Economic Recovery Framework

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The City of Fayetteville is committed to aiding in the development of a dynamic, inclusive, and growing economy that provides economic opportunities for all. The City is asking for the public’s assistance in developing the next strategic plan that will guide the City’s economic vitality efforts for the next five years.

A Guiding Plan for the Next Five Years

In 2021, the City of Fayetteville launched a community planning process to develop its next Economic Vitality Master Plan. This effort is being driven by City Staff, with guidance and direction from a Steering Committee that is being chaired by Meredith Lowry and Mervin Jebaraj.

For the past five years, the City's economic vitality efforts have been guided by the Fayetteville First Strategic Plan, which was adopted by the Fayetteville City Council in 2016. Much has happened in the United States and Fayetteville since this time, including a range of economic consequences and challenges that brought on my the COVID-19 pandemic. While the nationally economy continues to face a range of challenges, the need to set guiding principles for Fayetteville’s economic vitality efforts has never been higher.

Focus Areas of the Plan

Economic Vitality touches nearly every facet of a community. Many of Fayetteville’s other Master Plans influence the City’s economic health, such as the Parks and Recreation System Master Plan, Energy Action Plan, and City Plan 2040. Fayetteville’s Economic Vitality Master Plan will concentrate on the development of goals, strategies, and action items for the following focus areas:

  • Workforce Development and job skill training opportunities for all.
  • The support, growth, and retention of small businesses in the City of Fayetteville.
  • Economic equity and inclusion for populations who face barriers to economic mobility such as minorities, women-run businesses, residents in poverty, neurodiverse residents, and many others.
  • The development and activation of growth nodes throughout the City, with an emphasis on the creation of workforce and attainable housing as well as the attraction and creation of new employment opportunities.

Next Steps

During 2021, City staff gathered a great deal of feedback on what the community would like to see addressed in the plan for small businesses, workforce development, and economic mobility. In the Winter of 2021, the plan’s development was put on hold as the Department of Economic Vitality worked on several major projects and accessed ongoing supply chain, labor market, and macro-economic challenges.

In the Spring of 2021, the first two sections of the draft plan are being published for public review and refinement. The final section of the plan, which focuses on workforce and attainable housing development and employment opportunities, is currently being developed by City staff and the Growth Concept Oriented Development Subcommittee.