Fifteen members of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, talked land use with Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington and Metro chief operating officer Michael Jordan on Oct. 6 in a discussion about Metro staff recommendations for Making the Greatest Place. NAIOP is an organization of developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial and mixed-use real estate.
NAIOP Oregon president-elect Gregg Manning led off with a question about the reserves analytical process: "Washington County recommended 35,000 to 45,000 acres of urban reserves, supported by county analysis. Metro's recommendations are smaller than that of Washington County alone. How do you account for that disparate set of conclusions?"
Councilor Harrington responded that ultimately Metro would have to prove a consistent analysis, but that the initial recommendations are the result of a different lens – the county submissions are from a local standpoint while the Metro recommendation is looking at the issue from a regional perspective.
Members generally expressed support for looking at the mid-point or higher for growth forecasts and advocated using "white space" (undesignated lands) for flexibility and to allow for development of trend lines in the future. Participants emphatically declared that the concept of "fast-tracking" industrial land sites was "dead on arrival" – that it is unrealistic to expect that potential employers would wait for a site to get through the process.
Jordan said Metro understands the need to preserve land for industrial development. If the fast tracking proposal won't work, he asked NAIOP to come up with an alternative that ensured that land brought into the urban growth boundary for industrial purposes would not be converted to other uses. Markets and local governments often have short-term incentives to accept other uses and they don't appreciate it when Metro regulates, Jordan said. The Metro Council would welcome NAIOP's help persuading local governments about the importance of preserving industrial land.
"If we can come up with an alternative to fast-tracking we'll work with local governments to accept it," said Mark Clemmons, committee vice-chair. Clemmons also asked about the long term reserves process. "What happens between now and 2050 or 2060? Is there a point in time where we go through this process again or is the decision locked?" he asked.
Harrington explained there will be performance analysis along the way as well as a state-required capacity analysis every five years. Jordan provided a historical perspective. "The land use system in Oregon is only 36 years old and it has changed significantly over that time frame. Can reserves change? Every two years the world can change," he said.
Dana Krawczuk pointedly asked about assumptions for industrial land, aggregation of smaller lots and zoned capacity. Jordan responded that the overall assumption is that the current market is not responding to zoned capacity and that we should focus there first. He pointed to the region's poor track record during the last 10 years in using land that has been brought inside the urban growth boundary and asserted that there are significant acres within the boundary that could be available if constraint issues like brownfields and infrastructure could be addressed.
"Policymakers must get more efficient with how they spend public money to get land ready for development. If we don't increase efficiency within the UGB, we'll have to expand and that land will be as or more expensive to develop," he said.
Kelly Ross, NAIOP Oregon executive director, asked how to make that increased efficiency happen. Jordan asserted that the region needs commitments, at least intergovernmental agreements, to get greater capacity from local zoning. "State law allows Metro to require local governments to act but we see that as a last resort. In my opinion, this region needs a substantial, flexible source of funding to address this gap."
The meeting closed with an expression of thanks all around for a candid discussion, for Councilor Harrington's time with NAIOP and the business community, and for the valuable contributions that NAIOP members have made throughout the process.