Marion County to supply commercial-industrial parcel inventory on request after clarifying CEP role

Marion County commissioners agreed at a planning workshop on April 4, 2025, that the county will maintain an inventory of commercial and industrial designated lands and make that inventory available to members of the public on request.

At an exchange about Objective 1.4, Commissioner Stone asked whether the proposed comp plan language should require the county to coordinate specifically with the Chamber and Economic Partnership or with any economic development organization. Staff said the county's role is to provide GIS layers showing land use and zoning, which other entities (including the CEP) may use to prepare property lists for promotion.

"The county, in coordination with the Chamber and Economic Partnership, will maintain an inventory of commercial and industrial designated lands for economic growth and job creation purposes. This list shall be supplied to anyone in the public upon request," a staff-drafted sentence that commissioners discussed became the agreed formulation.

Why it matters: commissioners said the inventory helps economic development partners and local real-estate professionals identify sites suitable for commercial or industrial investment. Several commissioners said the CEP has historically performed recruitment activities with data derived from county layers, but the board agreed the inventory should not be limited to a single organization.

What staff said: planning staff and GIS staff explained the inventory will be produced from county-managed GIS layers (land use, zoning and parcel data) and shared through the county's interactive map and data portal; staff noted parcel-level confidential data (for example, parcel appraiser information flagged as confidential) would not be released.

What the board directed: commissioners asked staff to revise comp plan language so the county's role is clear (supply GIS data rather than act as the sole promoter) and to add explicit language that the inventory will be made available to any member of the public who requests it. Commissioners also asked staff to return with a redline and a short work plan describing how the layers will be posted and what information will be excluded for confidentiality reasons.

What remains unresolved: commissioners asked staff to confirm whether the county should use the word "shall" (a mandatory requirement) or a softer phrasing. Commissioner Stone opposed swapping "shall" for "should," and the board ultimately adopted language stating the county "will" maintain the inventory and that it "shall be supplied to anyone in the public upon request." Staff will return with the revised red-line language and descriptions of public access mechanisms.