel has committed at least $6 billion to build and equip a 2.2 million square foot research lab and has nearly 17,500 employees in Oregon, making it the state’s largest private employer.9 Melanie Adams, director of the Hillsboro Building Department, says collaboration is a key part of the Hillsboro strategy and notes that Hillsboro’s community development departments are an important part of the city’s overall economic development strategy. “Our local government departments think of ourselves as a whole city,” says Adams. “We are all in this together for the benefit of the people who choose to live, work and play in our community. To that end, every elected official, every manager and every employee is involved in that process of building our community. We work together and collaborate for the benefit of our customer

Hillsboro, Ore., Building Director Melanie Adams and Plans Examiner Paul Vinje look at digital plans. 

because ultimately our focus is delivering that value both to our businesses and to the people who live and work here.”10 By creating a plan that either comes from top city leadership or is supported by it, cities and counties can develop more creative and effective ways of reaching their goals when it comes to attracting desired businesses, residents and development projects that promote economic development and build better communities.

Connecting and Communicating with Citizens Giving citizens and business owners a voice in the future development of their communities is an increasingly critical part of projecting a business-friendly image and ensuring cities and counties are places Creating a where people want to live and work. one-stop shop for development Adams says citizen involvement is a – and bringing in significant part of any planning in Hillsboro. plan reviewers “We’ve recently been updating our 20-year from various city strategic vision, which will become Vision departments – improves 2035,” says Adams. “So far we’ve had well collaboration over 4,300 people participating in that and eliminates process. That in and of itself is how we silos, allowing vision our community. We know what to do employees to better serve because our citizens tell us.” citizens. In Tampa, not only did the Economic Competitiveness Committee include multiple members of the Tampa community that routinely did business with the city, but the InVision planning team also hosted a series of community knowledge exchanges as well as meetings and one-on-one dialogues to hear from over 2,000 Tampa-area residents.11

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Conducting online surveys, interacting through social media, streaming video of public meetings on the Internet, and publishing relevant documents or meeting Connect with minutes on an online portal are all ways citizens and cities and counties can easily keep find out what they would like citizens up to date and encourage them to see in their to become involved. communities Citizen engagement delivers benefits through online to developers and businesses as well. surveys and Peter Pirnejad, the development services social media. Keep them director for the city of Palo Alto, Calif., says informed by citizen feedback is not only important to streaming get buy-in from constituents and ensure video of public they are pleased with development plans, meetings or publishing but it also helps developers be proactive information about deciding whether or not they should on an online construct a building or bring a particular portal. business to the city based on expected citizen reaction. When government agencies facilitate this communication, it is a win-win for agencies, citizens, developers and business owners.12

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Capitalizing on Technology’s Impact on Economic Development Perhaps more than anything else, technology creates opportunities for cities and counties to work more efficiently and provide better customer service to citizens, businesses and developers. Time is money, especially when a developer or contractor must leave a project to stand in line in person to obtain information or fill out an application. By offering online and mobile access where developers and residents can find information instantly, conduct transactions, and track the progress of permit applications and inspections, agencies remove themselves as a bottleneck and create a two-way flow of information that ensures the process of getting from application to occupancy is efficient and creates a better experience for developers and agencies alike. In Tampa, the recommendation to implement and update technology in the Planning and Development Department came from the Economic Competitiveness Committee. Snelling notes the committee wanted development to occur in a “very

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expeditious fashion” once the economy improved – and he says that goal has been achieved. The city began providing businesses, homeowners and contractors with online access to permitting and licensing information through a Web portal in late 2014. The portal is accessible via traditional desktops and laptops, as well as mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. Jennifer Doerfel, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA), which comprises builders, electricians, plumbers, contractors and other building industry professionals in the Tampa Bay region, was a member of the Economic Competitiveness Committee. Doerfel says TBBA has been advocating for technology use like this from the city for years. “When we would interface with the regulatory system, we would have to do things manually – printing out blueprints, signing and sealing documents, making duplicate copies, pulling permits, requesting inspections,” says Doerfel. “It added significant amounts of time to the process. We started requesting a higher level of service.”13 The implementation has already paid off for Tampa. Says Snelling: “Since we went live, somewhere in the neighborhood of 55 to 60 percent of all new development requests and permitting requests are coming through the online system. Out of every 100 people who would have had to come in person to our office, 60 of them are now able to take care of their business from home or their workplace.” Palo Alto had a similarly positive experience. The city was at one time infamous for its “Palo Alto Process,” characterized by painfully long wait times – sometimes as long as two hours – at the Development Services Department. Builders and “We would receive many complaints developers about the process,” says Pirnejad. – for whom “People would get parking tickets time is money – appreciate while they would wait to get service technologyand they were regularly turned down infused and sent home after long delays and processes and countless reviews before they could online access to permitting and get a permit. We changed that culture licensing. with technology.”

Making Your Community Thrive: Attracting Developers to Spur Economic Growth

Quick Tip:

PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER PIRNEJAD

“When you have nine departments reviewing a set of plans, it’s important you get the information to the developer as soon as it becomes available from each of those departments.” Peter Pirnejad, Development Services Director, City of Palo Alto, Calif. Palo Alto now allows customers to engage via an online portal and access services in a self-service format so citizens can access permits, pay online and schedule their inspections. The department also provides applicants with real-time information about where their application is in the review process, as opposed to the once or twice a month updates via snail mail that many cities provide. “When you have nine departments reviewing a set of plans, it’s important you get that information to the developer as soon as it becomes available from each of those departments,” says Pirnejad.

The Top 5 Technologies to Make Your Community a Top Choice for Developers As technology becomes increasingly important to advance business processes, improve customer service and broaden citizen engagement, some technologies start to stand out as being particularly conducive to help local government agencies reach economic development goals. It is the combination of these technologies working together that provides the platform to support practices aligned with economic development policy. Platform technology designed specifically for government empowers cities and counties to be nimble across departments when responding to developer, business and citizen needs. The result is a more intuitive user experience – both inside and outside of the agency.

Technology Checklist 3 Cloud-Based Services 3 Open data and GIS 3 Online Plan Management

3 Online Permitting 3 Mobile and Video Inspections

Cloud Services: Implement Secure Solutions that Scale In an effort to improve constituent services while keeping IT and operating costs down, agencies of all sizes are moving applications to the cloud. Hosted services offer a systematic, standardized approach to security and reliability that is often difficult for agencies to achieve on their own. Investing in a cloud-based strategy offers a resilient, secure infrastructure that scales with your needs. Palo Alto has been the launch pad for tech giants such as Facebook and Google. With a progressive government technology policy, the city embraced cloud-based solutions to speed internal processes while keeping citizens informed. “I’d rather spend our resources on our innovation and not on the hardware,” says Pirnejad. We spend too much time trying to update our servers when we should be focused on the technology. A cloud-based environment lets us do that.”14 Agencies gain operational expertise, standards compliance and security, safeguarding valuable information while freeing staff to focus on meaningful efforts aligned with their agency’s economic objectives.

Open Data and GIS: Bring Speed to Site Location Decisions Agencies are striving to increase transparency by providing data to citizens online, and are beginning to leverage GIS (geographic information systems) to better communicate this information. Combining GIS with open data can be helpful to current or prospective business owners. Sharing planning data and making it usable shows – on a map – what kinds of businesses can be located in specific areas based on zoning rules, along with available properties. This accessible information makes it easier for prospective businesses and developers to decide where to establish themselves. In January 2015, Planetizen released a report based on its City Planning Department Technology Benchmarking Survey, which queried 500 planning departments across the U.S.15 The report noted that most planning departments now publish their zoning codes and general plans online and a smaller number provide sophisticated online GIS to help identify locations for new development.

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Quick Tip: Online plan review and submission lets contractors and developers upload their plans and receive updates in real time, and multiple departments can conduct parallel reviews of plans. The result: A faster approval process.

Forty percent of the cities surveyed offer online property lookups that make use of GIS technology. These agencies can plot available parcels on a map so developers can see what is available in a city or county and understand the zoning requirements without having to go in person or make a phone call. Pirnejad says his department’s top goal with such technology was to increase transparency and expedite the transfer of information to the citizens of Palo Alto. “We have placed information on our public-facing open data portal to get information into the hands of applicants as well as the citizens when they need it,” says Pirnejad. The city provides a map of all construction projects, allowing constituents to search for them based on category. “If you want to see commercial projects under

construction, you can search for that,” says Pirnejad. “Or, if you just want to see kitchen remodels, you can search for that too. We disclose information that’s public.”

Online Plan Management: Gain Citizen Support and Approvals More Quickly Traditional planning and zoning processes are dependent on manually moving paper plans among departments. Online plan submission and review lets contractors and developers upload their plans and receive updates in real time, while agencies can assign documents to multiple departments for parallel review – allowing plans to move quickly through the approval process. “The really big win for us has been bringing the plan review process online, including digital submission and review of plans,” says Hillsboro’s Adams. “This is where we generate the most paper, especially with the large

Quick Tip: Combining GIS with open data allows prospective business owners to easily see zoning rules on a map, along with available properties. Citizens can keep up to date with development in their neighborhoods, increasing transparency. Palo Alto provides a map of all construction projects, allowing constituents to search for them based on category.

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Making Your Community Thrive: Attracting Developers to Spur Economic Growth

projects that come to Hillsboro. Not only does online plan review eliminate paper, but it has also made the process of reviewing plans faster. Our customers can view those edits in close to real time.” Adams says online plan submission and review has also allowed Hillsboro to be more attractive to developers outside the city. “We’re no longer having to mail revisions back and forth,” she says. “We are able to collaborate with people who aren’t local. For our customers, that is terrific because they hire designers and project support teams who may not live or work in Hillsboro.” For every large-scale or long-range project an agency undertakes, there is a need to seek feedback from citizens. Traditionally, agencies have relied on board and council meetings, but the growing popularity of social media means the conversation about government initiatives, including building plans, is happening online. To keep citizens engaged, agencies must adopt additional methods of communication. In Hillsboro, the Community Development team uses technology to communicate with citizens, broadening engagement with online and social channels. Off-the-shelf solutions also exist that make it easy for agencies to share project plans and updates and gather feedback and support from citizens in one centralized online portal.

Online Permitting: Get to Certificate of Occupancy Faster Online permitting can dramatically shorten turnaround times for permits and other regulatory documents by providing citizen self-service access. It also provides developers with ongoing updates about their projects, reducing or eliminating the need for phone calls or in-person visits to municipal offices. Online permitting is an anticipated growth area with more opportunity for online transactions in the future, according to the Planetizen report.16 However, the majority (79 percent) of the planning departments under study do not yet support online permitting. Prior to adopting online permitting, Palo Alto received many complaints about the permitting process. Over a 5-year period, the city reduced the average number of days to issue a building permit from 80 to 18 days. “We would like to give you an answer or preferably

a permit to start construction right there on the spot,” Pirnejad says. With the application of technology and leaner government techniques, the percentage of developers getting building permits the same day has doubled from 30 percent in 2010 to 66 percent in 2014.

Mobile and Video Inspections: Get More Done in a Day Mobile inspections allow inspectors to spend more time in the field rather than having to return to the office to manually input data. This is critical due to the sheer scale of inspections cities perform annually. For Mobile capabilities example, the city of Palo Alto – with less than allow inspectors 70,000 residents – coordinates over 31,000 to easily schedule inspections each year.17 inspections and optimize travel Providing mobile capabilities to inspectors routes, as well as enables them to easily schedule inspections keep customers and optimize travel routes to be as efficient as informed about possible. Inspectors can access information the progress of their inspections and interact with their department in real with automated time, submitting results remotely, including messages. information, pictures and approvals. Mobile inspections also help cities and counties keep customers informed about the progress of their inspections with automated messages throughout the process. Inspection technology now exists that allows contractors to take video of each of the items on an inspection checklist and send it to the agency. This works especially well for non-structural inspections, such as plumbing and electrical, saving time for both the contractor and the inspector and letting them focus on higher-priority tasks. In addition, mobile apps provide contractors with a way to view the list of permits needed, easily request and schedule inspections, as well as message or call inspectors using familiar devices such as a smartphone. They can also streamline the inspection scheduling process – which is critical in an industry where the cliché ‘time is money’ rings true – and enable contractors to easily communicate with agency inspectors to keep projects on deadline.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.TAMPAGOV.NET

Mayor Bob Buckhorn helps break ground on a building in the Tampa ‘Encore’ redevelopment project.

From a Developer’s Point of View City and county budgets are beginning to recover and, at the same time, the outlook for private sector construction companies and contractors is positive. According to the Associated General Contractors of America, 60 percent of contractors expect the construction market to grow in 2015 and an additional 21 percent expect it to grow in 2016.18 The question is: How do cities ensure they are attracting developments that will improve their communities and help them thrive now and in the future? Jennifer Doerfel, the executive vice president of TBBA offers some perspective specific to what makes a jurisdiction more attractive to businesses and builders. Doerfel says that making sure policies and procedures within a region are as similar as possible is important and can make that region more competitive. “People want to comply with the system in place, but what they get into oftentimes is not realizing

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ƒƒ what that system is because the rules aren’t clear,” Doerfel says. Having a clear set of regulations that are easy to comply with, that are not duplicative, punitive or contradictory in nature is also important. “You need a system in place that gets people through the process as quickly as possible with an appropriate fee attached,” Doerfel says. Fees and associated costs are also important, and something cities and counties should look at if they want to make themselves competitive. “In Hillsborough County, Fla., the regulatory fee structure to build a house is about $8,300, including impact fees, inspection and permitting fees,” Doerfel says. “That same house will cost you $23,000 in fees in Pasco County. Leveling that out within a region is key to ensuring there is a universal appeal to attracting businesses and economic development.”

Making Your Community Thrive: Attracting Developers to Spur Economic Growth

What Developers Want:

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Clear rules, policies and procedures that are standardized across a region

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Rules that are not duplicative, punitive or contradictory in nature

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To get through the process as quickly as possible

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Fair fees and associated costs

Conclusion Change is coming – and for many cities and counties, it’s already here. As local governments move forward from the recession, the new objective will not only be to survive, but to thrive. As discussed in this paper, government leaders need to employ diverse methods to ensure they are attracting businesses and developers and truly making their communities places where people want to live, work and play. The best ways to do this sustainably are to think strategically from the beginning, establishing development goals and consistently communicating with citizens. But communities also need to leverage existing and emerging technologies to improve business processes and customer service, and connect with citizens in the most effective and efficient way. By creating a coordinated and seamless experience for residents

and developers, cities and counties can make it known they are a great place to do business and build the communities they envision. Streamlining processes and providing self-service options not only create a better experience for customers, but they also increase efficiencies in city and county agencies, saving time and money. In this way, technology truly propels economic development forward. But there are other benefits as well. Taking a cloudbased approach provides scalability for future growth – agencies can add services at their pace, only as they need them – and speeds deployment. By integrating previously siloed agency departments with shared services on a single platform, you can future-proof your technology investment and spur economic development. It’s a win-win all around.

End Notes www.cityofboston.gov/dnd/boston2030.asp www.accela.com/company/news/press-releases/915-tampa-florida-is-live-with-accela-civic-platform-to-modernizestreamline-citywide-permitting 3 http://usmayors.org/83rdWinterMeeting/media/012115-release-MetroEconomies.pdf 4 www.naco.org/research/Pages/county-tracker-2014.aspx 5 www.govtech.com/dc/articles/Boston-Tackles-Housing-with-Dedicated-Innovation-Lab.html 6 www.invisiontampa.com/ 7 www.tampagov.net/mayor/economic-competitiveness-committee 8 All quotes from Thomas Snelling are from interview conducted by the Governing Institute on Feb. 3, 2015. 9 www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/corporate-responsibility/intel-in-oregon.html 10 All quotes from Melanie Adams are from interview conducted by the Governing Institute on Feb. 5, 2015. 11 www.invisiontampacom/project.html 12 All quotes from Peter Pirnejad are from interview conducted by the Governing Institute on Feb. 11, 2015. 13 All quotes from Jennifer Doerfel are from interview conducted by the Governing Institute on Feb. 17, 2015. 14 www.accela.com/company/customers/success-stories/palo-alto 15 www.planetizen.com/node/73480/city-planning-department-technology-benchmarking-survey-2015?utm_ source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01292015 16 www.planetizen.com/node/73480/city-planning-department-technology-benchmarking-survey-2015?utm_ source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01292015 17 www.govtech.com/applications/Palo-Alto-Expedites-Permit-and-Inspection-Process-through-Apps.html 18 www.agc.org/sites/default/files/Files/Executive/2015%20Construction%20Hiring%20and%20Business%20Outlook%20Report.pdf 1 2

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Underwritten by:

Accela provides civic engagement solutions for government. Accela’s Civic Platform, which includes open APIs and mobile apps, enables and improves core processes for city, county, state and federal governments. Accela’s solutions uniquely address the diverse needs of their constituents by making publicly available information more accessible. The Accela Civic Platform includes solutions for land management, asset management, licensing and case management, legislative management and more. With more than 1,000 customers worldwide, Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Melbourne and Dubai. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

The Governing institute advances better government by focusing on improved outcomes through research, decision support and executive education to help public-sector leaders govern more effectively. With an emphasis on state and local government performance, innovation, leadership and citizen engagement, the Institute oversees Governing’s research efforts, the Governing Public Official of the Year Program, and a wide range of events to further advance the goals of good governance. www.governing.com

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