Final Solano County Economic Diversification Study Prepared for: Solano County Prepared by: Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. (EPS) Center for Strategic Economic Research (CSER) Solano Economic Development Corporation (Solano EDC) September 2014 EPS #132024 This study was prepared under contract with the County of Solano, California, with financial support from the Office of Economic Adjustment, Department of Defense. The content reflects the views of the County of Solano and its participating Partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Economic Adjustment. This page is blank intentionally. Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... ES-1 BACKGROUND AND KEY FINDINGS ..................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 The Need for Economic Diversification ......................................................................... 3 Project Approach ...................................................................................................... 4 Public Engagement Strategy ....................................................................................... 4 Technical Analyses .................................................................................................... 8 Key Outcomes of the Project .................................................................................... 19 MOVING SOLANO FORWARD ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY ......................................... 21 A Unifying Vision and Objective for the County ........................................................... 21 Overarching Goals Guiding Strategy .......................................................................... 21 Moving SOLANO Forward Strategy ............................................................................ 25 Next Steps ............................................................................................................. 25 List of Tables Table ES-1 MSF Strategy—Summary (3 pages) ......................................................... ES-11 List of Figures Figure 1-1 Solano County and Surrounding Regions ......................................................... 2 Figure 1-2 Moving SOLANO Forward Project Schedule ...................................................... 5 Figure 1-3 Prioritized SWOT Analysis ........................................................................... 16 i Technical Analysis Appendices Memorandum I: Demographic and Economic Profile and Real Estate Analysis ................. I-1 Appendix A: Demographic and Economic Profile ................................................... I-33 Appendix B: Market Performance Indicators ....................................................... I-103 Appendix C: Vacant Land Supply ...................................................................... I-109 Appendix D: Real Estate Land Demand Analysis .................................................. I-125 Appendix E: Interviews ................................................................................... I-135 Memorandum II: Regional Economic Development Ecosystem Analysis .......................... II-1 Memorandum III: County Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis.... III-1 Memorandum IV: Viable Industry Sectors and Clusters Analysis ..................................... IV-1 Addenda Addendum 1: June 2014 Solano County Economic Diversification Study Draft Report Comments .................................................................... V-1 ii Acronyms ABAG .................................................................................. Association of Bay Area Governments ACTC .........................................................................Alameda County Transportation Commission APA .............................................................................................. American Planning Association Bay Area ................................................................................................ San Francisco Bay Area CalTrans .......................................................................... California Department of Transportation CEDS ................................................................... Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy CEQA .................................................................................... California Environmental Quality Act County ............................................................................................................ County of Solano county ................................................................................................................ Solano County CPTED .................................................................Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design CSER ............................................................................... Center for Strategic Economic Research CTE .................................................................................................. Career Technical Education DoD ................................................................................... United States Department of Defense ED ......................................................................................................... economic development EDA ................................................................................... Economic Development Administration EDC............................................................................ Solano Economic Development Corporation EPS ....................................................................................... Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. FBI ............................................................................................. Federal Bureau of Investigation Highway 12 ........................................................................................................ State Route 12 I-80 ..................................................................................................................... Interstate 80 I-680 .................................................................................................................. Interstate 680 IFD ............................................................................................ Infrastructure Financing District JPA ......................................................................................................... Joint Powers Authority LAFCO ................................................................................. Local Agency Formation Commission MSF..................................................................................................... Moving SOLANO Forward MSF Strategy .................................................................................... MSF Diversification Strategy MTC ............................................................................... Metropolitan Transportation Commission OEA............................................................................................. Office of Economic Adjustment SACOG ......................................................................... Sacramento Area Council of Governments SBDC ................................................................................... Small Business Development Center SCC ................................................................................................... Solano Community College SCS ............................................................................... ABAG Sustainable Communities Strategy iii Acronyms (continued) SPUR ........................................... formerly, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association STA ............................................................................................ Solano Transportation Authority State ............................................................................................................. State of California STEM .............................................................. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics SWOT .............................................................. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats TOD ............................................................................................. Transit-Oriented Development Travis AFB/TAFB ......................................................................................... Travis Air Force Base UCD ........................................................................................... University of California at Davis WIB ........................................................................Workforce Investment Board of Solano County iv Acknowledgements Moving SOLANO Forward Partners Mayor Jack Batchelor, City of Dixon Maurilio Leon, Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC) Suzanne Bragdon, City of Suisun City Russ Lester, Dixon Ridge Farms Tim Chapa, City of Rio Vista Jim Lindley, City of Dixon Boris Chumak, County of Solano Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, City of Benicia Catherine Cook, County of Solano Mayor Harry Price, City of Fairfield Birgitta Corsello, County of Solano Sean Quinn, City of Fairfield Mayor Osby Davis, City of Vallejo Mike Reagan, Consultant Tom Dunn, Travis Air Force Base Mayor Norman Richardson, City of Rio Vista Sabine Goerke-Shrode, County of Solano