Laserfiche WebLink
<br />demolished). They might also agree, in broad terms, on certain attributes of the <br />land that constrain its development (either physically or legally) and suggest that <br />it be classified as unbuildable. <br /> <br />Complications occur when the physical assessment of vacancy gets overlaid <br />on tax lot boundaries. If tax lot boundaries did not have to be considered, then <br />every square foot of land could be characterized as vacant or developed. Tax lot <br />boundaries, however, often lump developed and vacant land together on the same <br />tax lot (e.g., one house on a three-acre lot). Thus, on a tax lot level vacant land <br />that is not constrained (i.e., buildable land) comes in two varieties: totally vacant <br />(no significant improvements on the tax lot) and partially vacant (sometimes <br />referred to as under-utilized land). <br /> <br />Redevelopable land is not vacant, but it is available to support some of the <br />new development demanded by the increasing population and employment. <br />Redevelopment occurs on redevelopable land. Here again the definitions are <br />important and messy. <br /> <br />It is clear that if a building is removed and something is built in its place that <br />redevelopment has occurred. But the tax-lot problem occurs there also. What does <br />one call a situation when the vacant portion of a large tax lot gets development, <br />without demolishing a building elsewhere on the lot? Or when an existing <br />structure is added to, increasing the density of development? <br /> <br />Some jurisdictions use the term infill for this type of development. They may <br />even apply the term to a tax lot itself: if surrounding tax lots are primarily <br />developed, then an isolated buildable tax lot (i.e., a tax lot totally or partially <br />vacant) is also an infill tax lot. <br /> <br />Figure A-2 simplifies some of these issues to define three types of land that <br />can support new development: buildable vacant land, buildable partially-vacant <br />land, and redevelopable land. <br /> <br />Given the amount of development in any urban area, it is necessary to use <br />some type of database system for the land inventory. After assembling databases, <br />the next step in the supply analysis is to classify each tax lot in the UGB in to a <br />mutually exclusive category. This classification typically includes the following <br />categories: <br /> <br />. Vacant land. Vacant Land means tax lots with no development. Some <br />definitions use a minimum improvement value and size threshold for <br />vacant land. <br /> <br />. Partially-vacant land. Partially-vacant tax lots are sometimes called <br />"underutilized" land. This includes tax lots that have some development <br />on them, but also have visible vacant areas. <br /> <br />DRAFT: Commercial and Industrial Lands Database <br /> <br />ECONorthwest <br /> <br />July 2006 <br /> <br />Page 21 <br />