Bee in Turlock: City updates plan for job growth

A draft plan for creating jobs recognizes that the city long has been a food-processing hub and should continue to be.

But it sees potential also in health care, education, retail and other sectors that have emerged in recent decades. And it urges steps – road upgrades, permit streamlining, job training and more – to guide the city toward a prosperous future.

The 36-page Economic Development Strategic Plan was crafted over the past year by a task force of community members and will go before the Turlock City Council on Tuesday night.

Mayor John Lazar, who proposed the task force, said the plan follows on successes such as the recent opening of a Blue Diamond Growers almond plant and the pending startup of Hilmar Cheese Co.’s powdered milk operation.

“There are a lot of good things happening in Turlock, and it hasn’t been by chance,” he said. “This group builds on that.”

The document, updated from a 2003 plan, notes strengths in the Turlock economy. The city is home to dairy, poultry, nut and other plants that process raw products from farms and ranches in Stanislaus County and beyond. It has Emanuel Medical Center and other health and social services. Students can train for careers at California State University, Stanislaus.

The city boasts one of the more vibrant downtowns in the region and growing retail centers along Highway 99. Land is relatively affordable to developers, and so is power from the Turlock Irrigation District. The city has numerous parks, a fairground and cultural venues such as the Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock Community Theatre and the university.

The plan calls for promoting those strengths while dealing with issues that could hold the city back.

“Many similar cities in the Valley possess the same assets – central location, available inexpensive land, freeway and rail access – and therefore Turlock must build upon its unique strengths and differentiate itself from its neighbors,” the plan said.

Key suggestions:

▪ Support the food industry while recognizing that it will increasingly rely on biotechnology and other advanced sciences. Turlock could become “the Silicon Valley of food processing.”

▪ Develop “clusters” of related enterprises in agriculture, health care and education.

▪ Continue to fill out the 2,600-acre industrial zone west of Highway99, where Blue Diamond and Hilmar Cheese found plant sites, and where several other businesses are operating.

▪ Work for an expressway connecting Turlock with Interstate5 in Patterson, which would supplement Highway99.

▪ Ensure that downtown is “clean, safe, pedestrian-friendly and well-maintained,” while encouraging housing and other uses that bring more nighttime activity.

▪ Support retail growth, including stores at Monte Vista Crossings and elsewhere that draw shoppers from outside Turlock.

▪ Continue efforts to improve the permitting processes for new and expanding businesses, which sometimes can be held back by “rigid” rules.

▪ Review development fees to ensure that they reflect the cost of providing city services.

▪ Promote internships and other links to Stanislaus State while advocating for a Turlock campus of Modesto Junior College.

▪ Target jobs to Turlock residents who are among the estimated 15,000 county residents who commute to the Bay Area each day.

▪ Support expansion of the Stanislaus County Fairground or new site west of Highway 99.

▪ Promote the city’s soccer fields and other recreational sites to outside users.

The plan also urges attention to niche businesses, such as Dust Bowl Brewery, which is expanding. Someday, it said, Turlock might be known as “Boutique Beer City.”

Sharon Silva, president and chief executive officer of the Turlock Chamber of Commerce, said the plan has sound ideas for downtown, the industrial zone, job training and other areas. She praised the city staff for preparing for the industrial growth even as the overall economy sagged in recent years.

“That put us in the forefront,” she said. “Having that available has moved Turlock forward.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2014 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Bee in Turlock: City updates plan for job growth."