Economic Development Element

Only areas below are considered part of the General Plan.

Overview

Economic development is the growth and restructuring of a local economy toward community-defined goals for economic well-being. For Menifee, the community-defined reasons for investing in economic development are:

• To increase the number of above-average-paying jobs
• To ensure residents have a range of employment opportunities across skill and education levels, wages and salaries, and industries and occupations
• To improve the community's quality of life by providing a wide range of shopping, entertainment, dining, and services locally
• To expand and diversify the local tax base, ensuring sufficient resources to invest in public facilities and services

In general, the entire General Plan lays the foundation for the long-term growth and development of Menifee's economy. Indeed, the General Plan may be fairly described as the city's top-line strategy to grow its revenue base and develop in a manner to minimize costs. Nevertheless, the Economic Development Element provides the central organizational unit to establish the goals and policies focused specifically on economic development.

Purpose of Element

The City of Menifee intends the Economic Development Element to establish the long-term goals for the growth and development of the local economy, elaborate the public policies needed to achieve the goals, and identify key implementation actions. The goals, policies, and actions are targeted to the community-defined desires for more and better-paying jobs, quality of life improvements, and sound fiscal management.

Implementation Action

A key implementation action for economic development is the adoption and periodic updating of an economic development strategy. The Economic Development Element has a long-term focus and provides goals, policies, and implementation measures that are intended to stand the test of time. However, economic and market forces change, sometimes quickly. An economic development strategy provides the short-term action plan, identifying the projects, programs, and investments intended to achieve short- and mid-term objectives that work toward the long-term goals. The city should update the strategy periodically, typically once every 3 to 5 years. Each update, however, should elaborate how the strategy is addressing the Economic Development Element's long-term goals.

Growth & Development

A second key purpose of the Economic Development Element is to ensure that Menifee grows and develops in a manner that is fiscally sustainable and resilient to external shocks. Fiscal sustainability includes land use and development patterns that generate municipal revenues equal to or in excess of the amount needed to pay for public facilities and services. It also includes policies that incorporate fiscal thinking into public decision making, including land use and development decisions as well as other decisions made by the city.

Established Foundation

Finally, the Economic Development Element establishes the basic foundation by which the city has and will continue to institutionalize economic development as a core function of the city. Although the economic development strategy will provide much of the detail on local economic development activities, the fact that Menifee chose to include an economic development element in the General Plan is evidence of the city's long-term commitment to community economic well-being.

Background

Job creation lies at the center of most of the economic development goals and objectives. There are only 3 ways that a local economy can expand the number of jobs.

1. Expansion of existing businesses is the primary driver of job growth in regional economies, accounting for 2/3 to 3/4 of new jobs. Most effective economic development organizations dedicate the majority of their resources to the retention and expansion of existing businesses.
2. Attracting businesses to establish new facilities or shops in a local area adds new jobs. Although not as cost-effective as promoting job growth at existing businesses, business attraction is important for diversifying a local economy.
3. Creation of new businesses can create new jobs. Business start-ups can be important in areas like Menifee, where many residents commute long distances to good jobs in other cities. With the right assistance, such long-distance commuters can often be helped to start new local businesses.

The economic development element provides policies supporting all 3 avenues for job creation. The economic development strategy should likewise identify projects and programs for all 3.

Regional Partners

Regional agencies and organizations undertake much, if not most, of the activity in economic development. Indeed, the role for cities often involves being able to connect local businesses and entrepreneurs with regional resources. The economic development element recognizes the importance of Menifee collaborating with its regional economic development partners. Although the individual organizations may change over time, a partial list of these regional partners would include:

• Western Riverside Council of Governments
• Riverside County Workforce Investment Board
• Riverside County Economic Development Agency
• Mount San Jacinto Community College
• Menifee Union School District
• Inland Empire Small Business Development Centers
• Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE)
• Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship
• Inland Empire Women's Business Center
• Center for International Trade Development
• Inland Empire Economic Partnership
• Economic Development Corporation of Southwest California

Goals

Click on the goal links below to see the policies that are associated with the individual goals identified in this element. Readers should also refer to the Implementation Actions for additional items that must be undertaken by the city to achieve the goals and policies for this element.

• ED-1: Diverse and Robust Economy. A diverse and robust local economy capable of providing employment for all residents desiring to work in the city.
• ED-2: Retail Development. A variety of retail shopping areas distributed strategically throughout the City and regional retail, dining, and entertainment destinations in key locations with freeway access.
• ED-3: Quality of Life. A mix of land uses that generates a fiscal balance to support and enhance the community's quality of life.
• ED-4: Staff Capacity, Funding and Tools. Staff capacity, funding, and tools needed to achieve economic development goals.