BM 2004-11-16 EcDevCOPPELL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
November 16, 2004
MINUTES
The Coppell Economic Development Committee met in a special called meeting at 6:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at Coppell Town Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 255
Parkway Boulevard, Coppell, Texas 75019. The following were present: Bill Rohloff, Bill
Lowery, Larry Kingsbury, John Durand, Marvin Franklin, Ken Luttmer, Matt Hall, City Manager
Jim Witt, Deputy City Manager Clay Phillips, and Andrea Roy.
Call to Order
Chairman Rohloff called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.
Discussion regarding the compilation of an Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Andrea Roy distributed materials on the formatting of the Strategic Plan (see attachment).
Also, based on the Committee's ideas for strategies and tactics that were provided to City
Staff via e-mail since the last meeting, City Staff distributed a comprehensive list of all
comments as they relate to the three primary goals-Recruitment, Retention, and Old
Coppell (see attachment). The Committee began discussions on the wording of the three
primary goals. The following was decided:
Goal-Recruitment
To recruit a broad range of businesses which have a long-term positive impact on the
growth of the tax base.
Goal-Retention/Expansion
To retain and expand existing businesses to preserve and enhance the City's' tax base.
Goal-OM Coppell
Discussion began related to Old Coppell and what the Committee's role should be in
facilitating development in the area. It was determined that more in depth discussions
with pertinent City Staff would have to occur as the Committee investigates manners in
which to encourage the revitalization of Old Coppell.
City Staff will revise and bring back to the Committee, the comprehensive list of
comments, incorporating tonight's discussed modifications.
With no further business to discuss, it was moved by Larry Kingsbury and seconded by
Marvin Franklin that the meeting adjourn. By unanimous vote, the meeting was adjourned
at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Roy
Economic Development Coordinator
Coppell Economic Development
Strategic Plan Format/Terminology
VISION/MISSION STATEMENT: To facifitate the recruitment, retention, and expansion of
business to maximize the tax base of Coppell consistent with the values of the community.
GOAL #1
A. Strategy
i. Tactic -Timeline/Milestones
-SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
-Performance Measurement (Output, Benchmarks, Evaluation)
ii. Tactic
B. Strategy
GOAL #2
A. Strategy
i. Tactic -Timeline/Milestones
-SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
-Performance Measurement (Output, Benchmarks, Evaluation)
ii. Tactic
B. Strategy
GOAL #3
A. Strategy
i. Tactic -Timeline/Milestones
-SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
-Performance Measurement (Output, Benchmarks, Evaluation)
ii. Tactic
B. Strategy
DEFINITIONS
VISION/MISSION STATEMENT - which identifies what the community will become. The
vision should build on assets and coordinate a response to community needs in a
comprehensive fashion.
GOAL - A clear, broad statement about economic development the city wants to achieve. A
statement of a comprehensive and holistic set of goals to be achieved through
implementation of outlined strategies.
(ie-To preserve and enhance tax base of the community)
STRATEGY - flow from goals and are pathways to achieving those goals.
(ie- Ensure that incentives are remaining competitive within the region)
TACTIC - Basically, the activity itself.
(ie-Produce Annual Review of Current Incentives)
MISSION
To facifitate the recruitment, retention, and expansion of business to maximize the tax base of
Coppell consistent with the values of the community.
GOAL-RECRUITMENT
Strategy: Develop Specific marketing plans for recruitment
Tactics: 1. Marketing plans targeting developers, companies ,brokers and key
key existing property owners (ie. hot spots)
Developers:
A. Enhance relationship with key existing developers(Q&A;
feedback on critical conditions necessary to facilitate or accelerate
development)
B. Explore areas of public/private partnership (ie. seeding/capitalizing
an Economic Development Corporation
C. Discuss hot spots with specific developers and share information,
i.e. Idea Exchanges
D. Equip with strong city marketing package supporting economics of
development here.
Brokers:
A. Enhance relationships with key land and space brokers (Q&A;
Idea Exchanges)
B. Discuss appropriate Hot Spots
Companies:
A. Periodic direct mail program to corporate "site selectors"
B. Prepare strong city marketing package supporting economics and
advantages of locating here.
Hot Spots:
A. Understand market conditions and city's ability to facilitate
development of these locations relative to its expectations.
B. Establish priorities
C. Identify uses
D. Meet with landowners or research landowner situations ,ie
understand their ownership objectives or issues.
E. Identify brokers/developers/users
F. Set critical path for goal achievement.
Strategy: Develop Specific Approaches to Enhance Coppell's image as business
Friendly
Tactics: 1.
2.
Update marketing packages (professional assistance)
Gather testimonials from companies; developers, citizens, etc. on
Coppell as business friendly and strong quality of life.
3. Identify all potential barriers to entry and eliminate them (ie., make the
tree ordinance significantly more flexible and accommodating;
develop a specific action plan to eliminate alcohol ban, etc.)
4. Commission a retail study to identify specific sales leakage in Coppell
to surrounding communities in order to properly direct and support retail
retail occupancy in Coppell and identify retail needs.
Strategy:
Identify Key relationship Targets/Establish Goals
Tactics: 1. Obtain commercial broker listings in Coppell market
2. Identify key existing landowners
3. Identify key property owners (land and building)
4. Others (eg. Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
5. Prioritize them in order of importance (ie. helping Coppell obtain its
goals )
· -Identify the types of businesses that would be attracted to the Coppell demographic
· -Create a plan to proactively attract those identified businesses
· -Review the tax abatement and other negotiable (reforestation, etc.) components to ensure
competitiveness with surrounding cities
· Are there any incentives beyond the tax abatements usually sought to encourage current
property owners to seek developers. Perhaps we could conduct a seminar on this subject.
· Review (for possible enhancement) of the City's incentive programs.
· Create a target list of"desired" business types.
· Determine obstacles for business relocations to Coppell.
· Define marketing efforts (if any) to attract new business.
· Study other successful cities and find out what they may be doing.
· Identify Coppell's strengths and weaknesses in the area of recruitment as they relate to other
similar markets in Texas and the region.
· Identify and log "Hot Spots" and update as necessary.
· Create specific promotional marketing campaign around eliminating "Hot Spots".
· Conduct regularly scheduled meetings with local broker community to exchange information
and promote Coppell.
· Develop top notch marketing materials for the City to promote business relocation to Coppell.
· Discover, target, and create marketing plans towards companies that could potentially expand
in Coppell in the near term.
· Target a specific type of business that we want and then create a specific task force from
within city staff, the Economic Development Committee, and even other citizens with specific
ties/expertise in the target business' field. This task force will brainstorm how to get this
targeted business to consider us right through inking the deal. Examples are a Harley dealer or
a band instrument store.
· Sit down with the owners of prime "hot spots" and start working together with them to get
the types of businesses that we want on those tracts, rather than just waiting for them or
outside brokers to bring us what crops up.
· Get the beer & wine issue teed up for discussion and for consideration on a future ballot -
SOON!!
· Investigate some means (SUP requirements, creation of trade zones, etc.) of restricting deals
being consummated on "hot spots" for all but the types of businesses we want. This is
necessary to prevent development that "underachieves" the desires of the citizens of Coppell.
· Rework the Tree Mitigation Ordinance to give Council some latitude in it's' enforcement
when the current ordinance restricts our ability to attract the types of businesses that we are
seeking.
GOAL-RETENTION
Strategy: Identify Key Relationship Targets
Tactics: 1. Identify key property owners and specific tenants with potential or
actual retention/expansion issues.
2. Understand expansion needs/timetable/growth patterns of each (periodic
surveys?)
3. Prioritize in order of importance and address threshhold questions (ie.
How critical is Coppell to them and vice versa ? Why are the they
considering moving? Is it worth getting involved at all? ,etc.)
4. Understand and avoid risks of conflict (ie. one developers loss is anothers
gain, perhaps due to city involvement).
Strategy: Develop specific a'la carte action program designed for tenant retention
Tactics: 1. Tax incentive programs that deplete at gradual levels over longer periods.
Eliminate "cliffs" (ie. sudden expirations)
2. More aggressive, longer term incentives for higher tax volume generators;
lower and shorter ones for others.
3. Monitor properties(developers) throughout lease terms it identify
prospects and develop courses of action/alternatives. Maintain lease
terms/options inventory lists?
4. Discourage move-outs by tenants with existing tax incentives (explicit
penalties and reimbursement penalties an insure enforceability).
Understand legal ramifications, rights and develop courses of action
in advance.
· Maintain an occupancy rate of % of developed office space
· Create a relationship management plan where every business is proactively contacted by the
Economic Dev/City to retain the business and learn of any issues or concerns before they
happen
· Appoint an Ad Hoc representative from the "big boxes" to meet with our committee once a
quarter. The purpose being to swap ideas and listen to their concerns.
· Create a one page news letter and sent it out to all of the businesses.
· Create and send out a survey to all of the businesses.
· We have a "Citizens Summit". How about a similar summit for the businesses.
· Review (for possible enhancement) of the City's incentive programs.
· Determine satisfaction level of existing businesses (visit, survey, mailing, etc...).
· Determine future expansion/relocation plans of existing businesses (visit, survey, etc...).
· Try to match the two previous items with solutions within the city.
· Routine / periodic visits to key businesses to make sure they are happy.
· Identify Coppell's strengths and weaknesses in the area of retention as they relate to other
similar markets in Texas and the region.
· Identify businesses that may consider leaving Coppell and develop a strategy to retain them.
· Develop promotional marketing campaign to promote retention among targeted Coppell
businesses.
· Hold regularly scheduled meetings with those businesses that have received tax abatements,
grants, or other incentives to continue the promotion of Coppell.
· Create specific strategy to market to businesses that have tax abatements, grants, or other
incentive expiring within a set time period.
· Put tougher retention requirements in future incentive packages for new businesses seeking
abatements. Requirements should require repayment of significant portions of abatements if
the business doesn't remain well beyond the term of the abatement.
· Target businesses we currently have in Coppell that will generate the most sales tax for
Coppell under the anticipated Streamlined Sales Tax legislation, when and if it passes.
· Create community activities which involve existing companies and their employees, such as
softball leagues with company teams, an annual flag football league/tournament, a golf
tournament, and "all sports" competition with a permanent trophy for the winners, monthly
appreciation/recognition of one of these companies with benefits to their employees during
their month, etc. If we have some of the best parks and recreation facilities in the DFW area,
we should put them to work with our corporate "citizens" as well as we do with our residents.
· Have a specific task force set up to call on each of these companies on an annual basis to see
how they are feeling about Coppell and what we could be doing better to make them "feel at
home."
· Put together incentive packages of some kind for empty, under utilized space and offer to
existing Coppell businesses first if those types of incentives might make them remain in the
city or expand their operations here.
GOAL- Transform/Revitalize Old Coppell into a viable activity center utilized by
Coppell and surrounding communities.
Strategy: Determine what Old Coppell is to look like (Define it) and set expectations
accordingly.
Tactics: 1. Reevaluate Old Coppell in light of market and location realties
2. Examine each parcel, identify ownership situations. Gain control
of or influence groups of land/property owners.
3. Develop a 2-3 year plan for purchasing land parcels key to masterplan
4. Prepare Coppell aided relief or funding programs for attractive
tenants/development plans.
Strategy: Create viable entertainment activity area or areas
Tactics: 1. Sports (par 3 golf; soccer; roller hockey, etc.). Third party managed
2. Concert/Theatre/banquet facilities
3. Prepare Coppell aided relief or funding programs for attractive
development plans.
Strategy:
Tactics:
Attract Destination Retail Occupants
1. Conduct surveys(retail study)/opinions of retail experts
2. Target viable retail tenants
3. Prepare Coppell aided relief or funding programs for attractive
development plans.
Strategy:
Tactics:
Attract office or other higher traffic occupancy users
1. Consult with 2 to 3 specific office brokers
2. Design/Zone and locate accordingly
3. Prepare Coppell aided relief or funding programs for attractive
development plans.
· -Create 5 year plan for Old Coppell - specifically what will it look like
· -Establish yearly goals to accomplish the 5 year plan (i.e. Yr 1, 2 restaurants; Yr 2, etc .... )
· Outside sales/commercial promotions,
· Creating a walkable environment,
· Creating a more friendly green space (Windmill Location), and
· Promoting Old Coppell with a creative logo to better give the area its own identity.
· Could we encourage the City to reroute the July 4th and Christmas
parades through Old Coppell?? It amazes me how many Coppell residents
don't know that Old Coppell exists. If the residents could be led there
it might stimulate more of them to shop Old Coppell.
· Create a target list of"desired" business types for the area.
· Create special incentive plans to target this area.
· Study/visit similar areas in other cities for development ideas.
· Determine if there are businesses that are already there that may want to expand.
· Define marketing efforts (if any) to attract new business to this area.
· Create promotional marketing campaign to explain Old Coppell goals to greater Coppell
community.
· Create Old Coppell specific recruitment marketing plan aimed at target businesses.
· Target key brokers for special Old Coppell information sessions.
· Creative special incentive program exclusive to businesses relocating to Old Coppell.
· Needs a centerpiece attraction, other than just a restaurant. Must have a destination business
that isn't concerned about being in a highly visible location or on a major arterial. Some sort
of"ego" business that likes being by itself and enjoys a laid back atmosphere. A museum. An
antiques dealer. A very selective specialty sporting goods store. A custom car/motorcycle
shop. An art gallery.
· Need to find a developer partner who has the vision to take this project on. Perhaps an
architecture or municipal land management department at some major university could work
with this to give it some "fresh ideas" and gain some notoriety.
· A nearby residential component will help make this project go. Consideration should be given
(again) to allowing a high-end town home project here.
· An office condominium project makes sense here, much more so than in other parts of the
city.