Economic Development Policies

There are 32 policies and implementing actions in the economic development chapter of the North Fair Oaks Community Plan. Of these, 13 have been completed, four have been initiated and partially completed, six are ongoing and nine have not yet been initiated. Seventy-two percent of the policies and implementing actions in the economic development chapter of the Plan have been completed, initiated and partially completed or are ongoing and 28% have not been initiated. Click on the plus (+) symbol to expand each policy and its completion status. Priority goals or policies are indicated by a diamond symbol (♦) .

Completed

13

Initiated and Partially Completed

4

Ongoing

6

Not Initiated

9

    • Policy 1B.1: Enact land use and zoning policies that provide a sufficient supply of land for production, distribution, and repair uses along Spring Street in the core industrial area. Status: Complete

    • Policy 1C.1: Identify vacant or underutilized sites for community gardens in commercial, mixed-use and residential areas of North Fair Oaks. Seek neighborhood, community, and nonprofit partners for the ongoing operation and maintenance of one or more community gardens and community gathering spaces in North Fair Oaks. Status: Complete

    • Policy 1C.2: Investigate the feasibility of urban farming in North Fair Oaks. Explore the initiation of a small-scale urban agriculture program by formulating a solicitation for a partner organization, which can, in turn, identify ideal sites, organize volunteers, and help to obtain grant funding. Status: Complete

    • Policy 2A.1: Designate a dedicated small business liaison for North Fair Oaks responsible for ongoing communication with existing businesses. This could be through the County or nonprofit partners. Status: Complete

    • Policy 2B.1: Partner with appropriate agencies and organizations to create a focused entrepreneurship program for North Fair Oaks. Status: Complete

    • Policy 2B.2: Partner with the Small Business Administration and local financial institutions to publicize the availability of federal, State and private resources for microenterprise seed funding. Status: Complete

    • Policy 2B.3: Create a technical advisory service for small entrepreneurs in North Fair Oaks to provide information and training on resources available to new and emerging microenterprises. Status: Complete

      ♦ Policy 2B.4: Provide interested parties with comprehensive information in a single, easily digestible format on requirements and opportunities for starting businesses in North Fair Oaks, including information on regulatory requirements, procedures and fees, local sources of support, available resources, potential business locations, and other information. Status: Complete

    • Policy 3A.3: Support creation of new childcare locations in North Fair Oaks, including childcare space as part of new large-scale developments, and smaller-scale childcare in appropriate locations throughout North Fair Oaks, in order to support local workers in need of easily accessible childcare. Status: Complete

    • Policy 4A: Plan for and appropriately modify regulations to support the expansion of industrial, flex and research and development (R&D) uses in the Industrial Mixed-Use areas of North Fair Oaks. Status: Complete

    • Policy 4B.1: Allow live-work and related mixed-use product types in the Industrial Mixed-Use areas with a conditional use permit. Status: Complete

    • Policy 4B.2: Permit recreational and community facilities uses in the Industrial Mixed-Use areas with a conditional use permit provided that such uses are compatible with nearby production, distribution and repair activities. Status: Complete

    • Policy 4C.1: Identify opportunity sites (sites that are vacant or underutilized, and/or appropriate for significantly greater intensities of development) near planned transit facilities, in order to support transit usage and leverage increasing long-term demand for office, retail and residential development located near transit hubs. Promote and assist in redevelopment of appropriate identified sites. Status: Complete

    • Policy 1A.4: Identify opportunities to provide workforce training and re-training for unemployed, underemployed, or retired seniors needing or desiring employment. Identify opportunities to leverage seniors’ work experience by involving senior residents in mentoring and job training programs for youth and others. Status: Initiated and Partially Completed

    • Policy 1B.2: Designate a County, nonprofit, or other community-based partner lead agency responsible for business attraction efforts in North Fair Oaks. Status: Initiated and Partially Completed

    • ♦ Policy 2A.3: Conduct a feasibility study regarding the creation of a commercial corridor revitalization program for the primary commercial areas along Middlefield Road and 5th Avenue. Such a program would provide a comprehensive suite of technical assistance services in marketing, merchandising, and tenant improvement funding for local retail and professional service firms. Status: Initiated and Partially Completed

    • Policy 5C.1: Conduct and implement a commercial parking utilization study and parking program for North Fair Oaks commercial areas based on the policies in Chapter 3, Circulation and Parking. Status: Initiated and Partially Completed

    • ♦ Policy 1A.1: Collaborate with employment assistance organizations, local employers, and educational institutions to create a coordinated workforce training program targeted to North Fair Oaks residents. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1A.3: Prioritize workforce training for local youth, including continuation and expansion of existing youth jobs-training programs. Identify opportunities to create and expand space to house youth job training and workforce development programs and other youth job assistance programs. Ensure that new development does not displace, or provides for replacement or relocation of, space for existing youth workforce training programs. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 1D.1: Expand County outreach efforts to educate local employers on the benefits of local hiring, publicize opportunities for local hiring, and encourage companies to hire local residents. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1E.1: Continue to provide space for day labor programs in County facilities, and support to organizations that serve day laborers. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1E.2: Work with day labor organizations to identify day laborer needs, and to ensure that infrastructure changes, physical development and redevelopment, and other changes contemplated by the Community Plan consider day laborer needs and potential impacts on day laborers. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4C.2: Promote multifamily residential development and the development of new housing product types on key sites and in mixed-use areas as described in Chapter 6, Housing, and Chapter 7, Design Standards and Guidelines. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1A.2: Build on efforts by the County Human Services Agency (HSA), the San Mateo County Community College District, and other partners to create a green collar job program tailored specifically to the educational and linguistic needs of North Fair Oaks residents. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 1B.3: Identify and market specific sites or underutilized properties that would be suitable for use by emerging clean or green-tech industries. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 2A.2: Explore the creation of a commercial beautification and façade enhancement program, for new and existing businesses, to enhance storefronts and make them more welcoming, enhance overall appearance of commercial areas, and increase business attractiveness. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 2A.4: Investigate the feasibility of establishing a Business Improvement District (BID) in North Fair Oaks to support commercial revitalization and business assistance activities. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 3A.1: Identify infrastructure, space, and other expansion needs for existing business to expand while remaining in current locations. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 3A.2: If expansion in place is infeasible, help businesses identify potential appropriate expansion sites at other locations within North Fair Oaks. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 4C.3: Identify remediation needs for potential opportunity sites that may require clean-up, as described in Chapter 5, Health and Wellness, and identify responsible parties and potential sources for remediation assistance. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 5A.1: Provide regulatory and financial incentives for the commercial redevelopment of vacant and underutilized parcels along El Camino Real and Middlefield Road to build on the synergy of these well-established retail corridors. Status: Not Initiated

    • Policy 5B.1: Actively recruit a new full-service pharmacy to capture retail sales that are currently leaking from North Fair Oaks in this category. Identify one or more potential sites for a new pharmacy or for a mixed-use development with ground floor pharmacy use. Potentially partner with an experienced commercial brokerage or nonprofit economic development agency to develop a targeted outreach effort for a new pharmacy. Status: Not Initiated