Plans and Policies Committee hears proposal for eco devo consultant

The Springfield City Council Plans and Policies Committee yesterday heard a recommendation from Amanda Ohlensehlen, the city of Springfield’s director of workforce and economic vitality, to hire a consultant to establish best practices for economic development strategy. The suggestion was referred to the committee in January.

Ohlensehlen said the idea prompting the referral is to consider how the city approaches economic development through the use of fiscal analysis.

“That conversation really helped to outline a goal to ensure that our economic development decisions were not just reactive but we’re being more proactive in how we plan for that with a clear, intentional strategy for the community and how we can evaluate projects more holistically,” she said.

Ohlensehlen suggested asking the Citizens’ Advisory Board for $1 million in Spring Forward SGF tax funds to pay for the consultant, as the money would be used for transformational policies to inform the city’s efforts moving forward.

The desired outcome is a plan-driven approach to implement the city’s Forward SGF strategic plan, Ohlensehlen said, while moving away from a reactive or transactional model of development and redevelopment.

The consultant would also make recommendations to modernize development review processes through better data tools that promote public transparency and track success, she said.

Through the resulting plan, the city can suggest specific sites for development with a thorough understanding of their challenges while promoting the types of development that makes sense for the area, according to Ohlensehlen.

She suggested establishing a $5 million economic development fund that could be used to catalyze reinvestment for key priorities in the Forward SGF comprehensive plan. That fund would be used for strategic investments and creative incentive tools.

Councilmember Craig Hosmer suggested the city make small steps with what he called low-hanging fruit, and Ohlensehlen said some initial recommendations would come out of the planning process.

He added that if the city were to engage in more planning, there would be a chance to take friction away.

Hosmer indicated neighborhood residents are not necessarily opposed to development, but they don’t want developers to dictate those decisions.

“We seem to be complicit in that sometimes,” he said. “What this does is give us to opportunity to say the big picture, that our plan as the city is going to be for the future.”

Councilmember Heather Hardinger said such a plan could promote smart development among investors.

“Until we have a story behind what we’d like to see the neighborhoods to look like, and some of the pockets of Springfield that maybe have been neglected for a while, I think it’s really hard to paint that picture for investors,” she said.

Ohlensehlen said a plan will help with development in various areas throughout the city, each with their own needs.

“They each kind of require their own nudge, so to speak, but we will know what that plan is, and then we can be working toward that with the right action steps,” she said.

Councilmember Abe McGull directed Ohlensehlen to provide examples of the kind of work consultants are doing in other cities to write economic development plans before further committee discussion.