Economic Development Strategic Plan Update
On September 19, 2023, the Tracy City Council adopted by Resolution the City of Tracy's Economic Development Strategic Plan. This Economic Development Strategic Plan provides the City of Tracy with a strategic framework and roadmap to enhance economic development and community resiliency. The plan aligns with established Economic Development Administration (EDA) guidance which frames economic development and resiliency as a set of factors which speak to the capacity of a region to recover quickly from a shock, withstand a shock, or the ability to avoid the shock altogether, with a specific focus on regional susceptibility.
The following three distinct sets of forces are:
1. Global Factors such as the impact of recessions and broader downturns in regional / national /global economic activity which impact regional demand for goods and services. Global events such as the “Great Recession” from 2008-2009 and COVID-linked global instability are examples of economic shocks which have impacted the Bay Area and Tracy.
2. Structural changes within core regional industries, including decline or unexpected / accelerated growth, loss of a military base or major employer. While the Bay Area has endured its share of these disruptions, particularly closed military installations, dramatic growth can create different, but equally destabilizing effects; emergence of Silicon Valley since 2000 is one example.
3. Economic consequences of Natural Disasters are realized as major shocks (a hurricane or 500-year flood event) or as stressors (extreme temperatures or recurring 100-year flood events which do not necessarily result in a disaster declaration). For the Bay Area, these challenges are broad, from drought and fire risk, to excessive rainfall, earthquake and sea level rise. Federal policy has increasingly focused on the idea of “building back better”; leveraging recovery funds to reposition local economies and enhance resiliency.
The plan is intended to support the City of Tracy in leveraging data-driven decision-making supported by stakeholder consensus to focus implementation efforts on strategic economic development priorities.
