Land Use Planning for Economic Development: Time to Challenge the Paradigm

Is your current land use plan creating or killing jobs? Winning a quality job-creating project is largely dependent on having a quality site that is ready for business. In the context of planning, ready for business means not only a properly zoned site; surrounding land use must also be compatible with the intended economic development strategy for the subject property. Comprehensive plans that fail to strategically prescribe future land use for economic development hinder a community’s ability to attract quality industrial and commercial investments. The net effect: killing opportunities to create quality jobs. Is it time to challenge the approach to comprehensive land use planning? Comp plans are often driven by population growth and the need for future housing, infrastructure, and community services and give far too little consideration to economic development. Location choices for residential development and expanded community services aren’t always in the best long-term growth and prosperity interest of the community. Can an economic development-driven land use plan become the new paradigm in the community planning process? We believe it can.