06-07-2011 - International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) & - Item 16 (2).doc City of West Covina
Memorandum
A G E N D A
ITEM NO. 16
DATE June 7, 2011
TO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager
and City Council
FROM: Chris Freeland, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT: AB 1234 – INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENTERS (ICSC) & CONTRACT CITIES MEETING AND CONFERENCE REPORT
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council receive and file the report.
DISCUSSION:
International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
The following is a summary of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Spring Conference held May 22, 2011, through May 25, 2011. The ICSC Spring Conference (“RECon 2011”)
is the retail industry’s largest convention of the year, with over 1,000 exhibitors covering 2 million square feet of exhibition space and over 30,000 registered attendees. In attendance
at the conference were Mayor Pro Tem Michael Touhey and Councilmember Karin Armbrust to represent the City of West Covina.
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 50,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries include shopping center
owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders, retailers and other professionals as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association,
ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world.
At the RECon 2011, the City was able to market West Covina as a business friendly City with prime commercial retail corridor along the 10 Freeway. Councilmembers and staff conducted
economic development efforts by meeting with prospective developers, brokers, and tenants to market and discuss potential new opportunities for the City. West Covina has been marketed
at ICSC conferences for the past 20-years and the City’s successful retail growth can be attributed in part to the City’s proactive economic development efforts.
RECon 2011 also held information and educational sessions to discuss current trends facing the retail and real estate sectors, expansion of computer based shopping, challenges in financing
developments, fundamentals used by retailers on site selection, etc. In conclusion, the retail real estate industry is currently facing challenging times. The economy will inevitably
rebound and West Covina is best served to take future opportunities by maintaining its exposure to the retail real estate industry through continued economic development efforts.
Contract Cities
The following is a summary of the 52nd Annual Municipal Seminar conducted by the California Contract Cities Association held May 12, 2011 through May 15, 2011, in Indian Wells, California.
Mayor Pro Tem Michael Touhey and Councilmember Karin Armbrust were in attendance.
The conference is attended by representatives from cities throughout California and addressed many subjects including, but not limited to, discussions on a wide range of issues that
affect municipalities. The theme of this year’s Contract Cities Seminar was “Transparent Governing and Effective Partnering.” The sessions focused on a variety of topics including:
update from
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on the proposed realignment of public safety programs from the State of California to the county level, update on legislation being discussed in Sacramento,
use of joint powers authorities to share municipal services, update on the State and county economy, importance of transparency with an update from the State Controller’s Office, a
presentation of public/private partnerships from Rick Lemmo of Caruso Affiliated, and ethics training.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
Prepared by:
Chris Freeland
Deputy City Manager