Politics & Government
Re-Thinking Retail - Part 2
Some ways to move forward in revitalizing our retail sector
Yesterday we discussed the recent trends in re-thinking retail space and the work being done in our neighboring cities. If we fail to keep pace, our neighbors will grab the retail revenue, the customer base, the jobs and the homes that we could benefit from. We are already two or more years behind cities like Laguna Hills and Aliso Viejo, so we should agree on the need to move forward in an active manner to develop the city. Here are some suggestions -
SPECIFIC FOCUS, NOT GENERAL PLAN
The Council recently voted to spend $1,500,000 on a redo of the General Plan. To me that’s a foolish waste of taxpayer money. 90% of our City is fully built out already, so spending time and money looking at these areas is fool hearty. We need to focus on areas that need our attention, and not “do a study” but instead do what our neighbors are doing – proactively work with land owners, existing business owners, and future business owners to transform some of our aging shopping centers. Unless we act, we will be left behind.
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WORKING GROUP
Getting this done will require the involvement of many people, including Council (Scott Voigts would be a good person given his background in construction), Planning Commission (Robert deAlmeida used to make a living doing this), staff (Economic Development, Public Works, and Planning), and private sector participants.
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CITY MANAGER SEARCH
If we commit ourselves to actively work with everyone to create new retail areas in the City, we need to look for a City Manager who has these skills.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We have already committed to developing more affordable housing in the City, and we recently focused on veterans as potential recipients. We should fold this pursuit into the larger goal of redeveloping our city.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in January at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.
