SEQUIM — The City Council has fulfilled one of its priorities for 2014-15 by adopting new “core values and guiding principles for economic development.”
Joe Irvin, the city’s special projects manager, said the new document isn’t a work plan but rather will be used by the council as it makes decisions “related to the strengthening and expansion of the city’s economic base.”
“They define what is truly important for the city’s success,” Irvin said.
The core values and guiding principles were put together by city staff after the council gave them the go-ahead during the May 12 council meeting.
The process required an extensive outreach effort, including a community meeting.
City staff also met with more than 50 local Realtors seeking input.
“We had a great conversation for an hour and a half,” Irvin said.
The board of the Sequim-Dungeness Chamber of Commerce also provided advice.
Key idea
Perhaps the most important suggestion came from the Clallam County Economic Development Council, which recommended the expansion of the goals to recognize that Sequim is part of a larger regional economic community.
“What we do affects the region, and vice versa,” Irvin said.
Many of the themes are familiar:
The core values include supporting development and redevelopment in downtown Sequim, and a continuing emphasis on encouraging the expansion of tourism in the city.
They also include providing the city’s “development community” with “a review process that delivers accurate and concise information as it relates to development standards and the costs of development.”
That will help meet the council’s goal of “ensuring Sequim remains an attractive municipality in which to invest capital.”
The friendliness to new business extends throughout the core values, including a promise to evaluate the economic development impact of proposed city regulations.
Irvin said because Sequim is a small city in a largely rural region, “we have both unique opportunities and unique obstacles to overcome.
“Establishing core values will help to ensure that the city maintains an appropriate housing and jobs balance and creates more industrial and technical jobs that pay a living wage.”
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Reporter Mark Couhig can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at mcouhig@peninsuladailynews.com.
