In the past several years, the Lodi City Council has commissioned two comprehensive and complementary roadmaps that are meant to guide future development efforts within the city: the Downtown Specific Plan and the Citywide Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP). The intent is to create a coordinated strategy to shape growth, create new employment and housing opportunities, and elevate quality of life across the entire community.

However, we know from experience that plans are easily shelved and never executed upon. We at the Chamber do not want to see that happen with these two documents. We, along with our members, will be pushing forward on alignment of the priorities of each plan, advocating for funding from regional state, and federal agencies, and pushing the current and future staff and City Council members for execution of the work outlined within both.

The Downtown Specific Plan
The Downtown Specific Plan was created to translate long-term vision into actionable strategies to activate and expand the downtown core. It focuses on revitalization, streetscape improvements, infrastructure, housing opportunities, and reconnecting the east and west sides of the downtown that have been divided by the railroad tracks for all of Lodi’s history.
The Plan emphasizes:

• Mixed-use development and expanded downtown living
• Preservation of historic character
• Streetscape improvements and pedestrian-friendly design
• Activation of public spaces like Hale Park
• Infrastructure upgrades

The Specific Plan includes a host of future planning and study initiatives, phasing strategies, and some defined action steps. As priorities are set, the alignment with the Economic Development plan becomes critical. Downtown revitalization must be supported by the city-wide (and I would argue regional) economic strategy, workforce development, infrastructure capacity, and fiscal sustainability.

The Economic Development Strategic Plan
The EDSP provides a five-year framework to guide Lodi’s economic development policies and programs. Its action plan is designed to:

• Expand economic opportunities for Lodi residents
• Leverage downtown revitalization
• Create development and redevelopment capacity
• Strengthen the City’s fiscal position

The EDSP identifies targeted industry clusters for growth, including agribusiness, tourism, biotech/biomed, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. It also emphasizes business retention and expansion, site readiness, community development, workforce alignment, and residential and commercial development friendliness.

Here are the places that I see the overlapping strategies across the two plans. Downtown revitalization is an economic development strategy. Tourism growth connects directly to community development. Infrastructure readiness affects both industrial expansion and mixed-use housing downtown. Workforce development influences the viability of new employers across the city. As you can easily see, the work across these two plans is interdependent.

The Difference Between a Plan and Progress
In the past, we have seen that when multiple plans are being owned by different organizations within the community and developed and executed in silos, they are not able to gather the necessary resources and attention to turn into progress. If we can align not only the priorities within the plans, but the multitude of organizations needed to execute them, there is a much higher chance of success.
To me, alignment looks like the following:

• Downtown improvements support industry attraction.
• Workforce programs align with targeted industry clusters.
• Infrastructure investments serve both redevelopment and new business growth.
• Budget priorities reflect adopted strategic goals.

It also means governance alignment. Downtown oversight, economic development implementation, infrastructure planning, and housing strategy must communicate regularly and share performance data. When committees and staff work in coordination, we can avoid duplication and accelerate the results.

Funding and Execution
Vision without funding is simply aspiration.

Execution requires:

• Identifying capital improvement priorities
• Sequencing projects realistically
• Leveraging state and regional grants
• Building public-private partnerships
• Tracking measurable performance metrics

Both plans emphasize implementation and measurable outcomes. The next step is to translate these strategies into annual workplans, budget allocations, and transparent reporting.

The Role of the Chamber and Business Community
The Chamber and its members will not simply be observers and commentators in this process. We have to step up and be active participants that lead to their success.

Here are tangible roles we can play:

1. Business Retention & Expansion Outreach
Working in coordination with City staff, the Chamber can lead structured outreach to downtown and industrial businesses to identify barriers, opportunities, and workforce needs. Our Ambassador and Business Development Committees will have an active role in this.

2. Downtown Activation & Placemaking
Through events, merchant coordination, and marketing partnerships, the Chamber will continue to bring life to the downtown core with the vibrancy envisioned in the Specific Plan.

3. Workforce Roundtables
Convening employers in targeted clusters such as agribusiness (already happening with our Agribusiness Committee), advanced manufacturing, tourism (In coordination with Visit Lodi), and biotech to align with training partners and build clear talent pipelines.

4. Committee Participation
Chamber members should actively serve on City Council committees, downtown steering committees, economic development advisory groups, and task forces that oversee implementation.

5. Advocacy for Development Friendliness
The EDSP calls for improving business processes, permitting efficiency, and predictability. The business community must provide constructive, solution-oriented feedback to strengthen those systems.

6. Public-Private Investment Partnerships
From sponsorships and improvement districts to infrastructure collaboration, Chamber members can align private capital with public goals.

A Shared Vision for 2030
The Downtown Specific Plan envisions a vibrant downtown that honors Lodi’s heritage while embracing growth.

The Economic Development Strategic Plan envisions a diversified economy with higher wages, expanded opportunity, and fiscal resilience.

Now we must align the goals, actively seek funding that advance our priorities responsibly, and hold ourselves, our elected representatives and city staff accountable to measurable progress.

We need your input! Take our 5 question survey on how the Chamber should play a role in implementing the Economic Development Plan here.