Item B: Update on Commercial/Industrial/Residential Land Studies

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The definitions prov do not, however, addres is vacant or developed. space as well as land. T vacant built space can i example, a district that vacancy rate may have e little demand for land in t d above address the physical attributes of land. They hat is on the land beyond classifying whether a tax lot upply analysis should also consider the supply of built key point here is that the supply of occupied and ence demand for both land and built space. For 5 million square feet of built space with a 30% ectations of a future demand for built space, but have e short run until excess supply is absorbed. Data on built space occupancy can be inventoried and included in a database or geographic i ormation system. While it is rare to find comprehensive database of built space, t er methods exist to address the derived demand for land through demand fo uilt space. Data on built space can be inventoried at the time building permits ar ssued. Data on vacancy rates is more dynamic and requires continual monit 'ng to maintain accuracy. In the u.s. it is not unusual for real estate or develo ent companies to maintain such databases which are used to conduct develop nt-specific market analyses. Methods for identi . g buildable land can range from relatively simple, field- based inventories for s 1 areas, to complex and resource-intensive ones for large regions. The degre f detail and precision needed for a vacant land database should be dete ined by the purposes of the inventory. BUILDABLE LAND INVENTORY 1. Calculate the gr vacant acres by land use designation, includingfully vacant and parti ly vacant parcels. The first step requires parcels to be classified as vac t, partially vacant or developed. The amount of vacant land is then tabu ed by the planned land use from the comprehensive plan. 2. Calculate gross ildable vacant acres by plan designation by subtracting unbuildable acr s rom total acres. Not all vacant land is developable. Lands with envi ental constraints such as steep slopes, floodplains, or other natural ha a ds are deducted from the inventory. This deduction yields "buildabl "acres, or the amount of land that is" available for development. 3. Calculate net bu"l able acres by land use designation subtracting land for future public fac'l ties from gross buildable vacant acres. Not all buildable land will be use or development; streets and other public facilities will require land. Th s deduction results in net acres. x The process of deve 0 ing a buildable lands inventory is not particularly complex. The steps and b-steps in a supply inventory are: x Gross and net buildable acres are typically defined as folIo Commercial and Industrial Lands. Database ECONorthwest September 2006 Page 30