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COMMUNICATION PACKAGE May 2021

Page FRCA Monthly Activity Report – April 2021 1 Home rule from 400 miles away? The Palm Beach Post Editorial 2 100 Years – A Look Back at the Creation of the Fort Pierce Inlet and its Importance to 3 Downtown Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County – Main Street Focus, May 2021 State Road 7’s future: Royal Palm Beach to study how retail strip may change – 5 The Palm Beach Post, May 4, 2021

The West Palm Beach DDA, West Palm Beach CRA, and the City of West Palm Beach launched 9

the Dining on the Spot program. This is featured in the Urban Land Institute report entitled: The Pandemic and the Public Realm: Global Innovations for Health, Social Equity, and Sustainability

March Employment Summary – Treasure Coast Region – April 16, 2021 11 March Overview of the CareerSource Research Coast Region – April 16, 2021 14 March Overview of the CareerSource Palm Beach County Region – April 16, 2021 17

Apalachee Central Florida East Central Florida Emerald Coast

North Central Florida Northeast Florida South Florida Southwest Florida Tampa Bay Treasure Coast

2507 Callaway Road, Suite 200 Tallahassee, FL 32303 850.509.4320

MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORT: April 2021

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, CAPACITY BUILDING and OUTREACH • Organized articles and distributed the March 2021 Florida Regional Councils Association

(FRCA) Newsletter, FRCA Forward. Continued to update the FRCA Facebook page.• Maintained and updated the FRCA website: www.flregionalcouncils.org.• Updated the email lists and maintained the email listserv for approximately 2,500

individuals who receive the FRCA Forward newsletter.• Distributed COVID-19 vaccination information to regional planning councils.• To enhance partnerships and strengthen the relationship between regional planning

councils and their state and federal partners, organized, participated in or attended thefollowing meetings and shared information:

o Rural Economic Development Initiative Meetingo Economic Development Planner Coordination Callo Department of Economic Opportunity CDBG-Mit Informational Callo Resilient Planning Integration and Legal Considerations Webinaro NOAA Leveraging Partnerships for Resilient Coastal Infrastructure

ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT • Organized and hosted biweekly GoToMeetings with the regional planning council

Executive Directors throughout the month of April.• Continue to support Association efforts to oppose Senate Bill 62.• Continued preparations for the Summer 2021 Policy Board meeting.• Coordinated logistics for the 2021 meeting and conference schedule.• Provided legislative and programmatic information to regional planning council staff

weekly.• Distributed grant opportunities and information of interest from local, state and

national organizations.

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State Road 7's future: Royal Palm Beach

to study how retail strip may change

The pandemic and the rise of online shopping have raised questions about the future of retail

stores, like the ones that line State Road 7 from Okeechobee to Southern boulevards in Royal

Palm Beach - Rachida Harper Skinner, Special to The Palm Beach Post, May 4, 2021

ROYAL PALM BEACH — State Road 7 is a major shopping corridor in Royal Palm Beach. Yet

as residents become more comfortable shopping online, more businesses may choose to close

outlets, leaving some plazas with storefronts to fill and their owners faced with choices about what

to do with their properties. Village officials are sensing this possibility, too. Royal Palm Beach

officials say they will work with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council on a State Road 7

study to determine how to zone the land and prepare to steer potential changes along the main

retail stretch.

“We need guidance and assistance to make decisions as a council, so the sooner we can move

forward, the sooner we can have the plan completed,” Mayor Fred Pinto said during a council

meeting on March 18. The council voted unanimously to pay $110,000 for the study.

Pinto was concerned that developers would determine what the corridor looks like if the village

didn’t act first.

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“We really need to understand what is going to happen on State Road 7… and not let (changes)

happen without plans in place and strategies in place,” Pinto said.

The pressure to build new homes is high. How should Royal Palm Beach manage it?

The Treasure Coast council has been helping local governments throughout Palm Beach, Martin,

St. Lucie, and Indian River County to control their growth since 1989. Dana Little, its urban

design director, and his team help them revise their zoning regulations and land-development

codes.

Little said Royal Palm Beach contacted his group about the retail-dominated corridor due to the

industry’s changing patterns caused by the coronavirus and other factors.

“Some of the trends that were already underway, that were merging pre-COVID, have now been

accelerated,” Little said.

“The nature of retail has been changing over the years, in some part due to the internet, but really

in large part due to the fact that we are over-retailed as a country significantly.”

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State Road 7 has been bustling for the past 20 years, but the reality of retail is changing, and

businesses along the corridor are being affected. For example, residents are streaming newly

released movies because the local Regal Cinemas closed indefinitely in October.

Even though residential property is highly sought after, Village Manager Ray Liggins is cautious

about converting the property to residential use from commercial.

“We know commercial’s changing, but we know it's not going away, so we want to be careful,”

Liggins stated. “We know once (commercial property) changes to residential, it seldom comes

back. Before we make that change, we're stepping carefully.”

To do a comprehensive study of the corridor, which extends south from the intersection of State

Road 7 and Okeechobee Boulevard, village officials will conduct workshops to share issues and

points of interest, as well as hold a series of public information sessions.

Little expects Treasure Coast planners will assist in the study by performing a general review of

the village’s current land use and zoning codes, looking at projects that are in the works already,

interviewing people who live, work, and own land along the corridor, and developing a series of

recommendations.

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Traffic, transit also pose issues along State Road 7 corridor

This land-use study's primary purpose is to keep the village in control of its future, but officials

also hope that the corridor will provide residents better alternatives to getting around without

their cars, such as walking, biking, and bus riding.

The Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency is conducting a State Road 7 and Okeechobee

Boulevard transit-supportive land-use study in hopes of improving mobility in the area.

Little says his group and the Palm Beach agency currently are working together and believes

their combined efforts may help transit become more available, predictable and enjoyable.

“There’s a lot of interest regionally in figuring out ways to get people out of their cars,” Little

said. “Okeechobee Boulevard and State Road 7 corridors are not fun places to be. It’s miserable.

It’s dangerous, and the land uses are kind of locked to be automobile-oriented."

For now, there are no set plans or official start date for the 10-month-long corridor study, but one

end goal is clear.

“We don’t have any preconceived goals other than getting a better understanding and creating a

strategy that makes sense in terms of how that corridor should evolve,” Pinto said. “We want to

make sure whatever happens in that corridor is going to enhance the quality of life for our

citizens as we move forward.”

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T H E P A N D E M I C A N D T H E P U B L I C R E A L M

GLOBAL INNOVATIONS FOR HEALTH, SOCIAL EQUITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY

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› EQUITYThe Downtown Development Authority providedresources to all businesses inside the DDA boundary—not just to larger restaurants. The businessesreceiving assistance were as diverse as the businessownership in the district, including many smallbusinesses, Black-owned businesses, and minority- owned businesses.

› WHAT’S NEXTThe subsidized equipment rentals ended in October2020, but businesses can continue to operate theiroutdoor spaces under the current executive order.The city and the DDA are actively working to rewritesidewalk café seating and parklet ordinances toaddress needs discovered through the DOTS program,such as shade elements and more transparentbarricades. By reshaping policy, the city is transitioningfrom the initial DOTS program to a sustainable,long-term solution for outdoor dining.

LEARN MORE

› LEADThe West Palm Beach Downtown DevelopmentAuthority (DDA), West Palm Beach CommunityRedevelopment Agency (CRA), and the city of WestPalm Beach launched the Dining on the Spotprogram. The DDA assigned COVID-19 emergencyfunding to subsidize equipment rental costs (e.g.,for outdoor furniture) and funded a branded signageprogram for restaurants.

› KEY INSIGHTCost waivers, such as waivers for permitting fees,and subsidies helped this program to succeed.Having survived the initial economic shock of thepandemic with the help of the DOTS program,many restaurants are now ready to invest in theirspaces and continue their outdoor dining plansat their own cost.

Adapted from responses from Sherryl Muriente, manager of urban placemaking, West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority; Melissa Hege, principal, MHCP COLAB; and Raphael Clemente, executive director, West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority.

STREATERIES, BUSINESSES, AND NEIGHBORHOODS

West Palm Beach’s Dining on the Spot (DOTS) program allows outdoor dining on public and private parklets, sidewalks, alleyways, and parking lots downtown. This program began in March 2020 in response to indoor seating restrictions.

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› MORE DETAILSThis project builds on a history of tactical urbanism,strategic long-term investments in the public realm,and an existing Temporary Use Process workinggroup in West Palm Beach. An executive orderestablished the Dining on the Spot application permitprocess and guidelines. DOTS installations contributedto 20 to 25 percent of sales during the program,even after indoor seating resumed at full capacity.

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March Employment Summary - Treasure Coast Region April 16, 2021

• This unemployment summary is derived from: Local Area Unemployment Statistics preparedby the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Overview of the CareerSource ResearchCoast Region (Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties) and Overview of CareerSourcePalm Beach County Region (Palm Beach County) prepared by the two workforce developmentboards in the Treasure Coast Region. The CareerSource reports follow this regional summary.

• The unemployment rate for the Treasure Coast Region was 4.8 percent in March 2021, down0.8 percentage points from the March 2020 rate of 5.6 percent. The Region’s unemploymentrate was 0.5 percent lower than the state’s unemployment rate of 5.3 percent and 1.4 percentlower than the national unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. Out of a labor force of 1,026,061there were 49,227 unemployed residents in the Treasure Coast Region in March 2021.

• The Treasure Coast Region contains three metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): The Port St.Lucie MSA (Martin and St. Lucie counties), the Sebastian-Vero Beach MSA (Indian RiverCounty), and the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach MSD (Palm Beach County). InMarch 2021, non-agricultural employment in the combined metropolitan areas of the Regionwas 826,700, a decrease of 35,700 jobs over the previous year.

Unemployment Rates* Geographic

Area March 2021

February 2021

March 2020

Indian River County 5.2 4.8 6.0 Martin County 4.1 3.8 4.9 Palm Beach County 4.7 4.4 5.4 St. Lucie County 5.3 5.0 6.5 Treasure Coast Region 4.8 4.5 5.6 Florida 5.3 5.1 5.0 United States 6.2 6.6 4.5 Source: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Local Area Unemployment Statistics. *Not seasonally adjusted. All data subject to revision.

Highlights • Unemployment in the Region decreased to 4.8 percent in March 2021, down from

5.6 percent in March of the previous year.• The Region lost 35,700 non-agricultural jobs year over year from March 2020 to

March 2021.• All industry sectors in the Region showed job losses in March 2021 with the

exceptions of professional and business services; and mining, logging, andconstruction.

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In March 2021, the professional and business services; and mining, logging, and construction industry sectors in the Region showed job gains compared to March 2020.

In March 2021, the unemployment rates rose throughout Region due to an increase in the number of unemployed residents in the Region seeking employment. Dr. Jerry Parrish, Florida Chamber Foundation’s Chief Economist, notes that: "That’s actually a good sign. Typically when we come out of a recession, people see others getting jobs and start looking for work as well. When they do, they are listed in the unemployment numbers, which is an indication that more people are coming back to the workforce."

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Port St. Lucie Metro Area:

The Port St. Lucie MSA had the second fastest annual job growth rate compared to all the metro areas in the state in mining, logging, and construction (+5.7 percent).

Sebastian-Vero Beach Metro Area:

The industries gaining in jobs over the year were professional and business services (+200 jobs) and mining, logging, and construction (+100 jobs).

West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach Metropolitan Division:

The West Palm Bch-Boca-Delray Bch Metro Division was tied for the third highest annual job growth compared to all the metro areas in the state in manufacturing (+100 jobs).

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