Creative Economy Council Report Card by Creative Fresno

Report Card Follow-up to the Creative Economy Council’s recommendations August 20, 2007

Have you been paying attention?

ave you been downtown to the Movies in the Park and noticed that a handful of downtown restaurants have given up and closed their doors while other have optimistically opened theirs? Have you enjoyed Taco

Tuesdays at Grizzlies Stadium or did you catch Def Leppard’s packed concert? Did you make it to the General Plan 2025 Outreach — Creating

a Better Fresno Together event at Full Circle Brewery and learn that city planners are young creative professionals passionate about this community? Have you been reading on MindHub about the Outdoor Dining Policy, the divisive Riverwalk or the Adaptive Reuse Policy? Do you have an opinion on the Hotel Fresno, Running Horse or the revitalization of Lake Washington in Roeding Park? Did you know that Fresno has a Roller Derby team and a great community supported radio station hosting A Prairie Home Companion every weekend? Do you think Fresno is stepping closer to becoming a world-class city, falling back into black sheep status, or merely treading in apathetic waters? The ability to pay attention, keep up, stay engaged and tune-in… that is the point of this Creative Economy Council Report Card sponsored by Creative Fresno. The days of “there is nothing to do in Fresno”, “Fresno, it really does suck here”, and “Fresno, a nowhere close to everywhere” are firmly hanging out in the recent memory of many of the young professionals who have made the choice to call Fresno home. But that memory might be fading. Those of you familiar with the CEC report will be happy to know that community chatter about the “Fresno, it really does suck here” t-shirt is being replaced by incredulous gossip about the newest Starbucks ceramic mug available for purchase around town… “Fresno, California’s next frontier”. The reality of Fresno’s position as a potential “next big thing” is slowly creeping into our consciousness, but is it hyperbolized hype, legitimized hope or merely the entrenched cycle of community development that both acclaimed and then destroyed the Fulton Mall?

Report Card

In early 2006, at the request of Mayor Alan Autry, a group of energetic volunteers learned about and discussed the ability of Fresno to retain, attract, develop and support creative professionals. This group, the Creative Economy Council, developed a 65-page recipe for implementing community transformation. The recipe had four main ingredients or recommendations: • Mindset • Smart Growth • Urban Living • Quality of Place Each of these four recommendations had very specific strategic goals that could be achieved by either the City or the community. After the release of the report, the Creative Economy Council was dissolved and the over-site of the report was taken on as a priority of Creative Fresno. Many of the original CEC members are also Creative Fresno members which has given continuity to the progress of the report.

Making the Grade If the report was a shout-out to the community to buy the book, get into class, and put in the homework needed for Fresno to graduate from California’s black sheep to California’s next frontier, then this document is a report card of that progress. Each of the strategic goals under the four key recommendations has been given standard academic grades outlining both the pros and cons of the goal’s progress. Furthermore, additional clarifying recommendations have been included to help the City and the community better understand the spirit and intent of the original recommendation. Some goals have received an “I” representing “incomplete”. These are items which require more than 18 months to ascertain whether or not results have been achieved. They have not had enough time for demonstrative results and progress to be made. These need to be revisited in the next 12 to 24 months. Some goals were implemented per the recommendations, but not to the extent intended in the original CEC report. In other places, the City or community organizations have revisited the strategic goal and developed their own recommendations. Some departments, like the City’s Parks & Recreation, have made extraordinary strides forward, yet they received a mid-level grade because the community has not yet accomplished the specific recommendations outlined in the CEC report. These grades are intended to guide City and community leaders as they further prioritize the transformation of this community while working to retain, attract, develop and support creative professionals.

Report Card

Change a Mindset, Change a Community

B+

Strategic Goal

Stay the course

Adhere to and fully integrate the goals of the 2025 Fresno General Plan. Pro: • Individual council reports include a section on how each initiative or project impacts the 2025 General Plan. • The Planning Department is working with community groups to request input on various projects as a way to flesh out specific initiatives within plan. • There has been a push to better educate City staff on the 2025 Plan through a series of “Lunch & Learn” events. Con: • While those who work directly with the goals and vision of the 2025 Plan are familiar with the plan, more education throughout City staff is needed. • While there are some interesting mixed-use plans in the works, most of the development is still standard. There should be a stronger push for progressive planning. Recommendation: • Continue to push for progressive planning. • Develop an easy reference tool for City employees and the public to more easily understand the 2025 Plan. • Deliver annual report cards on the progress being made to reach the goals of the 2025 Plan.

B+

Strategic Goal

Location, location, location

Creatively market Fresno-area attributes both internally and externally. Pro: • The City’s upgraded and redesigned Web site received top honors as published in the November 27, 2006 edition of Computerworld. • An experienced film commissioner, Ray Arthur, was hired. • Mayor blogged on The Fresno Bee’s blog on one occasion. Con: The city has not defined a conscious marketing plan to communicate the authentic positive attributes of the area both internally and externally. Although a public relations strategy has been defined by the city, it focuses on quantity and not quality. Recommendation: • Develop a strategic marketing plan to properly communicate the authentic positive attributes of the area both internally and externally. • Be mindful to market City as a place and not just as an organization.

Report Card

Strategic Goal

Take the Lead

s the geographic center of California, the Fresno Metropolitan Area should work to A provide leadership and support to the entire Central Valley. Pro: • The Mayor is on the board of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, an organization focusing on achieving a prosperous economy, quality environment, and social equity across the 8-county San Joaquin Valley. • The City of Fresno is looking regionally to plan for future traffic and transportation by leading the way with the Metro-Rural Loop plan which received a seed grant of $125,000. • The City of Fresno has the biggest fleet in state of clean fuel vehicles and is the only municipality on the West Coast to have a Compressed Natural Gas station on-site. • Mayor was appointed to both the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the California Film Commission. • The Fresno City Planning Commission has initiated quarterly meetings with the Planning Commissions of Fresno County, Madera County and the City of Clovis to maximize knowledge, opportunities and resources. • City organizations and stakeholders are playing an active role in the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley and the Valley Blueprint Process. Con: There is a concern about the potential of the Metro-Rural Loop decreasing density and increasing miles traveled. Recommendations: • The City is doing well in this area and should continue the good work. • The City should utilize and support both the Partnership and the Blueprint Process as a mechanism for creating addition leadership roles for the city.

Strategic Goal

Celebrate, Leverage and Capitalize on our Diversity

Ensure that Fresno is a place that celebrates its cultural and ethnic diversity. Pro: • There have been concerts at Grizzlies stadium. • Funded $5,000 towards the Cinco De Mayo Event at Fink-White. • Funded $5,000 towards the march & event for Martin Luther King held at Fresno Memorial Auditorium. • Funded $5,000 towards the Hmong New Year Celebration. • Hmong Water Festival held in May had over 20,000 participants. The festival relocated from the County to the Regional Sports Complex. • Supported the Juneteenth Celebration for African American Youth held in June. • Future cultural events are planned including the Jhacar Cultural Festival in October at Woodward Park which will be relocating from Sacramento and the Scottish Games in September at Roeding Park which will be relocating from Madera. Con: Both the Cinco de Mayo event and Martin Luther King event moved from Fresno to Clovis.

Report Card

Recommendations: • Support and fund multicultural and agricultural-related festivals and fairs on the Fulton Mall. • Don’t charge for Fulton Mall usage for festivals and fairs. • Work with our local PBS station to create public access channels. • Market area’s diversity and leverage current events and programs to bring in additional funding and economic development. • Launch a television show on access cable to promote the positive attributes and amenities of the Fresno Area. • Work with local cultural organization to create ethnic film festivals. • Promote cultural events universally to develop diversities within the audiences.

Be Smart About Growth

Strategic Goal

More than Standard

Commit to excellence in design standards. Pro: • Calthorpe Associates, a leader in new urban planning whose philosophy focuses on creating communities that are diverse, mixed-use, and pedestrian-friendly, has been hired to design the South East Growth Area Specific Plan. • Anti-Slum Task Force has been established to proactively protect neighborhoods from owners who do not maintain their property. Con: Meaningful long-term impact has not been demonstrated. Recommendations: • Follow the recommendations outlined in the CEC report. • LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certify at least one person in each of the departments that review plans. • Form-based planning codes should be an option for certain areas of the community to allow for excellence in design and innovation in distribution of uses.

A-

Strategic Goal

Think Green

stablish the Fresno region as a national leader in clean technology development and E entrepreneurial startups. Pro: • Fresno Yosemite International Airport receives approval on implementing solar panels. Construction on the project is expected to begin in July. The solar panels are expected to be powering the airport by April 2008 – saving $13 million over the next 25 years and greatly decreasing the impact on air pollution. • Fresno Green strategy launches in April 2007.

Report Card

• Increased the capacity at the Municipal Services Center of liquid natural gas (LNG) fuel from 15,000 gallons to 27,000 gallons of total capacity. • The Clean Energy Workgroup of the Governor’s Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley has proposed and received start-up funding for a San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Office to be housed in Fresno. • The Water and Energy Technology Incubator has opened as part of the Central Valley Business Incubator at Fresno State. The WET incubator will encourage clean technology development and entrepreneurial startups. • California’s largest solar facility and the third largest solar facility in the nation to be built in Fresno County by Cleantech America, LLC with a completion date slated for 2009. Con: Be more specific and aggressive on funding and timing to achieve the “green” goals outlined in the Fresno Green report. Recommendation: • Go paperless on all staff reports — like Clovis did two years ago. • Add water meters. • Offer to fast-track the permitting process for developers who meet or exceed green building standards.

Strategic Goal

Prioritize Parks Not Parking

Foster and promote green spaces and outdoor recreation throughout the city. Pro: • Green space per capita has increased to three acres per 1,000 population. • Major improvements have been made to Eaton Plaza and Roeding Park. • A world-class Universally Accessible Park as well as three other new parks are planned for next year. Con: Our community lags behind the national average as defined by Urban Land Institute of ten acres of green space per 1,000 population. Recommendations: • Move faster to implement the Master Urban Parkway. • Implement the Herndon Bankside Trail Project. • Complete the additional stages of the Eaton Plaza plan.

Report Card

A Thriving Urban Center

C-

Strategic Goal

Everything Downtown

Create and promote a vibrant and livable Downtown Pro: • Downtown is in the Municipal Restoration Zone (MRZ) area. • 38 new residential units have opened in the downtown area in the past 18 months. They have a 100% occupancy rate. • Through a number of different projects, all at various stages of completion, another 200 residential units are planned for the downtown core. 26 of which will be available in December of 2007. Others becoming available in 2008 and 2009. • Several new proposals for downtown are being discussed. Con: • Lack of visible activity to positively transform downtown. • Huge marquee projects are over shadowing smaller opportunities which focus more heavily on residential development. Recommendations: • Do a district by district downtown specific land use plan which would include zoning, historic overlay districts, design standards, signage, plan for phasing out non-conforming uses; landscaping, and public art. • Restructure the downtown improvement district to include non-retail and businesses that are above the first floor in order to increase funding for downtown revitalization program. • Give downtown development priority in planning process. • Downtown developers move to the front of the line. • Continue to promote mixed-use projects and relax prohibitive zoning restrictions. • Remove the 1960’s facades covering the historic storefronts. Increase the grant amount until people start using them. Target at least ten storefront improvements a year. • Incentivize good development. • Provide density bonuses to developers building in the city’s core. • Redevelopment Agency (RDA) to provide low interest loans and grants to non-traditional projects. • Ensure that good downtown design reflects quality, but allow for creativity above and beyond the standard. • Fast track the permitting process for downtown housing. • Create incentives for downtown in-fill housing. • Investigate other incentives to build and restore downtown. • Embrace innovative ideas. • Streamline processes. • Assist developers with stalled projects. • Create one ‘go-to’ person or liaison at City Hall for each project to work through the channels across the City departments and RDA. • Continue to promote mixed-use projects and relax prohibitive zoning restrictions. • Re-open second stories on the Fulton Mall for loft spaces.

Report Card

C-

Strategic Goal

Be Authentic

Prioritize the older, unique areas of Fresno. Pro: • Planning Department conducts historic surveys of older neighborhoods. • Vernacular Architecture Forum chose Fresno as location for 2008 conference. Con: • There are deteriorating buildings on the Fulton Mall and other areas of downtown that we are in jeopardy of losing, including the Hotel Fresno. • City is not actively investing in historic preservation. • The City of Fresno has one person assigned to historic preservation. Sacramento, a similar size city, has 4-5. • Meaningful long-term impact has not been demonstrated. Recommendations: • Investigate becoming a Mills Act City. The Mills Act is a property tax relief program that lessens the tax burden on building owners to aid in the building’s restoration and preservation. • Remove the 1960’s facades covering the historic storefronts. Increase the grant amount until people start using them. Target at least ten storefront improvements a year.

Strategic Goal

One City, Many Neighborhoods Commit to developing individual districts.

Pro: One-half of the requested funding was allocated. Con: PBID funding was not fully approved. It is difficult if not impossible to move forward with only partial funding. Recommendations: Fully fund PBID start-up loan funding.

Strategic Goal

Move to the Center

Improve Transportation to and in the urban core. Pro: • Measure C passed. • Increased busses on routes 28 & 38. Cons: City did not agree to do downtown signage as defined in the CEC report. Recommendations: • Downtown grid should be preserved in future developments. • Passing of Measure C should allow for signage.

Report Card

Quality of Place: Celebrating A Quality Community

Strategic Goal

Third Spaces

oster and promote those places that are neither home nor work, F yet where community is built. Pro: • Improvements to the current restrictions on sidewalk cafes. • Fulton Mall is clean. Con: Areas around new residential developments on Fulton & H St. are not clean, and there is illegal activity outside of those developments. Recommendations Keep areas around new residential areas clean and free of illegal activities.

B-

Strategic Goal

Step Across the Digital Divide

Focus resources on access to and investment in technology. Pro: • Launch of wifi on the Fulton Mall. • Clovis is planning on launching a citywide wifi service later this year, and Fresno leaders have been at the table. Con: • There is no current plan for citywide wifi or technology access. • The wifi on the Fulton Mall has a limited access area. Recommendation: Citywide wifi or other technology to allow all residents to access the Internet for free.

Strategic Goal

Listen to the Music

Promote and foster loud, lively stroll districts. Pro: It is now possible to have live music until 2:00 A.M. downtown. Con: • Limited knowledge — including among the downtown business owners — that it is possible to have live music late. • There are no downtown vendors or businesses taking advantage of it — other than Tokyo Gardens. Recommendations: Late night concerts downtown.

Report Card

D-

Strategic Goal

From ArtHop to Art Revolution Foster and promote art and culture.

Pro: • City gives the Fresno Arts Council office space at the rate of $1 per year. • City approved $35,000 as partial funding to do an economic impact develop study of the cultural arts. Con: • Out of the top 50 U.S. cities, we are the only one with out the a cultural arts director. • No funds set aside for cultural arts. Recommendations: • Set aside funds for cultural arts. • Hire a qualified cultural arts director.

Road Ahead As a living breathing document, the Creative Economy Council Report can be either racing with a heart-pounding sense of urgency or complacently sitting on the sidelines gathering dust. The goal of this report card, and subsequent report cards, is to encourage the city and county to persevere in the marathon that has become a true community transformation in Fresno. So you have been paying attention, you know we are moving forward making progress and you also know the work has just begun.

Glossary

Glossary of Terms Creative Class

term coined by Richard Florida, a Carnegie Mellon social scientist, to describe an A emerging class of professionals whose job it is to develop new ideas. The creative class includes very specific fields of work and is a subset of the larger group of creative professionals.

Creative Professional

O ften used synonymously with knowledge workers, a creative professional is a subset group of knowledge workers. A creative professional is defined as someone whose sole economic function is to create new ideas. This includes artists, architects, designers, technologists, and scientists.

Knowledge Workers Often used synonymously with creative professionals, knowledge workers are a broader group of professionals who, according to WhatIs.com, make a living at the tasks of developing or using knowledge. A knowledge worker contributes to the transformation and commerce of information. A term first used by Peter Drucker in his 1959 book, Landmarks of Tomorrow. This includes those in the information technology fields, academic professionals, researchers, lawyers, financial planners, and the like. Mindset

A ccording to Wikipedia, “A mindset, in decision theory and general systems theory, refers to a set of assumptions, methods or notations held by one or more people or groups of people which is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviors, choices, or tools. This phenomenon of cognitive bias is also sometimes described as mental inertia, ‘groupthink,’ or a ‘paradigm,’ and it is often difficult to counteract its effects upon analysis and decision making processes.”

Progressive

way of thinking that accepts the differences of people, keeps in mind the current and A future trends and the effects of actions taken.

Social Marketing

Techniques to influence a target audience to voluntarily accept, reject, modify or abandon a behavior for the benefit of individuals, groups or society as a whole.

Third Space

Coined by Ray Oldenburg (1989), in The Great Good Place, third spaces are distinctive informal gathering places. They are not home (first place), and they are not work (second place). They are community-meeting places. Places where chance meetings occur and casually turn into leisurely discussions. Third spaces encourage sociability, enrich public life and democracy, and are crucial to a thriving community.

The Third Space brings about “the kinds of relationships and the diversity of human contact that are the essence of the city,” Oldenburg wrote. Tipping Point

A ccording to Malcolm Gladwell in his book, The Tipping Point, the term, “Tipping Point,” comes from the world of epidemiology. It’s the name given to that moment in an epidemic when a virus reaches critical mass. It’s the boiling point. It’s the moment on the graph when the line starts to shoot straight upwards.

CH ECK LI ST

Quick Policy Checklist When evaluating a new policy or initiative, decision makers should explore whether or not they help us reach our goal to retain, attract, develop, and support creative professionals. Answering “yes” to as many of these questions as possible should be a priority of all area policy makers.

Does it help to creatively market Fresno-area attributes, internally, externally, or both? Does it help us work regionally? Does it help celebrate cultural and ethnic diversity? Does it further the goals of the 2025 Fresno General Plan? Does the policy promote excellence in design standards? Does it move us closer to being a leader in clean technology development and integration? Does it foster and promote green space, parks, and outdoor recreation? Does it promote a viable and livable downtown? Does it place priority on Fresno’s unique traits and older structures? Does it help promote individual neighborhood districts? Does it improve transportation in the urban core? Does it foster and promote those places that are neither home nor work, yet where community is built? Does it focus resources on access to and investment in technology? Does it promote loud, lively stroll districts downtown? Does it foster and promote art and culture?

Th anks

Acknowledgements Report Card Team

Suzanne Bertz-Rosa, Graphic & Web Designer, Bertz-Rosa Design Jarah Euston, Founder/Editor, Fresno Famous

Creative Fresno Board of Directors

Suzanne Bertz-Rosa, Board Chair Charlotte Hylton, Vice Chair

Tate Hill, Vice President of Program Services, Fresno West Coalition for Economic Development

Amy Guerra, Treasurer

Jaime K. Holt, Chief Communications Officier, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

Sarah Sharpe, Secretary

Shawn Miller, Business Development Manager, City of Clovis

Laura Fultz

James Collier

Craig Scharton, CEO, Central Valley Business Incubator

Nick Gundry

Timothy M. Stearns, Director, Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno

Tate Hill

Andy Hansen-Smith Jaime Holt Geoff Kramer Lisa Matthews Travis Sheridan Josh Tehee Amanda Tout