Planning Commission

AGENDA EUGENE PLANNING COMMISSION McNutt Room, City Hall Phone: 541‐682‐5481 777 Peal Street www.eugene‐or.gov/pc Eugene, OR 97401 The Eugene Planning Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. Feel free to come and go as you please at any of the meetings. This meeting location is wheelchair‐accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM assistive‐listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hours notice prior to the meeting. Spanish‐language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours notice. To arrange for these services, contact the receptionist at 541‐682‐5481. Telecommu nications devices for deaf assistance are available at 541‐682‐5119. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011 – REGULAR MEETING (11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) 11:00 a.m. I. PUBLIC COMMENT The Planning Commission reserves 10 min utes at the beginning of this meeting for public comment. The public may comment on any matter, except for items scheduled for public hearing or public hearing items for which the record has already closed. Generally, the time limit for public comment is three minutes; however, the Planning Commission reserves the option to reduce the time allowed each speaker bas ed on the number of people requesting to speak. 11:10 a.m. II. FINAL DELIBERATIONS AND ACTION FOR OBO ENTERPRISES APPEAL Staff: Steve Ochs, 541‐682‐5453 11:40 a.m. III. ENVISION EUGENE: INDUSTRIAL LAND NEED Staff: Jason Dedrick, 541‐682‐5451 1:15 p.m. IV. ITEMS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Other Items from Staff B. Other Items from Commission Commissioners: Steven Baker; Jonathan Belcher; Rick Duncan; Randy Hledik, Vice Chair; Jeffery Mills, Chair; William Randall PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 1 PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 2  AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 14, 2011 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: Jason Dedrick, City of Eugene Planning Division Subject: Envision Eugene Update: Industrial Land Need ACTION REQUESTED This work session provides the Planning Commission with an update and opportunity to provide feedback on analysis regarding future industrial land need. BRIEFING STATEMENT This is part of an ongoing conversation about Eugene’s 20-year land need for all land types, including:  Public and semi-public land  Single-family housing  Multi-family housing  Commercial  Industrial The current Draft Envision Eugene Proposal contains a strategy that specifically references expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) by 400-500 for industrial uses. This recommendation was made by the City Manager after receiving input from the Community Resource Group (CRG) and an Economic Development Subgroup of the CRG. A recently reconvened Economic Development Subgroup advised staff to do additional analysis that provides context for an industrial land need recommendation. The primary components of this analysis are explained in Attachment A. This work will also be shared with the Economic Development Subgroup for their comment. NEXT STEPS On November 23, 2011, staff will discuss the industrial land need with the City Council. Feedback from the Planning Commission on this topic will be forwarded to the City Council. An Open House on industrial land need (as well as commercial/mixed use) will take place on December 5, 2011. Council will not be asked to make any decisions before the end of the calendar year or before adequate opportunity for public comments is provided. FOR MORE INFORMATION Jason Dedrick, 541-682-5451 or jason.p.dedrick@ci.eugene.or.us ATTACHMENTS A. Summary of Industrial Land Need 1 PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 3 PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 4 Phone • (541) 687-0051 Suite 400 Other Offices FAX • (541) 344-0562 99 W. 10th Ave Portland • (503) 222-6060 info@econw.com Eugene, Oregon 97401-3040 Seattle • (206) 622-2403 November 9, 2011 TO: Jason Dedrick FROM: Bob Parker and Beth Goodman SUBJECT: INDUSTRIAL LAND DEMAND FOR MAJOR EMPLOYERS The City of Eugene is studying the capacity of land within the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to accommodate residential, commercial, and industrial growth over the next 20 years. This memorandum describes industrial land demand in Eugene, based on the regional economic development vision described in the Joint Elected Officials’ (JEO) Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan. The purpose of this memorandum is to describe an approach to estimating Eugene’s land demand based on the priorities described in the JEO’s report. The approach to estimating industrial land demand is preliminary and will need to be revised based on feedback from elected and appointed officials. Refining this analysis will require additional technical analysis. 1 BACKGROUND Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goal 9 allows cities to develop “aspirational” economic development plans, which, by definition, assume that future employment growth will be different than past employment growth. A city can adopt policies to attempt to attract specific types of firms, including types of firms that have not historically located in the city. Goal 9 allows a city to increase the amount of their buildable lands for employment beyond what might be calculated to strictly match forecasted employment (such as the forecast described below) if the City demonstrates that it lacks certain site types. Such an action, though allowed, is optional: a city must decide that it wants to have the additional site types so as to have a chance of attracting such industries. The employment forecasts in Envision Eugene and the Eugene Comprehensive Land Analysis (ECLA) projected employment growth for Eugene, based on: (1) Eugene’s current employment base, (2) trends that are likely to affect Eugene’s employment growth, and (3) the regional forecast for population growth. The key assumption in Eugene’s employment forecast is that employment will grow at the same rate as population over the 2011 to 2031 period. PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 5 Eugene: Industrial Land Demand ECONorthwest November 2011 Page 2 This forecast projects growth based on past trends and does not consider the City’s aspirations for future economic development. It does not account for employment growth resulting in expansion of employment in traded-sector industries (e.g., manufacturing or software development) or other employment that has not historically located in Eugene. Nor did it address the types of sites needed to accommodate those types of uses. Growth in traded-sector industries is generally the result of overall growth in the regional (i.e., Pacific Northwest) or nation economy and is related to Eugene’s competitive advantages for attracting and growing these types of industries. 1 2 INDUSTRIAL LAND DEMAND IN EUGENE Eugene’s strategy for economic development is based on the Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan, which was developed by the Joint Elected Officials (JEO) to guide economic development efforts and initiatives for the Eugene-Springfield area. The plan has two primary goals: reducing unemployment to levels below the state average, while increasing median wage to a level above the state average over the next 20 years. The plan focused on six initiative areas: (1) assistance to area small business, (2) advancing the creative economy, (3) workforce development, (4) infrastructure support for business development, (5) economic identity, and (6) strengthening key industries. The Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan identified target industries, based on technical analysis and community input, to meet the regional economic development goals. City of Eugene staff divided the target industry list into sub- categories, which highlights the range of businesses that Eugene is seeking to grow or attract in the next 20 years. Table 1 shows the target industries. City staff is in the process of researching the characteristics of sites needed by these industries. 1 The ECLA Economic Opportunities Analysis documents Eugene’s competitive advantages in detail. In brief, Eugene’s primary competitive advantages are: location, access to transportation, quality of life, market buying power, and access to highly educated and skilled labor. These factors make Eugene attractive to residents and businesses that want a high quality of life where they live and work. PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 6 Eugene: Industrial Land Demand ECONorthwest November 2011 Page 3 Table 1. Targeted Industry Summary Industry Category Site Size (ac) General Site Characteristics Clean Tech Will be filled in at a later point. Biomass 1-60 In general, these industries need relatively flat, average minimum size of 25 ac contiguous parcels with relatively few owners (to make site assembly easier). The industries Solar 60-100+ will need urban services, such as municipal average minimum size of 18 ac water, wastewater, and transportation. A number of these industries prefer to locate in Health areas with direct access to State Highways or Care & Treatment Facilities 1-100 Interstate 5. Wellness/Specialty Hospital 1-60 Advanced Manufacturing Materials 10-100 average minimum size of 28 ac Electronics 10-100 average minimum size of 28 ac Transportation Wood Products 10-60 average minimum size of 23 ac Software Development Data Center 30-100+ average minimum size of 45 ac Publishing 1-10 Program Development 1-10 Biomedical Manufacturing (pharm.) 40-60 Research/Lab Space 10-30 Design (devices) 1-10 Food Processing/Distribution 10-30 Manufacturing 10-30 Research 10-30 Trade Wholesale Trade 40-60 Warehousing 25-120 average minimum size of 31 ac PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 7 Eugene: Industrial Land Demand ECONorthwest November 2011 Page 4 The Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan aspires to grow employment in the Eugene-Springfield region by 20,000 new employees over the next 10-years.2 If Eugene attracts between 40% to 60% of this employment,3 Eugene would need to accommodate between 8,000 to 12,000 additional employees over the next 10 years. In order for the City to accommodate this number of employees, the City will need to have sufficient employment land, with the site characteristics needed by these industries. If these industries develop at a density of about 15 employees per acre,4 then Eugene will need 500 to 800 acres of land to accommodate employment growth. Table 1 shows a range of site sizes for the target industries, ranging from one acre to 100 or more acres. Major employers of the type described in the Regional Prosperity Economic Development Plan are likely to require larger sites, such as sites 10 acres and larger. Given the fact that the JEO’s strategy is to grow large businesses, it is reasonable to assume that the majority of employers will require sites 25 acres or larger. Assuming that between one-half and three-quarters of this employment would require these larger sites, then Eugene will need to provide between 300 and 600 acres of industrial land on sites larger than 25 acres. This land should include a mixture of site sizes. An example of such a mixture could include: eight sites between 25 and 50 acres, five sites between 50 and 75 acres, and one site of 100 acres.5 Other mixes of site sizes are possible. The average size and configuration of the sites will need to be further described as the City refines its industrial land demand analysis. 2 Goal 9 requires a 20-year forecast. We use the JEO target to represent the aspirational component of employment growth, even though it is a 10 year figure. 3 About 60% of Lane County’s employment is located in Eugene. If Eugene is to continue to be the regional employment center, then a substantial portion of future employment growth (including these employees) will need to locate in Eugene. 4 Eugene’s Light Medium Industrial land is developed at an average of 16 employees per acre. 5 If two or three of the 25 to 75 acre sites could be assembled into a one hundred acre site, that would decrease the need to have a one hundred acre site. Site assembly for large-lot uses can be complex, making it important not to depend on assembly of many sites to get to a one hundred acre site. PC AIS November 14, 2011 - Page 8