In a little more than a year, the City of Carlsbad has made measurable progress in all five areas of the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, the city’s first planning document of its kind. City staff presented the progress report Tuesday as one of several steps leading up to the presentation of the draft budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Prior to approving the strategic plan in October 2022, the City Council had focused on developing annual goals through a process going back decades. By following a five-year plan, the city is now able to focus on larger initiatives and maintain the momentum needed to get them done.

The five goals in the plan are:

• Maintain Carlsbad’s unique community character
• Prioritize the safety and well-being of the community
• Protect the environment and natural resources
• Foster a healthy economy
• Be a model for effective and efficient local government

The plan includes objectives and tasks to support each goal, while recognizing the importance of maintaining day to day city services at the high level the community expects. This section of the plan, called Be Brilliant at the Basics, sets benchmarks for things like streets maintenance, drinking water, police and fire calls for service, library programs, parks and city trails.

Highlights

• Among the highlights shared Tuesday were actions taken by the City Council that will maximize local control over new housing, reduce homelessness and improve traffic safety.
• A new fire station, the city’s seventh, was opened in a temporary location last year to serve the city’s busy coastal area.
• Two new parks are underway and thanks to an updated Parks & Recreation Master Plan approved by the City Council, new outdoor pickleball courts are in the works.
• Last year, 43% of all miles driven by city workers in the field were in low emission vehicles.
• The city added two new fast chargers to support its growing fleet of electric and hybrid electric vehicles, which now total 96.
• The city’s greenhouse gas emissions are currently 4% lower than they were in 2012.
• New environmental programs were launched including organics recycling and reducing city use plastics.
• City Council approved the creation of a Section 115 Pension Trust, a tool that will help manage the city’s long-term pension costs, and maintained the most well-funded pension in the region among cities that have not taken out major loans to help with funding.
• Finally, the City Council approved a new Economic Development Strategic Plan focused on helping local businesses succeed and attracting talent to Carlsbad, while supporting Carlsbad’s major industries, like life sciences, technology and action sports.

Creating next year’s work plan to implement the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan is part of the city’s annual budget process.

• The preliminary budget is scheduled to be presented to the City Council for feedback May 21
• The city will hold a community budget workshop May 23
• Final budget adoption is scheduled for June 18

Read the staff report