PART THREE: THE PLAN ELEMENTS SECTION EIGHT: THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN INTRODUCTION Part One: Assessments of this Comprehensive Plan Update establishes that the current level of commercial entitlement is necessary in order to create an Ad Valorem tax base in Westlake that will support future General Fund requirements (assuming that the Town seeks a level of service reflected by the General Fund) that is like other comparable cities, such as Highland Park, Texas. In that assertion is an inherent implication that Westlake needs to see build-out of a significant portion of the current non-residential entitlement in order to sustain the proportionately low residential assessments it now enjoys. Recent office projects such as Solana, Fidelity Investments, and others in the western portion of the Town have not built to the density levels permitted by the Planned Development ordinances. Some of these projects have only attained a .12:1 FAR in districts where .4:1 FAR is permissible. This represents approximately 25% usage of the entitlement density, and continuation of this trend would leave Westlake deficient, in terms of Ad Valorem revenue to serve the General PLAN ELEMENTS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN 281 Figure 162: Westlake Ad Valorem Fund demand at a General Fund cost per affirmed by citizen comments flowing from capita of $2,900 per person. If the demand Public Planning Workshops #1 and #2. for service remains at the Highland Park These comments include: level (largely a function of the similar socio- 1. Preserve the sense of balance economic demographics), then Westlake between residential and commercial will be forced to raise its currently low rate development by promoting continuity of taxation or reduce its level of service. of development forms, pallet of There is far more office development landscaping, meaningful/ functional embedded in the Planned Developments buffers, built area to land area ratios, than retail development. For example, one and character of the street experience. PD contains approximately 12 million sf. of 2. Preserve Westlake’s distinctively low office and 3.0 million sf. of retail. Both office Ad Valorem tax rate on residential and retail development are required to properties. provide the non-residential portion of the 3. Maintain a balance between the Ad General Fund obligation (Commercial Ad Valorem revenues of non-residential Valorem in Figure 162). and residential development so that property taxes on residential property This means that underutilization of the do not have to be disproportionately entitlement density will curtail attaining the raised to accommodate the impacts proportion of non-residential Ad Valorem of future development in and around performance illustrated in Figure 162. The Westlake. importance of attainting the Ad Valorem targets of the Comprehensive Plan is Not only is it important that Westlake WESTLAKE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 282 attain a significant portion of non- of neighboring projects flow together residential square footage currently to create a more campus like setting, permitted (approximately 18 million sf.), overall. but it is also important that non-residential 3. Establish development guidelines that development is of sufficient value. discourage typical strip-like, suburban Therefore, one of the primary Economic commercial development. Development Objectives is to achieve 4. Create a town center/ hub. sufficient office value and square footage 5. Maintain Westlake’s sense of separation to accomplish the Ad Valorem targets of from surrounding typical commercial the Town. and residential development. 6. Focus the commercial components of Current entitlements also contain Westlake to locations along the SH 114 rights to significant retail, hospitality, and SH 170 portions of the community. and entertainment square footage. 7. Encourage the predominantly non- More specifically, entitlements permit residential growth of western portions approximately 3.5 million sf. of retail and of Westlake to properly compliment 2.0 million sf of hospitality/ entertainment. the residential portions of Westlake and Again, it is important that the Town preserve/ enhance residential values. achieve build-out of these entitlements 8. Discourage the development of at a level of value that will accomplish distribution facilities in Westlake and the Ad Valorem targets established within maintain a land use differentiation from this Plan. Further, participants in the Public land development to the west. Planning Workshops identified quality 9. Promote and encourage compatibility retail as very important to them. Therefore, between commercial development another Economic Development in Westlake and other commercial Objective of the Town is to attain the centers that contributes to greater retail/ hospitality/ entertainment square economic vigor overall and prevents footage currently entitled at a level of competition between commercial quality necessary to both fulfill the Ad centers in the region. Valorem targets and reflect the desired 10. Maximize the opportunity of the image of the Town. strategic importance of the SH 170/ SH 114 intersection to create a center and Listed below are key citizen generated identity that is uniquely Westlake, which statements from Public Workshops #1 will enhance the value of Westlake, and #2 related to office and retail overall. development: 11. Maintain a balance between the Ad Valorem revenues of non-residential 1. Promote a visual character that and residential development so that communicates a high quality of property taxes on residential property building and landscape construction, do not have to be disproportionately both public and private. raised to accommodate the impacts 2. Promote non-residential/ office of future development in and around development that hosts a significant Westlake. ground plane of pedestrian features and visual amenities, instead of parking and service, and that ground planes PLAN ELEMENTS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN 283 Another important Economic a. Traffic Driven Retail: Development Objective is reinforcement i. Ubiquitous in Nature: Appear of, and perpetuation of, higher price point over and over along major traffic residential within the Town. Of particular corridors. interest is attracting the younger buyer ii. Plate Dominated: Typically big segment of this market and providing other box retailers. high price point housing options for those iii. Volume Sales: Move large going through a life stage transition (both volumes of product. of these housing targets are discussed in iv. Price Sensitive: High volume sales detail in the Housing Plan). are related to price. Therefore, lower prices are typical. In light of this analysis and comments v. Urgent Inventory: Typically sell flowing from Public Planning Workshops #1 hardware, groceries and/ or dry and #2, there are three primary Outcome goods of a type that is tailored Economic Conditions that an Economic to drive in/ drive out demand Development Plan must seek to attain. patterns, things needed on the These Outcome Conditions are: way home, etc. 1. Corporate Center Locations (A): It b. Specialty Retail: is determined that the higher value i. Unique in Nature: Typically office products are generally those location specific because they developed as corporate headquarters. depend on loyal patronage. Most speculative office product must ii. Smaller Plate: Smaller operations, be accomplished within cost thresholds often associated with an anchor. determined by rent capabilities and iii. Specialized Sales: Target that most corporate headquarter specialized product sales, such as facilities are built to higher standards, the Art of Shaving store in North driven by corporate self-image. Much Park or specialty jewelers. of the current office development iv. High Dollar: Generally sell a more generally viewed as having attained expensive product in smaller a “Westlake” level of quality is for volumes. corporate headquarters purposes. v. Inventory for Shopping: This is seen with Solana and Fidelity Inventories are geared to the Investments. shopper who is prepared to spend more time in the shopping 2. Specialty Retail Dominance (B): Traffic environment. driven retail tends to dominate the landscape of highway/ freeway The sales per square foot difference locations. Traffic driven retail and between the two retail types is specialty retail have important significant. Generally box retailers differences that relate to value. These are: WESTLAKE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 284 require $200-$300/ sf. annually, while Plan for spatial definition of housing sub- specialty retailers can often exceed markets within Westlake is presented in $400/ sf. Therefore, specialty retailers the Housing Plan. tend to bring greater value from an Ad Valorem perspective, while traffic The interrelationship of these three driven retailers may generate more outcomes requires the Economic sales tax due to their volume sales. Development Plan to be broad, spanning Therefore, promoting a dominance from office to residential initiatives. of specialty retail is an economic Corporate centers located within Westlake development target of the Economic enhance the Town’s desirability for Development Plan. executive housing and more generally preserves the contextual assets that 3. Higher Price Point Housing (C): support higher residential value and Of paramount concern to citizen quality of life. Relocation literature reveals participants in the Public Planning that quality of life is among the most