One Coast CEDS

Comment on the One Coast, One Future CEDS

Through August 31, 2009, the One Coast, One Future Consortium of lower Fairfield County seeks public comment on its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) draft. Links to the CEDS, its appendices and the U.S. Economic Development Administration's CEDS requirements appear below. Comments and questions (including information on alternate ways to access the posted material) can be submitted to:
                        Attn: Gretchen Deans
                        CERC, 805 Brook Street, Bldg. 4
                        Rocky Hill, CT 06067
                        gdeans@cerc.com
                        Phone: 860.571.7147
                        Fax: 860.571.7150

Comments received by August 31 (including those received through U.S. mail postmarked on or before August 31, 2009) will be summarized in an appendix and submitted with the document to EDA. The following are the current documents and information for review:
                        One Coast PowerPoint
                        One Coast CEDS Report
                        CEDS Appendices
                        EDA CEDS Requirements

More About One Coast, One Future and the CEDS

One Coast, One Future is a consortium of 14 communities in lower Fairfield County whose study funding was acquired by former Congress member Christopher Shays under the leadership of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and The Business Council of Fairfield County in cooperation with the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce. Located in Coastal Fairfield County Connecticut, One Coast, One Future is a regional initiative formed in 2005. Its mission is to promote vibrant economic growth in the region by linking the social and economic advantages offered by the three urban centers and surrounding towns.

One Coast, One Future seeks to spark new and renewed growth through cooperative, location-appropriate efforts. The goal is to stimulate economic growth, job creation and individual economic opportunity by linking the lower Fairfield County region's business centers in a new and stronger alliance for their mutual benefit. Fourteen towns are included in One Coast, One Future (One Coast Region):

Bridgeport
Darien
Easton
Fairfield
Greenwich
Monroe
New Canaan
Norwalk
Stamford
Stratford
Trumbull
Weston
Westport
Wilton

The One Coast Consortium has developed a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) to identify regional projects and goals to submit to the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to approve for eligibility of possible funding for identified projects. EDA describes a CEDS as follows:

A comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic roadmap to diversify and strengthen regional economies. The CEDS should analyze the regional economy and serve as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action, and identifying investment priorities and funding sources. A CEDS integrates a region's human and physical capital planning in the service of economic development. Integrated economic development planning provides the flexibility to adapt to global economic conditions and fully utilize the region's unique advantages to maximize economic opportunity for its residents by attracting the private investment that creates jobs for the region's residents. A CEDS must be the result of a continuing economic development planning process developed with broad-based and diverse public and private sector participation, and must set forth the goals and objectives necessary to solve the economic development problems of the region and clearly define the metrics of success. (source)