HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 6799
City of Palo Alto (ID # 6799)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Informational Report Meeting Date: 4/18/2016
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Business Registry Info Report
Title: Informational Report Regarding Business Registry Including Preliminary
Analysis for 2015 Data Set
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Manager
Executive Summary
On February 29, 2016, the first year of the City’s new Business Registry Certificate (BRC)
program came to an end, and the data set for the 2015 Business Registry year was closed. After
the first year of City’s new Business Registry Certificate (BRC) program, 2,605 businesses are
fully registered. A complete listing is available on the City’s Open Data Portal at
www.cityofpaloalto.org/registrylist. A preliminary analysis of the data is discussed in detail
below, and included as Attachment 1.
Background
In November 2014, the Council adopted Ordinance #5279 creating a business registry
certificate (BRC) requirement. The Council’s intention was that the program be online, simple
to use, and be hosted using the City’s existing permit management system (Accela) to pave the
way for future integration with other city permits/ processes.
The ordinance requires all businesses1 operating in a fixed place of business2 in the City to
obtain a BRC. To obtain a certificate, businesses must complete a City questionnaire, which is
available online through the City’s website, and pay a flat $50 fee3. Home-based businesses and
transitory businesses (such as general contractors whose corporate office is located outside of
the city) are exempt from the ordinance. Based on Council direction, non- profit corporations
(in fixed places of business within Palo Alto) are not exempted from the BRC. The related staff
1 4.60.020 (a) “Business” means any commercial enterprise, trade, calling, vocation, profession, occupation, or
means of livelihood, whether or not carried on for gain or profit.
2 4.60.020 (c) “Fixed place of business” means a place of business located in the city boundaries and occupied for
the particular purpose of conducting business.
3 In 2016, a $1 state-mandated fee was added.
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report (including Ordinance #5279) is available online at:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/44100
Over the winter of 2014-2015, Staff worked with vendors and consultants to build a working
business registry online tool that would be ready as quickly as possible for the public launch.
After an intensive internal development and testing phase, in March 2015, the City launched
the Business Registry Website (https://registermybusiness.cityofpaloalto.org) and
corresponding informational page: www.cityofpaloalto.org/businessregistry.
Prior to the program launch, staff developed administrative guidelines to regulate the
administration of the program, establishing the general rules and data management and
reporting approach. As the program evolved, certain refinements were made to the guidelines,
and it remains a “living” document.
Throughout the year, staff implemented an outreach campaign to educate the business
community about the new registry requirement. Staff reached businesses via multiple methods
including fliers, letters, emails, advertising, social media, online and print media, and in-person
contacts with individual businesses and through the Chamber of Commerce and other business
associations. A User’s Guide was made available which offered a page-by-page explanation of
the website. A Frequently Asked Questions document was also made available. Both of these
documents have been updated over time.
Establishing the initial list of businesses subject to the BRC (BRC Subject List) was difficult. This
was due to several factors, including education and outreach required for a new requirement,
and the dynamic nature of business activity, with many businesses starting, moving and closing
during 2015. As a result of a great deal of work, ultimately culminating in a physical survey,
staff culled the list from over 200,000 initial business listings to the final 2015 status of 2,797.
Staff expects that this number will continue to be dynamic over time. This is due to several
factors, including:
1. The Council has adopted new exemptions for the 2016 BRC year that now apply to some
firms previously registered.
2. A number of commercial addresses are not yet associated with an active business. This
could represent an omission, or may be because a property is vacantl,under
construction or otherwise not subject to the business registry.
3. Some businesses have multiple entities essentially incorporating the same people (or
operate under multiple names). Based on the ordinance, these businesses are required
to complete only one registration, listing all of their business entities.
4. Some businesses currently on the list are not subject to the Business Registry.
5. Some businesses currently on the list will close, or move.
6. New and relocating businesses are not currently on the list, but will need to be added.
Given the Council and public interest in the data from the BRC, data has been released regularly
via the city’s Open Data portal which is now updated at www.cityofpaloalto.org/registrylist .
City of Palo Alto Page 3
In early 2016, the Council adopted an updated ordinance that further exempted very small non-
profits and businesses, and religious organizations with no ancillary businesses on site. Council
also approved a staff plan to upgrade the software for the 2016 Business Registry to improve
user functionality and reporting capabilities.
In March 2016, the Council authorized a Management Analyst position at the Development
Center. Half of the focus for the new position will be dedicated to administering the BRC
program. After a selection process, the staff member was selected in late March, and will begin
administering the day-to-day activities of the BRC immediately.
Discussion
As part of this report (and included as Attachment 1), staff is releasing a preliminary 2015 data
analysis, including a breakout for key business areas throughout the City. As the report shows,
93% of business subject to the registry complied. Overall, 2,605 businesses registered,
accounting for 74,351 employees. 954 downtown businesses registered representing 15,641
employees. This includes registered businesses in the University Avenue, South of Forest Area
(SOFA) 1 & 2, University Avenue Transit Station, and Downtown North and Professorville areas.
Other report highlights include:
32,403,891 Square Feet of Commercial Overall
Office: 384 Square Feet per Employee (SF/Emp)4 Overall
Office: 394 SF/Emp Downtown
Retail: 296 SF/Emp Overall
Retail: 275 SF/Emp Downtown
Restaurant: 136 SF/Emp Overall
Restaurant: 125 SF/Emp Downtown
Although the data is interesting, several qualifiers must be noted. The data is based on self-
reported figures that have been through only a basic level of staff analysis/ quality control.
Although some errors related to multiple registrations were removed, additional errors are
likely to be included in the data set. However, with 93% of businesses registered (and likely a
larger percentage of the overall employment), the data is representative of the businesses in
Palo Alto required to register.
As resources allow, staff will continue to explore ways to refine the quality of the data set, and
look for methods to further analyze the data and provide more useful information. Staff
expects that as reporting functionality improves with the updated software, and the data set
grows with more years of data, the information will be more valuable as a resource for
informing City decisions.
4 Overall mean of total gross square footage reported divided by total number of employees. The total range
varied greatly, with about 88 companies overall under 100 square feet per employee (42 downtown).
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Staff is also exploring a confidential data sharing agreement with the new Palo Alto
Transportation Management Association (TMA). This would allow the TMA to have access to
the granular data in order to further their efforts to create valuable and measurable programs
to decrease Single-Occupancy-Vehicle travel in Palo Alto.
The responsibilities for administering the current BRC program are cyclical and include
outreach, invoicing, customer service, coordination with software vendors on technical issues,
and data reporting. In addition to half-focus from the new Management Analyst, staff
anticipates the continued need for limited support from the Permit Center Manager, policy
interpretation and interdepartmental coordination from the City Manager’s Office, and legal
assistance and direction from the City Attorney’s Office, as well as the need for part-time
support for customer service peaks in order to maintain current service levels. In short, with
the departure of the economic development manager, staff will be challenged to transition and
reprioritize responsibilities in an effort to maintain the existing level of service for the BRC. Any
increase in service levels, enhancements to reporting capabilities, or changes to the current
BRC system will result in a corresponding need for resources. Staff will continue to monitor
program revenues and expenditures to ensure that the program meets the Council’s revenue-
neutral goals for the annual administration costs.
Resource Impact
As stated above, in the FY 2016 Midyear Budget report a 1.0 Management Analyst was added
to the Development Center budget. Half of this position will support the BRC program. Also
stated above, Any increase in service levels, enhancements to reporting capabilities, or changes
to the current BRC system will result in a corresponding need for resources.
Attachments:
BRC Analysis_Summary_2-29-16 (PDF)
Total Number of Employees (All Locations)74,351
Total Businesses Registered (Primary Locs)2605
Secondary Locs 355
Total (all Locs)2960
Total Businesses Subject to Business Registry 2797
Registration Total (%)93%
Total Businesses Registered (Primary Locations Dtn)954
Secondary Locs 95
Total (All Loc Dtn)1049
Total Businesses Subject to Business Registry (Downtown)1023
Registration Total Downtown (%)93%
Palo Alto BRC Totals
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee NOTE
Office 1050 25063 2538 18093 9614382 383.6085864
Retail 307 6555 205 4079 1939506 295.8819222
Eating & Drinking 203 4273 115 1193 582416 136.3014276
Services 338 5089 317 5124 1903867 374.1141678
Lodging 29 956 50 1968 1382518 1446.148536
Healthcare 424 11673 179 13965 5395066 462.183329
Auto-Related 46 530 10 1216 650829 1227.979245
Manufacturing & Processing 53 12314 126 12543 4645961 377.2909696
Education 65 5509 5 6285 2508033 455.2610274
Other 90 2389 140 3849 3781313 1582.801591
Total 2605 74351 3685 68315 32403891 435.8232035
Other includes: Accessory Use, Agriculture, Communications, Multi-Family, Public, Public Assembly, Recreation, Recycling, Single-Family, Storage/ Warehouse, Transportation, and "Unknown"
Califorrnia Avenue Area (Including El Camino)
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 157 1202 279 283 331733 275.984193
Retail 23 215 85 25 86144 400.6697674
Eating & Drinking 36 604 29 213 103983 172.1572848
Services 79 353 109 93 92449 261.8951841
Healthcare 86 243 38 84 117049 481.6831276
Other 18 93 8 33 27003 290.3548387
Total 399 2710 548 731 758361 279.8380074
Other includes: Accessory Use, Agriculture, Auto-Related, Communications, Education, Lodging, Manufacturing, Public, Public Assembly, Recreation, Recycling, Single-Family, Storage/ Warehouse, Transportation, and Unknown/NA
Downtown BRC Totals
Business Registry Data Analysis (as of February 29, 2016)**
Registered 93%
Unregistered 7%
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 435 6045 1896 2380 2382451 394.1192721
Retail 85 1654 102 474 453278 274.0495768
Eating & Drinking 87 2204 64 211 275234 124.8793103
Services 104 1163 85 1055 425317 365.7067928
Lodging 8 491 45 636 558547 1137.570265
Healthcare 189 2237 98 2222 1296755 579.6848458
Other 46 1847 167 2056 1467556 794.5619924
Total 954 15641 2457 9034 6859138 438.5357714
Other includes: Accessory Use, Agriculture, Auto-Related, Communications, Education, Manufacturing, Public, Public Assembly, Recreation, Recycling, Single-Family, Storage/ Warehouse, Transportation, and Unknown/NA
El Camino Real
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 85 812 21 1119 296310 364.9137931
Retail 30 152 1 226 72435 476.5460526
Eating & Drinking 33 692 2 634 95034 137.3323699
Services 43 418 1 289 164972 394.6698565
Lodging 19 462 3 1332 817821 1770.175325
Healthcare 35 471 3 399 281907 598.5286624
Auto-Related 8 96 0 373 284682 2965.4375
Other 10 52 0 60 35689 686.3269231
Total 263 3155 31 4432 2048850 649.3977813
Embarcadero/ East Bayshore Area
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 138 2843 59 2433 1207034 424.5634893
Retail 11 283 0 95 103861 367
Manufacturing/ Processing 13 144 100 203 121776 845.6666667
Auto-Related 5 189 0 357 82200 434.9206349
Services 22 126 5 168 68462 543.3492063
Other 36 561 110 796 342588 610.6737968
Total 225 4146 274 4052 1925921 464.5250844
Other includes: Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Eating & Drinking, Recycling, Public/Public Assembly, and Unknown
Park Ave/ Fry's Area (not including Fry's)
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 28 1128 100 664 283794 251.5904255
Retail 7 81 0 50 29530 364.5679012
Other 19 138 8 107 46553 337.3405797
Total 54 1347 108 821 359877 267.169265
Other includes: Education, Public Assembly, Manufacturing, and Unknown/ NA
San Antonio/ Charleston/ East Meadow Circle/ Fabian Way
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 83 3701 7 3978 1403293 379.1659011
Retail 18 141 2 238 135974 964.3546099
Eating & Drinking 3 77 0 85 15250 198.0519481
Services 26 153 0 186 63113 412.503268
Healthcare 19 98 4 107 44974 458.9183673
Auto-Related 18 172 0 262 123030 715.2906977
Education 11 274 0 746 250121 912.850365
Manufacturing/ Processing 19 431 0 504 282240 654.8491879
Other 7 53 8 42 33100 624.5283019
Total 204 5100 21 6148 2351095 460.9990196
Other Includes: Accessory Use, Communications, Lodging, Transportation, and Unknown/ NA
Stanford Research Park (including El Camino)
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 94 8633 170 6062 3390157 392.6974401
Retail 4 1673 0 1831 184806 110.4638374
Eating & Drinking 6 117 0 95 19230 164.3589744
Services 24 1977 117 2086 786150 397.6479514
Healthcare 5 801 0 872 275145 343.5018727
Manufacturing/ Processing 11 11627 0 11816 4206094 361.7523007
Other 8 4148 0 4705 1766964 425.9797493
Total 152 28976 287 27467 10628546 366.8051491
Other includes: Accessory Use, Agriculture, Auto-Related, Communications, Education, Lodging, Public, Public Assembly, Recreation, Recycling, Single-Family, Storage/ Warehouse, Transportation, and Unknown/NA
Stanford Shopping Center
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Retail 78 1871 8 936 669986 358.0897916
Eating & Drinking 9 240 0 10 21524 89.68333333
Other 7 366 0 254 94204 257.3879781
Total 94 2477 8 1200 785714 317.2038757
Other includes Healthcare and Services
Stanford University Medical Center
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Healthcare 34 7036 1 9814 2252119 320.0851336
Offices/Services 7 16 0 8 4622 288.875
Total 41 7052 1 9822 2256741 320.0143222
Town & Country
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 13 78 4 16 17197 220.474359
Retail 39 298 7 120 80947 271.6342282
Eating & Drinking 17 308 0 1 27493 89.26298701
Other 7 80 0 22 16057 200.7125
Total 76 764 11 159 141694 185.4633508
Other includes Healthcare, Services, and Unknown/NA
All Other Areas
BUSINESSES TTL_EMPLOYEE_COUNT TTL_LEASED_PARKING TTL_PROVIDED_PARKING TTL_SQUARE_FOOTAGE Square Ft Per Employee
Office 26 542 14 971 304851 562.4557196
Retail 15 177 0 70 63845 360.7062147
Eating & Drinking 14 261 20 72 38569 147.7739464
Services 30 536 0 981 252044 470.2313433
Healthcare 47 785 17 407 1147113 1461.290446
Education 27 814 0 761 715142 878.5528256
Other 33 339 0 1437 1990424 5871.457227
Total 192 3454 51 4699 4511988 1306.308049
Other includes: Multi-Family, Single-Family, Recreation, Public/ Public Assembly, Agriculture, and Unknown/NA