City of Morgan Hill Economic Blueprint.docx

How is Morgan Hill going to grow retail offerings?

❖ RETAIL FLEXIBILITY Retail experts suggest that Morgan Hill, like many other communities, is “over retailed.” This means that we have more retail space for the size of our community. In order to keep the key commercial areas healthy, the City should Develop a Retail Concentration Strategy (Action #13) and eliminate retail/commercial requirements where retail is not going to succeed. The retail industry is dynamic and the City should Continually Revisit Retail Industry Trends & Requirements (Action #14). One option for retail attraction is to Pursue Sports Recreation Uses as Anchor Tenants; Increase Permitted Use allowance up to 15K sq. ft. (Action #15). This will make it easier for indoor sport facilities to locate in the large retail spaces that can no longer support a traditional retail tenant. This also It is also recommended that the City work closely with the owners of retail shopping centers to help them find ways to re-invest in their properties. The City should also Re- Evaluate and Propose Changes to Shopping Center -Site Specific Zoning Requirements (Action #16). supports the Sports/Recreation and Tourism goals of this community.

Another initiative that can support shopping centers and advance tourism goals is to proactively support wine bars, tasting rooms and craft distilleries. The City can Change Zoning to Allow Incidental Wine, Beer and Alcohol Tasting Rooms and Distilleries in Downtown and Throughout the City in Commercial and Industrial Zoned Areas (Action #17). Another use that is not a traditional retail use but can bring people and foot traffic to commercial centers is co- working facilities. The City should Promote Co-Working facilities in Commercial Nodes (Action #18).

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