City Council Approves Draft Citywide Blueprint for Economic Development

Long Beach, CA

On April 4, 2017, City Council approved the City’s Draft Blueprint for Economic Development that informs the City’s overall economic development work plan for the next ten years, by a unanimous vote.

“Our Long Beach economy is booming and this Blueprint will advance our City’s efforts to grow a stronger economy over the next decade while supporting entrepreneurship, workforce development, and a 21st century city,” said Mayor Robert Garcia.

In response to a request by Mayor Robert Garcia and the City Council, the Economic Development Commission, an advisory group to the City Council, in collaboration with the Economic and Property Development Department, prepared a Draft Blueprint that defines priorities that lead to the creation of businesses, well-paying jobs, and economic inclusion for all residents. The preparation process consisted of detailed economic analysis by Beacon Economics, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and public study sessions with industry experts.

“The Draft Blueprint is intended as a call-to-action for additional research, community engagement, and dialogue, in order to define more specific strategies, policies, and programs for economic advancement opportunities throughout our city,” said Randal Hernandez, Chairman of the Economic Development Commission.

The Draft Blueprint embraces policy recommendations that identify broad focus areas that will drive economic growth over the next ten years, such as: key industry clusters and emerging sectors, economic inclusion, workforce development, business assistance, the development environment, quality of life, and economic leadership and cooperation.

City staff together with the Commission and community partners will develop a work plan that details specific activities, estimated costs, and identifies resources in order to advance the vision of Long Beach as a city of opportunity for workers, investors, and entrepreneurs.