09-19-13 Regular Meeting, Public Hearing and Workshop of the Planning and Zoning Commission

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Planning & Zoning Commission September 19, 2013 Page 2 of 4 Analysis: It is important to describe the difference between warehouse and trucking terminal and measure the employment capacity and values generated by these land uses. A warehouse is typically a large building for storage of goods or merchandise. A warehouse is an important link for freight movement in intermodal transportation. Cargo that may come by ship, rail, or airplane is usually stored in the warehouse before the carrier delivers it to its final destination. Warehouses serve multiple purposes such as to break down the packages into smaller packages (distribution centers) to store merchandise for seasonal sales, or to be stored for pick up at the right time by the receivers. A truck terminal is typically a site for the handling and temporary storage of freight pending transfers between locations. Truck terminals that handle truck loads only, typically consist of a wide, open space where trucks are parked. Usually, truck terminals also have a building for offices and a truck maintenance facility. Staff determined the employment densities for warehousing versus trucking terminals to evaluate economic development projects and strategies. In addition, data on the floor area ratio is collected for existing establishments to determine anticipated employment or number of jobs associated with these developments. As per research by the Planning Advisory Services (PAS) of the American Planning Association, employment densities are calculated based on the gross internal floor space per workspace (rather than full-time equivalent employee). For industrial, warehousing, and distribution centers, floor space information will typically be gross external or internal space. The number of employees which should be measured to calculate density should be all those working on -site expressed as full-time equivalent. Summary of PAS research is as follows: Floor Area per Employee - In order to compare expected employment growth, it is assumed that a certain number of people can be employed based on the category of employment use and the amount of floor area that can be built. Measurements of the average floor space per person in a building are used to determine the number of jobs associated with a development. There are distinct floor area ratios for development observed in the following employment categories: Employment Category Square Feet per Employ Manufacturing 500 Wholesale, Transportation, Communication, Utilities 1000 Retail 700 Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Services 400 Government/Education 300 The floor area square feet per employee by employment category is calculated as follows: Employment Capacity = (buildable acres x employment sector FAR x 43560 / square feet per employee. An example of how this formula performs at the parcel level is shown below. Assume that a parcel (whether vacant, partially -used or re -developable) has an estimate of buildable area of 3.5 acres. Also, assume that the