Land Use Entitlements

Southwest Strategies was hired by Westfield Corporation to develop a community relations program to build support for the company's proposed $1 billion expansion and renovation of its UTC shopping center in San Diego. To proceed, Westfield needed to secure land use entitlements and a vote of approval from the San Diego City Council.

Southwest Strategies implemented a comprehensive research program to better understand the community's perception of the existing shopping center, as well as to help identify potential messages that would resonate with the public. Ultimately, this research effort resulted in more than 1,000 personal contacts with shoppers, local residents, business owners, elected officials and key opinion leaders.

Outreach started by creating a comprehensive database that allowed the team to segment project supporters by City Council districts. The database was also designed to track those supporters willing to write letters to key decision makers and those willing to testify at critical public hearings. Southwest Strategies conducted more than 50 presentations with homeowners groups, trade associations, civic organizations, labor unions and neighborhood groups. Westfield and SWS developed and distributed three separate direct mail pieces with tear off response cards aimed at local residents.

Westfield and Southwest Strategies also engaged in a media relations campaign that started with the launch of the final project design. The launch, intended to focus on the "green" elements of the project, was covered by every major television station in the region, and the headline in the largest print publication read, "UTC to go Green." The successful launch served as a media catalyst that resulted in numerous positive stories leading up to public hearings and editorial board support from the largest newspaper in the region.

After nearly five years of hard work, the San Diego City Council voted 7-1 to approve The New UTC. The approval represents one of the largest land development projects ever supported in San Diego's history. Southwest Strategies exceeded its objective in terms of support, identifying more than 3,000 San Diegans (and more than 800 neighbors within one mile of the shopping center). In addition, more than 500 letters and emails were sent to each City Councilmember, and more than 200 people attended the public hearing and wore green T-shirts in favor of The New UTC.