Economic Revitalization

By Eleanor E. Pepples

Now is the time to revitalize our economy.

Eleanor Pepples has 15 years of business experience in both health care and financial services in marketing, community relations and strategic development. Eleanor Pepples has worked for Fortune 500 concerns, for not-for-profit businesses and for community arts organizations. She has the energy, ability, and the qualificatins to get the job done.

Economic development in Berkeley has been virtually stagnant compared to growth in neighboring cities. In the past, too many businesses have been dissuaded from locating to or expanding in Berkeley by an entrenched and unresponsive city government. The City has lost a number of clean businesses and entities, such as Inktomi and the UC Regents. Lately, our City Council has not been looking out for the needs of the very local businesses that make our City great (places like Black Oak Books, or Saul's or Chez Panisse) and collectives like the Juice Bar and the Cheeseboard. It even seems that our City government has forgotten in recent discussions with the University of California # Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Labs that these organizations are among our City's greatest assets, providing not only intellectual capital but also great potential for benefiting our economy. They are the incubators for important discoveries in health and sciences and will provide the new business ventures that will continue to keep Berkeley on the scientific, academic and economic map.

We need a forward thinking economic policy to attract new businesses and maintain existing ones. Why must the city encourage continued economic development? Well, one reason is that we want a strong and dependable tax base. Another reason is that when people choose to locate a business here it provides jobs for our residents. We need to make it easier for businesses to locate and expand in Berkeley: we must have an effective and responsive planning and permit process.

Eleanor is ready to take a leadership role in keeping existing businesses in Berkeley and attracting clean, non-polluting businesses. In pursuing appropriate economic development, however, our City Council must ensure that open space continues to be protected and that we pursue livable planning decisions that preserve the unique character of Berkeley.

Downtown Berkeley: The revitalization of downtown and the San Pablo corridor is critical. Our City must be able to attract and maintain thriving businesses that are resources for the City's inhabitants. Over the next five to ten years, one of our significant challenges is to determine how to grow our economic base while identifying opportunities for livable and affordable housing, open space and public recreation. Eleanor would support raising the height restrictions in select business corridors from five stories to eight and would encourage developers to consider heights that are consistent with other buildings in the neighborhood.

Parking Issues: There is a critical shortage of parking in many of our business districts. We need to invest in public parking lots downtown, near Fourth Street and in the gourmet ghetto. We must resolve this problem quickly and decisively. If budgetary constraints are preventing the City from being able to fund more parking now, then we should consider issuing a revenue bond. Eleanor proposes self-supporting solutions to resolve the problem before we lose more businesses.

South Berkeley Section of San Pablo Ave: This area could benefit from a concerted effort to attract clean businesses, i.e., businesses with limited pollution. Eleanor appreciates the contribution that good corporate citizens, and especially small independent stores, can offer. Tree planting and appropriate street lighting are also important for this area.