pages: Mayor'sEconomicDevelopmentAdvisoryPanel/EconomicRecoveryTaskForce/2016-07-20.pdf, 6
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Mayor'sEconomicDevelopmentAdvisoryPanel/EconomicRecoveryTaskForce | EconomicRecoveryTaskForce | 6 | Alameda and he hopes that history continues, at least in some parts of the island. The waterfront is commercially a very valuable product. The Navy gifted us with large hangars and piers. It's a capital good; no one today would want to build all that infrastructure. People don't appreciate where we are until they are on the island and look back at San Francisco. Panel member Chubb asked where are marine industries going? What are the big industries in marine that we could attract? Panel member Mik responded that Alameda has a maritime industry. The constant challenge is truck access. All of the maritime industries agree that one of the difficulties is the success of the island. It is crowded and there's a lot of traffic for large scale trucks getting on and off the island. Panel member Chubb then asked if a small port in Alameda is needed to support the industry. Panel member Mik said possibly, or perhaps a dedicated trucking lane. What is needed, he said, is a recognition that this is a requirement to keep these industries going. Panel member Grunt remarked that access is always going to be a problem. He thinks the future is more about niche maritime industries, that don't necessarily rely on moving large amounts of things onto or off of the island. The maritime history is really important to preserve in some manner and to build on economies around that or to enhance existing economies that are meaningful. He also pointed out that Alameda probably has the most private marina slips in the Bay Area. People who own slips come to Alameda from all over the place. The island is one of the few places you can keep a boat in the Bay Area, and consequently has more of a draw than it otherwise would. Panel member Monteko said that there is a lot of underutilized land that can take some of the commercial load. Rather than competing directly with industry, we should focus on growing commercial on other locations. In answering the question of what key issues we would like to see the EDSP address, two come to mind: 1) under-utilized land and 2) transportation/accessibility to the island is also a serious issue, that will need to be fixed, access and transportation for workers, mass transit. Retailers are looking at drive time, and workers are looking for transit. Right now, neither of these are great. Panel member Elsesser commented that Harbor Bay is this weird location in the Bay Area that doesn't exist anywhere else. They draw from the furthest extents in every direction. It is an appealing, reverse commute in most directions. This is one of the very few locations where one can grow and scale a business. A lot of businesses in his industry have moved out to Pleasanton, which brings other issues for its employment base. If in the Peninsula or Silicon Valley, one cannot attract the hourly workforce like he can. Draft Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 9 July 20, 2016 | Mayor'sEconomicDevelopmentAdvisoryPanel/EconomicRecoveryTaskForce/2016-07-20.pdf |