Appendix 4 Large Employer/Large Lot Analysis
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Appendix 4: Forecast-based large employer / large lot analysis Introduction A strong regional economy that provides job choices and prosperity is an important part of quality of life. The economic position of the Portland metropolitan region is partially dependent upon global factors as the world shifts towards new market realities. However, local and regional choices can shape this region’s place in the global economy. In addition to job capacity, factors that contribute to a strong regional economy include, an educated workforce, high value added businesses, wage levels, the mix of jobs, the success of economic development efforts, the transportation system, infrastructure investments and quality of life. This appendix is intended to provide more detailed information than found in the urban growth report about how the relationship between demand for employment capacity and parcel formats and configurations may change over the next 20 years. The analysis approaches the topic from several angles to help inform growth management decisions. This report includes the following contents. Some of the reports contents are strictly informational and do not impact the demand analysis: Inventory of existing large employers (by number of employees) Inventory of existing large parcel users (over 25 acres) Forecasted large lot demand (years 2010 to 2030) Reconciliation of large lot supply and demand Policy questions Inventory of existing large employers1 This analysis provides information on both large lot users and the region’s large employers. An inventory of existing large employers (in 2006) suggests that not all large employers use large parcels of land. This portion of the analysis also draws attention to the region’s many Oregon-originated, large employers that have been in the region for decades. Existing employers play a critical role in supporting the region’s economy, and their needs should not be forgotten amongst efforts to attract the next big employer. 1 This large employer portion of the analysis uses United States Bureau of Labor Statistics data (ES-202) from 2006. This data includes only those employees that are covered by unemployment insurance (about 98 percent of all non-farm employees). This data set is deemed confidential by the federal government, requiring that it be presented in a generalized format that does not identify individual employers. 2009 – 2030 urban growth report | APPENDIX 4 A4-1 Methodology and results (large employers) Different industries require different human resources. For instance, industrial uses typically require fewer employees per square foot than retail uses. This report’s definition of a large employer recognizes these differences by varying employment minimums for each building type. To identify large employers, each North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code2 was first assigned to one of six building types.3 A minimum employee number was applied to each building type, assuming that the building is on a 20-acre site (to control for parcel size). The large employer definitions are described in Table 1Table 1. Table 1: definition of large employers by building type Number of equivalent Building type NAICS codes jobs on 20 acres information excluded from this large finance employer analysis because real estate office uses would have too professional services many employees on a 20-acre management site to provide a means of Office administration, waste identifying large employers Flex hi tech 600 manufacturing (non high tech) General industrial transportation, warehouse, and utilities 400 Warehouse and distribution wholesale 200 retail arts, entertainment, recreation accommodation and food service Retail other services 700 education health and social services Institution government 1,000 Using the definition of large employers found in Table 1 results in a list of 89 large employers inside the current urban growth boundary (UGB). 2 NAICS codes are self-reported by firms and in a few cases do not appear to accurately represent the activities of the business on these particular sites. For instance one employer’s NAICs code is in the wholesale category, placing them in the warehouse and distribution building type when most of their activities at this site appear to be office uses. 3 This differs from the general methodology used in the urban growth report, which assigned each NAICS code to several building types. This difference in methodology does not appear to influence the results of this large lot/large employer analysis. 2009 – 2030 urban growth report | APPENDIX 4 A4-2 The original list of 89 large employers is described as follows: Existing large employers by building type Warehouse, distribution, 22 Flex, 17 Retail, 2 General Institution, industrial, 30 18 Figure 1: number of large employers inside the Metro UGB in 2006 by building type 16 percent of large employers are public sector 10 percent of large employers are in the central city 6 percent of large employers are in town centers or regional centers 9 percent of large employers are in corridors 61 percent of large employers are in Title 4 Employment, Industrial or Regionally Significant Industrial Areas (in some cases, these areas overlap with centers and corridors) Nineteen of these 89 large employers are duplicates (same firm with multiple locations), leaving 70 unique large employers inside the UGB. Of these, 14 are public sector employers, leaving 56 large, unique, private-sector employers. Thirty-seven of these private firms (66 percent) originated in the Portland region. When public sector firms are included, 71 percent of the region’s large employers originated in the Portland region (50 out of 70 employers). 2009 – 2030 urban growth report | APPENDIX 4 A4-3 As shown in Table 2, the 56 large, private employers have emerged in our region over the course of a century and a half. Many of them started as a small business that grew over time.4 This data is for information purposes only and does not impact the 2010 – 2030 large lot demand analysis. Table 2: decade of origin of existing (year 2006) large, private employers in the Metro UGB Number of existing (in 2006) large, private-sector employers by decade of Number that are Oregon Decade origin in the Metro region Originated 1850 1 1 1860 0 0 1870 2 2 1880 0 0 1890 1 1 1900 1 1 1910 4 4 1920 4 2 1930 4 4 1940 9 9 1950 3 2 1960 2 2 1970 8 5 1980 2 1 1990 6 4 2000-2006 3 0 4 Additional information about these 56 firms as well as a description of methodology is available as Attachment 1 to this report. 2009 – 2030 urban growth report | APPENDIX 4 A4-4 Existing large parcel users In addition to identifying existing large employers, this study identifies existing large parcel users in the region. This provides an idea of what attributes future users may be looking for in large parcels. Large parcels were defined as 25 acres or larger. Methodology and results (existing large lot users) To find existing large parcel users, taxlots larger than 25 acres that are being used for industrial or commercial purposes were identified. Other large employers (the 89 large employers as defined earlier in this report) that are located on an assemblage of more than 25 acres were added to this inventory. This survey finds a total of 60 existing firms inside the Metro UGB that are located on a parcel of land (or group of parcels) of at least 25 acres. Figure 2 shows the geographical distribution of these large parcels throughout the region. These large parcel users accounted for 8.1% of total employment in the region in 2006. Figure 2: current large lot users by building type GIS analysis indicates that these large parcels tend to be fairly flat. They may have some areas of slopes greater than 7% or even 15%, but these steep areas are usually small and scattered. Large parcel users with multiple buildings, like a hospital facility, are more likely to work around steeper slopes than a user 2009 – 2030 urban growth report | APPENDIX 4 A4-5 building a large warehouse or industrial building. There is evidence that all building types can work around small environmental limitations when necessary. Many of the parcels in the survey have areas that are protected by Title 3 or Title 13, usually in the form of a single stream corridor running through the property or protected areas along the edges of the parcel. Many large lot users have only developed a portion of their property, evidence of their preference for future expansion opportunities. Some basic attributes of these large parcels/users, organized by building type, are shown in Table 3. Additional information about employers on large parcels is included as Attachment 2. Table 3: summary statistics for existing large lot users Average Average Number of Total Proportion of Average Building acreage employees large employees in regional number of type per large per acre employers building type employment taxlots employer Institutional 6 19,567 2.4 % 54.3 31.5 60.0 GI 21 10,475 1.3 % 53.2 3.0 9.4 WD 16 11,028 1.4 % 48.8 2.7 14.1 Flex 14 22,887 2.8 % 111.8 3.1 14.6 Office 3 1,635 0.2 % 82.2 5.0 6.6 Total 60 65,592 8.1 % Institutional large lot users The six institutional employers inventoried here are all hospitals and related facilities. Together, they employed almost 20,000 people in 2006. There is strong evidence of taxlot assembly at these facilities, particularly those located in areas of higher density development. The total number of taxlots for each user ranges from 6 to 60 and total acreage ranges from 31 to 75 acres. For the large lot demand forecast section of this report, only medical uses are forecasted for the institutional building type.