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Home My WebLink AboutITEM V-C11 1 Memorandum ~ ~HICTO~ T0: Councilmember Lynn Norman, Chair, Planning & Community Development Committee Councilmember Nancy Backus, Vice-Chair, Planning & Community Development Committee Councilmember John Partridge, Planning & Community Development Committee CC: Mayor Lewis Kevin Snyder, AICP, Director, Planning & Development Department FROM: Douglas Lein, Manager, Office of Economic Development DATE: August 18, 2011 SUBJECT: Subject: Auburn Center for Emergent Business "Innovation Partnership Zone" Informational Briefing At the Planning and Community Development Committee's August 22nd, 2011 meeting, staff will provide an informational briefing on the Auburn Center for Emergent Business "Innovation Partnership Zone" (IPZ) application. Exhibit A -IPZ boundary map Exhibit B -IPZ Brief Description of Focus THE IPZ PROGRAM: The Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) is a State of Washington, Department of Commerce initiative which began in 2007 and is authorized through Legislative Action RCW 43.330.270. To date, the Commerce Department has authorized twelve (12} IPZs throughout the State of Washington. An IPZ is a unique economic development effort that partners research, workforce training, and private sector business participation in close geographic proximity to promote collaboration in a research based effort that will lead to new technologies, marketable products, company formation l expansion, and job creation. Mission: The mission of the Auburn Center for Emergent Business is to support a vibrant vital economy for the City of Auburn, our local region and the State of Washington. By means of collaborative partnering among private sector employers, research partners, and programmed workforce development, the Auburn IPZ will help protect and expand our existing knowledge based middle-wage jobs while creating new higher paying employment opportunities forthe citizens of our City. Through new partnerships and the clustering of entrepreneurs, ideas will flourish, manufacturing efficiencies will be developed and our diverse business community will expand, creating investment opportunities, new technologies and the general growth of our economy. The focal point the State's overall IPZ program is as a marketing tool for general economic development within this zone, the City of Auburn and throughout the State of Washington. Specifically for the City of Auburn our primary goal is job creation for our citizens and the general economic development of our City as a regional center for business enterprise and technology. Management Team: Mayor Peter B. Lewis Economic Development Manager/Zone Administrator Douglas Lein Director of Planning and Development Kevin Snyder Director of Public Works Dennis Dowdy Economic Development Planner William A. Thomas IPZ Advisory Board: In addition to the required Management Team; Auburn has chosen, as part of its business and operations plan, to strengthen its commitments, partnerships and controls, by adding an IPZ Advisory Board. A. The role of the IPZ Advisory Board is to periodically review performance and progress within `The Auburn Center for Emergent Business' and verify the IPZ is achieving the stated purposes of promoting collaboration, research, new technologies, marketable products, company formationlexpansion and job creation. B. The IPZ Advisory Board shall formulate a review of operations upon meeting and if needed, present suggestions for improvements to the Management Team for implementation. C. Board Members shall be recommended and approved by the Management Team. The IPZ Administrator shall preside over all meetings of the Board. The IPZ -Advisory Board shall consist of members of the following categories: • 2 members City of Auburn, City Council • 1 member Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce • 1 member Washington State University • 1 member Green River Community College • 1 member Auburn School District • 1 member Enterprise Seattle • 1 member King County Representative • 1 member Private Sector, Aeronautics • 1 member Private Sector, ImportlExport Logistics • 1 member Private Sector, Green Technologies or Alternative Energy • 1 member Private Sector, Ecosystem & Stormwater Management • 1 member Private Sector, Construction Technologies and Materials Research: Identify the partnership with a university or community college, nonprofit institution, or national laboratory that fosters commercially valuable research or creates commercially applicable innovations. 2 Private Sector: Identify the partnership with a globally competitive firm(s) in a research-based industry(s) linked to the commercially valuable research. Workforce Training: Identify the partnership with an educational institution that can provide workforce training related to the research or the commercial application of the research. ZONE BOUNDARY DESCRIBED: It is proposed that the Auburn IPZ will lie entirely within the City of Auburn in the southern end of King County; and within the geographic region know as the Green River Valley. The proposed zone encompasses most of the manufacturing districts within Auburn and the City's Environmental Park. The Boundaries are roughly defined by Ellingson Road to the south; A Street and Auburn Avenue to the east; 277t" Street to the north; and the West Hills and West Valley Road to the west. The zones boundaries were selected to include existing technologies and manufacturing facilities which are either charter partners in the upcoming IPZ application, or are known to be committed to research, innovation, and the general mission and purpose of the IPZ program and this zone. Boundaries were also selected for infrastructure purposes to include the City's Environmental Park; connections to 2 major railroads; and the inclusion of State Highways 167 & 18. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PROPOSED IPZ: From its beginnings, Auburn was a crossroads. Tribal groups lived along the Green and White Rivers and forged trails over the Cascade Mountains. Auburn became a trading route between the tribes of Eastern Washington, the Green River Valley tribes and the Coastal tribal groups. In the mid 1800's the first pioneers arrived in the White River Valley and began farming on its rich fertile soil. In 1880 railroads reached the valley bringing adventurers from the East and Midwest United States as well as from Europe and Asia. The Town of Auburn (originally known as Slaughter} was formed with its Main Street connected to the Railroad; it has remained virtually as is to this day. Into the 1900's the town became more and more populated and flooding became an issue along the rivers. Mud Mountain Dam and Howard Hanson Dam were constructed to help address the annual flooding of the White and Green Rivers. But the flat prairie land of Green Valley remained as vital farmland and agriculture became the primary industry. The proximity and central location between Tacoma and Seattle added to Auburn's popularity following WWII. Although the City remained a strong agricultural community, farmland slowly began to be replaced with manufacturing and warehousing facilities. In 1960 The Boeing Company opened its Auburn aircraft plant, which by the 1980's employed over 10,000 workers. Auburn was on its way to becoming a Manufacturing Center. When Hwy 167 was built through Auburn (in the early 1970's) a hydraulic and geologic transformation began. Water that traditionally flowed from the East Hills to Mill Creek in the West was essentially dammed and slowly the remaining farmlands began to give way to new wetlands. Much debate and study was given to this issue regarding how to drain these wetlands and return them to developable property; but in 2006 the City Council decided to embrace the wetlands as a resource and created the Auburn Environmental Park which was /is surrounded by industrial uses. This Environmental Park, Railroads, Highways, Manufacturing, and Warehouse facilities are all parts of the proposed IPZ. Historically, the zone that makes up our proposed `Auburn Center for Emergent Businesses' has long established itself as a geographic hub that is a natural breeding ground of business clusters which have traditional representation of regional and statewide importance. 3 Our application is currently in the final stages to be submitted to the State of Washington by the filing deadline of September 1St, 2011. 4 Auburn Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) _ Auburn Center for Emeraent Business R " 1 _ .,s • *qAr ~i ~ t" ~ ~ , ~ y - ~J r k " , , - ! . _ ~ . •---i. ~s~' ' ~ ~ ~ ~ cX"*~` - . a . ~ , ~ ' . , r `-fi--:--r-*- ~ . a t + ...t ~ ~ V ~ ~ . ~ ~1 1.F :•a+~m ~i~r,.. t. - ~m,:,t Z~ ~ f ;...A ~ Y.,A ~ •1... ~ T ~ . - t~ ~f?~ a. ; , ~ . . _ 1 r. 777 Y" ,a " _ ~ L~ ~ , • a. _ ; ~ ~ . , •r•,~a.. _ et'r f,f~~` - ~ ' 4~. - ,k.... 1"'~} . 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'.Oi A ~F~ ~LS^ s;u~ i. ,~•;L~`'i: ...i° ~ _ City H,li ~ ~iipi~m Environmen[al Park 0 Mn-anon Par[nerz ~ Innova[ion Partnership Zone Aubi.nn Uv LnmCs Exhibit B Innovation Partnershi Zone IPZ p Auburn Auburn Center for Emergent Business: Comprises working clusters of diverse industries and knowledge based jobs engaged in innovative research, development, and production with primaryfocus in:Aeronautics technologies and production; Innovation and Development for the next generation Import/Export Logistics; Innovation and Development for Alternative Energy methods and products; Innovation and Development of Green Technologies; Research and Advancements in Ecosystem and Stormwater Management; and Innovation and Development of next generation Construction technologies and materials. City of Auburn, Office of Economic Development; BT; 8-16-11