Public submits prescriptions for success Public submits prescriptions for success (June 16, 2004)

Forty-five weigh in on the health of city's economy

Cross Missakian

Utilizing the Internet and improving Palo Alto's image may be keys to creating a stronger retail sector in a city experiencing trouble recovering from a dismal economy.

At a June 11 meeting on how the city can become more business friendly, 45 Palo Alto residents, merchants and consumers threw out a host of ideas to Mayor Bern Beecham, who created an Ad Hoc Retail Committee earlier this year.

"We don't need another study," he said, adding the committee would seek "salt of the earth, not rocket-science solutions." The committee will take specific proposals to the City Council this fall.

Among the 15 areas the committee has identified as needing action or improvement, the most important were expediting the approval process for expansions or improvements to retail spaces, recruiting compatible businesses to complement the existing mix, developing and supporting local merchant associations, establishing a registry to track Palo Alto's businesses, and addressing the homeless problem, said Susan Arpan, economic development and redevelopment manager.

Other issues raised by committee or the public were the need to help Palo Alto small businesses use the Internet to counter competition from online and "big box" retailers, courting employee consumers who work on Sand Hill Road or similar commercial centers away from University Avenue, a downtown wi-fi network and more consumer-friendly parking.

Brice Russell, a sales tax consultant who is advising the committee, presented tax data that indicated the decline in retail sales caused by the dot-com bust, Sept.11 and the SARS outbreak in Asia appears to have "bottomed out," although a clear recovery has not yet begin.

Despite recent economic problems in the Silicon Valley, Palo Alto's relative wealth and its ability to attract consumers from outside the city helped it outperform most communities in the state in terms of per capita retail sales, he said.

Still, Palo Alto's sales tax revenue in 2003 was virtually identical to its 1996 sales tax revenue, without adjustment for inflation.

Beecham stated that sales tax revenue is only a way to measure the economic climate, but should not be the only focus of economic programs. The committee's goals are to ensure that residents and visitors have access to all the goods and services they need and local merchants have the best possible chance for success.

Cross Missakian can be e-mailed at cmissakian@pawekly.com

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