Item 1: Supply of Commercial and Industrial Land in Lane County

Home Browse Search

The definitions provided above address the physical attributes of land. They do not, however, address what is on the land beyond classifying whether a tax lot is vacant or developed. A supply analysis should also consider the supply of built space as well as land. The key point here is that the supply of occupied and vacant built space can influence demand for both land and built space. For example, a district that has 5 million square feet of built space with a 30% vacancy rate may have expectations of a future demand for built space, but have little demand for land in the short run until excess supply is absorbed. Data on built space and occupancy can be inventoried and included in a database or geographic information system. While it is rare to find comprehensive database of built space, other methods exist to address the derived demand for land through demand for built space. Data on built space can be inventoried at the time building permits are issued. Data on vacancy rates is more dynamic and requires continual monitoring to maintain accuracy. In the u.s. it is not unusual for real estate or development companies to maintain such databases which are used to conduct development-specific market analyses. BUILDABLE LAND INVENTORY METHODS Methods for identifying buildable land can range from relatively simple, field- based inventories for small areas, to complex and resource-intensive ones for large regions. The degree of detail and precision needed for a vacant land database should be determined by the purposes of the inventory. The process of developing a buildable lands inventory is not particularly complex. The steps and sub-steps in a supply inventory are: 1. Calculate the gross vacant acres by land use designation, including fully vacant and partially vacant parcels. The first step requires parcels to be classified as vacant, partially vacant or developed. The amount of vacant land is then tabulated by the planned land use from the comprehensive plan. 2. Calculate gross buildable vacant acres by plan designation by subtracting unbuildable acres from total acres. Not all vacant land is developable. Lands with environmental constraints such as steep slopes, floodplains, or other natural hazards are deducted from the inventory. This deduction yields "buildable" acres, or the amount of land that is available for development. 3. Calculate net buildable acres by land use designation subtracting land for future public facilities from gross buildable vacant acres. Not all buildable land will be used for development; streets and other public facilities will require land. This deduction results in net acres.9 9 Gross and net buildable acres are typically defined as follows: DRAFT: Commercial and Industrial Lands Database ECONorthwest July 2006 Page 23