e) For purposes of this rule, the determination of suitable land to accommodate land needs <br />must include consideration of any suitability characteristics specified under section (5) of this <br />rule, as well as other provisions of law applicable in determining whether land is buildable or <br />suitable. <br />5) If a local government has specified characteristics such as parcel size, topography, or proximity <br />that are necessary for land to be suitable for an identified need, the local government may limit <br />its consideration to land that has the specified characteristics when it conducts the boundary <br />location alternatives analysis and applies ORS 197.298. <br />In determining whether land is suitable for industrial use, the Goal 9 rule's definition of "suitable" at <br />OAR 660-009-0005(12) applies. That rule states that "'Suitable' means serviceable land designated for <br />industrial or other employment use that provides, or can be expected to provide the appropriate site <br />characteristics for the proposed use."9 <br />OAR 660-009-005(11) defines "Site Characteristics" as "the attributes of a site necessary for a particular <br />industrial or other employment use to operate. Site characteristics include, but are not limited to, a <br />minimum acreage or site configuration including shape and topography, visibility, specific types or levels <br />of public facilities, services or energy infrastructure, or proximity to a particular transportation or freight <br />facility such as rail, marine ports and airports, multimodal freight or transshipment facilities, and major <br />transportation routes." <br />Taken together, these statutes and rules allow the City to dismiss from further consideration land in its <br />study area that lacks the site characteristics needed to accommodate the expected industries. The City's <br />Employment Land Supply Study, adopted as an appendix to the Envision Eugene Comprehensive Plan, <br />discusses numerous site characteristics that make land suitable for the new or expanding industries that <br />are desired by, and likely to be attracted to, Eugene during the 20-year planning period. The EOA, Part II <br />of the Employment Land Supply Study, addresses "Site Needs for Target Industries" in its section 6.2. For <br />purposes of its evaluation of land, the City of Eugene chose to include only the most essential site <br />characteristics identified through data and studies cited by ECONorthwest in the City's EOA: those <br />focused on minimum acreage needs and proximity to a freight route. The EOA contains detailed <br />information justifying these site characteristics for the different types of employment-generating <br />development that Eugene is expecting to attract based on its economic development strategy. <br />Specifically, the expansion sites needed in Eugene must: <br />• Be a contiguous area comprised of one or two tax lots that could accommodate one of the <br />following:" <br />o an industrial site of 75 acres or larger (Eugene needs to add 2 such sites) <br />9 The Goal 14 rule at OAR 660-024-0010(8) states that "'Suitable vacant and developed land' describes land for <br />employment opportunities, and has the same meaning as provided in OAR 660-009-0005 section (12) for <br />'suitable'." <br />io In the City's ananlysis of each subarea of land, under Ill.c.-f. below, it does not dismiss an unconstrained higher <br />priority site that is too small to meet any of the size requirements above if it is located within a mile of access to a <br />State Designated Freight Route and could possibly be combined with an adjacent lower priority site to meet a size <br />requirement. For such sites, the analysis below specifies that the site will be considered further along with <br />adjacent lower priority sites, to determine whether the inclusion of it in combination with a lower-priority site can <br />reduce the need to expand onto lower priority land. <br />Appendix B to Findings May 2017 Page 6 <br />