Laserfiche WebLink
Meeting Date: 10/13/93 <br /> Agenda Item: P 1 <br /> CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS <br /> REQUEST FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION <br /> ITEM DESCRIPTION: Business outreach partnership proposal <br /> SUBMITTED BY: Kevin Alm, Chamber Member <br /> Susan Hoyt, City Administrator <br /> EXPLANATION /SUMMARY: <br /> Background <br /> Over the past four years, the administrator has participated in <br /> the Roseville /Falcon Heights Chamber of Commerce Economic <br /> Development Committee. The committee promotes economic <br /> development activities within the Roseville /Falcon Heights area <br /> with particular emphasis on business retention. To date the <br /> business retention approach typically involves a meeting between <br /> a business owner in the city and the administrator and a chamber <br /> representative to discuss a variety of issues. <br /> Constraints in Falcon Heights <br /> Although this approach proved useful with some larger business <br /> owners like Hermes and Hewlett Packard, it doesn't fully meet the <br /> needs of Falcon Heights's businesses for two reasons: <br /> 1. First, the city's small number of commercial property owners <br /> make it fairly easy for the city staff to communicate <br /> quickly with them on specific issues regarding their <br /> properties or on larger business issues facing the <br /> community. For example, if the city receives a complaint <br /> about garbage collection or lawn maintenance on a business <br /> property, staff calls, then writes the commercial property <br /> owner or manager asking him to take care of the problem. On <br /> a larger issue like the commercial re- zoning, the staff <br /> meets with the commercial property owner or manager to <br /> discuss the zoning, provides parcel specific information by <br /> mail, then calls to check on any unique concerns. <br /> 2. Second, the large percentage and high turnover of small <br /> retail business owners that lease space in the city's four <br /> shopping centers requires a different design for business <br /> retention because the property owners are responsible for <br /> access and zoning issues for the benefit of the entire <br /> center. Also the city staff and chamber representative must <br /> be careful not to raise sensitive landlord /tenant issues, <br /> particularly with the highly competitive market in retail <br /> space even among shopping centers within the city. <br /> Proposal <br /> Given these considerations in Falcon Heights, Kevin Alm, a local <br /> business owner and chamber member, and the city administrator, <br />