City of Seattle Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

NEWS ADVISORY
SUBJECT:   Mayor Greg Nickels Announces Program To Improve Economy, Add Family Wage Jobs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    7/30/2002  9:30:00 AM	FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of the Mayor  (206) 684-4000

Mayor Greg Nickels Announces Program
To Improve Economy, Add Family Wage Jobs
Plan Follows Task Force Recommendations

Seattle – Mayor Greg Nickels today released an aggressive program to improve the City’s business climate and add more family wage jobs.

The mayor’s program would reduce gridlock, eliminate unnecessary permitting delays, streamline building regulations, and improve customer service and assistance to small businesses.

Designed in response to recommendations by the mayor’s Economic Opportunity Task Force, the program continues efforts to help minority and women-owned businesses compete for City contracts.

Elements of the mayor’s program include:

• Cutting the wait time for permit applications from 4 to 2 weeks.
• Completing review of small and simple projects within 48 hours.
• Extending permit time for projects delayed by the economic downturn.
• Using city sewer lines to help solve the "last mile" problem of broadband Internet access.
• Simplifying and streamlining the land-use code.
• Establishing an ombudsperson to help businesses overcome bureaucratic hurdles.
• Finding funding sources for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
• Strengthening street maintenance programs.
• Exploring the creation of one-stop, online permitting.

Nickels’ plan also outlines new or expanded partnerships with the high-tech hub at the University of Washington. It recommends easing certain development restrictions affecting the university, as well as exploring a possible UW research park.

"This is a common-sense agenda," Nickels said, "It will help us to improve basic services to make it easier to do business in the City, develop a better-trained workforce and promote business practices that leave none of our citizens behind. This agenda will help keep Seattle competitive."

The mayor said the City needs to strip away unnecessary processes so that businesses, especially small businesses, can focus on what they do best.

"Small businesses are the backbone of this City, but we’ve made it difficult for them to thrive," Nickels said. "My program looks at how we can get out of the way without diminishing the important regulatory responsibilities that cities must maintain."

In addition, Nickels said his program also recognizes the important role the University of Washington plays in the region’s economic vitality.

"We know that the University of Washington is a catalyst for the high-tech industry, and others as well," Nickels said. "By partnering with the University, the City can help emerging industries grow in Seattle, and create more family wage jobs."

In addition to focusing on high-technology industries, Nickels is directing his Office of Economic Development and its new director, Jill Nishi, to reach out to biotechnology and renewable energy/clean technology firms, as well as to important traditional sectors such as manufacturing and the maritime industry.

The mayor is acting on recommendations from the Economic Opportunity Task Force, a 38-member group of business, labor, education and community leaders he appointed in March. The Task Force was charged with helping the mayor find ways to re-invigorate Seattle’s economy.

"I appreciate the time and expertise the Task Force members have devoted to this effort," Nickels said. "They have given us great ideas to help businesses and to create good jobs in our City."

Nickels announced his program at the Institute for Systems Biology, a leader in biotechnology, one of the industries targeted in Nickels’ plan.

To see all of Mayor Nickels’ program, and the report by the task force, visit www.cityofseattle.net/mayor.

NOTE:
Mayor Nickels' Strategy immediately follows this release.

1. Focus on the "basics":

• Continue to advocate for regional/state/federal funding for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Committing $5million to keep the project on schedule.
• Help create and pass a successful regional transportation funding measure.
• Maintain, and if possible increase, city funding for street maintenance.
• Improve transportation signs.
• Improve public transit in Seattle. Mayor Nickels is advocating that Seattle gets its equitable share of transit resources allocated by King County and Sound Transit. The Mayor is also advocating for federal funding to implement Bus Rapid Transit on the Aurora Corridor.
• Increase access to broadband telecommunications services. In 6 weeks, the Mayor will submit legislation allowing fiber to be installed in city sewers to assist with the last mile connectivity. This is expected to help key city areas such as South Lake Union.
• Support neighborhood business districts. The City recently broke ground on the "Ave" project, a $9 million project that will make significant infrastructure improvements on University Ave such as wider sidewalks, new street light and signal systems and an improved drainage system. OED is currently working with Capitol Hill to implement a business improvement area to help with public safety and parking needs. Mayor Nickels proposed to City Council that the City request the Washington State Liquor Control Board designate Pioneer Square as an "alcohol impact area". The Mayor supports expanding AIA in other neighborhoods.

2. Make it easier to do business in Seattle:

• Today, you have to wait 4 weeks to get an appointment with DCLU to file your permit. Mayor Nickels is directing DCLU to get the application wait time down to 10 working days.
• Currently, it can take up to 3 weeks for the city to review small and simple construction permits. The Mayor is directing DCLU to get the initial review for small and simple construction permits done in 48 hours.
• Mayor Nickels recently sent down a proposal to City Council that changes the land use and construction permits review time from 180 days to 120 days. He is also proposing to extend the time a permit will remain valid.
• The Mayor is directing city staff to identify more ways to make it easier and faster for businesses to get city permits including implementing on-line permitting and using technology to move toward "virtual" one-stop permitting. The Mayor is establishing a Sub-Cabinet on Economic Vitality to help implement these changes.

• Mayor Nickels recently sent down to Council a proposal to make it easier to build housing on First Hill and help builders weather economic downturn by allowing them to have interim parking on their sites. Common sense changes to the city’s land use code.

• There is more we need to do to simplify the city land use code. The Mayor is directing DCLU to streamline and simplify the code, starting with the commercial section of the code.

• SDOT is currently working on a customer service initiative to gather feedback and respond to customers in a more structured manner than has happened in the past. Mayor Nickels is directing OED to do more outreach to small businesses and to assign a business ombudsperson to investigate and resolve specific problems.

3. Be strategic and pro-active so that Seattle remains competitive:

• Form a strong partnership with UW and work on important issues such as the revitalization of the University Avenue and encouragement for UW technology transfer to locate and expand within the City
• Explore a different method of taxing technology businesses in our city. The Mayor has already invited key high tech and biotech leaders to start this discussion. They will help identify an alternative taxing approach that works better for their industries and is fair from a tax equity standpoint.
• The Mayor is directing OED to identify and focus on key critical business sectors for development and retention, taking advantage of both new and emerging industries (e.g., biotech, high-tech, renewable energy/clean technology) and traditional industries (e.g., maritime).

4. Make sure no one is left behind: A strong economy requires the participation of all of its residents. Ultimately, this action agenda is about family wage jobs and making sure that all of our city residents have an equal opportunity to participate.

• Recently, Mayor Nickels issued an executive order to city department directors, instructing them to perform aggressive outreach to disadvantaged small businesses including women and minority-owned businesses
• The Mayor directed the city to unbundle contracts and subcontracts so that small firms and WMBEs can compete for them more effectively.
• The Mayor sent down legislation to the City Council asking for $200,000 in funding this year to create a Contracting Development and Competitiveness Center.
• Mayor Nickels is working to identify ways to encourage more apprenticeship opportunities, particularly for women and people of color. The Mayor recently agreed with County Executive Sims, Mic Dinsmore (Port), and Joni Earl (Sound Transit) to appoint a "Construction Industry Workforce Advisory Committee". The committee will identify and eliminate barriers to entry into apprenticeship programs; stabilize, improve and expand pre-apprenticeship programs that prepare people to enter apprenticeship programs; and improve the graduation rates in apprenticeship programs.

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Mayor's Office

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