Commercial and Industrial Development | 8-1
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COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT | 8-1 Chapter 8: Commercial and Industrial Development BACKGROUND AND INTENT In addition to agriculture, the Riley County economy has historically been dominated by the government sector, with the large employment base provided by Fort Riley, the school districts and Kansas State University. While these entities will continue to play an important role in the area’s economy, the County continues to seek greater diversity in employment opportunities for area residents to include a variety of jobs, cultural amenities, and services that make a positive contribution to the Riley County community. This Chapter identifies goals, objectives, and policies regarding the location and the criteria for siting commercial and industrial uses in the unincorporated areas. Although much of this type of development will be directed to the urban areas where infrastructure is available, this chapter will provide guidance to decision-makers when rural locations are needed. CURRENT SITUATION AND TRENDS Local Employment Commercial and industrial development is important to Riley County as a whole because these components of the economy provide significant employment opportunities for citizens of the County. Table 8.1 summarizes the most current employment data available for Riley County. The total number of employed persons in 2007 was 27,596 (2007 Labor Force Estimates, Kansas Department of Labor, Labor Market Information Services). The largest employer was the services sector with 39.7% of the workforce. Government jobs were a close second. Retail trade was third at 12.5%. It is interesting to note the relative lack of manufacturing jobs compared to other sectors. The reason is the two largest single employers in the Manhattan area are Kansas State University with 6,060 full-time employees (10/15/08) and Fort Riley with 8,346 civilian employees in 2006. The University has experienced modest increases in enrollment over the past 13 years (from 20,476 in 1995 to 23,520 in 2008). During the next 10 years, however, enrollment is projected to remain fairly level. The outlook for Fort Riley is strictly linked to Department VISION 2025 – A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR RILEY COUNTY COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT | 8-2 of Defense decisions about base mission for the future, but as discussed in Chapter 4, the Fort Riley civilian and non-civilian populations are expected to increase significantly through 2012. These two major employers are therefore expected to continue to dominate the overall employment picture for the near future. Other major employers in the area include the Manhattan/Ogden Unified School District, Mercy Regional Health Center, and the Kansas Farm Bureau. These employers, plus KSU and Fort Riley, are the primary reason why non- manufacturing jobs account for the majority of jobs in the Manhattan area. Less than 3% of the workforce is involved in manufacturing and more than 90 percent of workers in the area are employed in the following sectors: services (40%), government (29%), retail or wholesale trade (19%). The lack of manufacturing jobs has long been a concern and great emphasis has been given to encouraging more manufacturing in the area to diversify the economy. This emphasis will continue for the foreseeable future. Table 8.1—Employment by Non-Agricultural Industry: Riley County, Kansas 2007 Number of Percent of Sector Employed Persons Total Service 10,968 39.7% Government 8,011 29.0% Retail Trade 3,437 12.5% Construction 1,569 5.7% Financial, Insurance, & 1,455 5.3% Real Estate Manufacturing 757 2.7% Management & 641 2.3% Information Wholesale Trade 630 2.3% Transportation & Utilities 128 0.5% TOTALS 27,596 100% Riley County’s unemployment rate has fluctuated from a high of 4.1% in 1998 to a low of 2.9% in 1999. In 2007, the unemployment rate for Riley County was 3.1%. These rates are relatively close to those of the State of Kansas and significantly lower than those for the United States. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT | 8-3 Income The median family income in Riley County, as reported by the 2000 Census, was $46,489, which is about 94% of the State median family income. The per person (per capita) incomes are $16,349 in Riley County and $20,506 in the State. Two reasons the income levels are lower in Riley County are the large percentage of young people attending the University that are only employed part-time and the large number of military personnel who have lower incomes. The percentage of Riley County families having incomes below the established poverty level is substantially higher than the State, but it generally parallels the income comparison. Area economic development plans and initiatives have stressed the importance of creating a greater number of higher wage jobs in the area. Emphasis has been placed on bioscience and technology industries to create jobs that can help to retain university graduates in the community. These efforts will continue for a long time into the future. Land Use The majority of the commercial and industrial land use is located within the city limits of Manhattan and the other cities in Riley County. The amount of commercial and industrial zoning in the unincorporated area illustrates this fact. As of 2008, there were 338 acres zoned commercial in the unincorporated area, not including the rural racing facility, equaling approximately .1% of the total unincorporated acres. Land zoned industrial accounted for only 164 acres, not including quarry sites. Therefore, the vast majority of the land currently zoned or designated for future commercial or industrial uses is located within the Manhattan Urban Area. This is due to the need for most commercial and industrial uses to have access to municipal water and sewer systems and city fire protection. Occasionally, however, there are large commercial or industrial uses that require larger tracts of land or a more rural setting to accommodate special needs, e.g. taller structures, noise buffers, site-specific resources, etc. Siting of such facilities can be accommodated by using the policies outlined below. Nevertheless, the trend will continue that the majority of commercial and industrial uses will be located within city limits. VISION 2025 – A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR RILEY COUNTY COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT | 8-4 GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES COMMERCIAL GOAL: TO ALLOW SUFFICIENT AREAS EFFICIENTLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY AND ADEQUATE OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT. Objective C1: Encourage the development of comparative retail businesses in existing commercial areas within the cities in the County. Policies: C1.1 Office development shall be encouraged to locate in the cities. C1.2 The commercial zoning of land for all types of businesses outside the cities will be carefully controlled to prevent the total dispersion of shopping facilities. Objective C2: Allow for clustered and coordinated commercial development outside of the cities. Policies: C2.1 Planned commercial areas shall be provided for large lot users (i.e. lumberyards, farm implement dealers, auto dealers, discount stores, supermarkets). These uses should always be directed to the cities first. However, if suitable tracts and/or locations are not available within the cities, areas should be made available adjacent to or in close proximity to the cities. C2.2 Those areas containing large land uses shall be located on a principal arterial with careful access controls and sufficient buffers from any adjacent residential uses. C2.3 Large lot commercial uses shall be clustered to minimize their impact on surrounding uses and traffic patterns rather than allowed to form a long commercial strip. C2.4 Care shall be taken in permitting the development of new commercial areas to assure that they are not premature to market needs and would not create a scattering of businesses in half-developed commercial areas. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT | 8-5 C2.5 Promote home-based, information technology based, entrepreneurial, and other non-traditional business models to help establish a diversified economic base. Objective C3: Assure the provision of adequate vehicular access and parking at all commercial and employment centers. Policies: C3.1 Require adequate off-street parking for all new commercial and office development and require buffering between parking areas and adjacent residential uses. *** INDUSTRIAL GOAL: TO ALLOW SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AT LOCATIONS WITH SUITABLE ACCESS, ADEQUATE COMMUNITY FACILITIES, SITE-SPECIFIC RESOURCES AND WITHOUT SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL OR LAND USE LIMITATIONS. Objective I1: Industrial developments should generally be directed to the cities or the designated city growth areas in the County where public and semi-public resources are available to accommodate the development. Policies: I1.1 Industrial sites should have direct access onto arterial roads or major highway. I1.2 Wherever possible, public water and sewer service should be provided. I1.3 Industrial development should be located and designed to facilitate adequate fire protection. I1.4 The County should collaborate with the cities to identify an inventory of available and suitable land for industrial development. VISION 2025 – A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR RILEY COUNTY COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT | 8-6 Objective I2: Encourage retention of existing and a diversity of new industrial employment opportunities. Policies: I2.1 A variety of industrial areas will be provided. I2.2 New industries will be sought