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Staff says job totals drop under denser alternatives due to mixed-use assumptions, but allocations still met
Summary
A commissioner flagged an apparent drop in projected employment under Alternative 4; planning staff said the reduction reflects a mixed-use assumption (about a 40/60 split) in some commercial areas, not an absolute loss of county-allocated jobs, and that the city still meets the county allocation of 4,000 jobs.
A commissioner noted that the employment numbers shown in graphic 2.6 appeared to drop by about 66 jobs under the denser alternatives and asked whether that indicated a reduction in capacity for employment.
Nicole explained the apparent decline reflects modeling assumptions that treat some commercial acreage as mixed-use rather than fully job-generating. "We were allocated 4,000. So either way, we're meeting our allocated number of, of jobs," she said, and added that the model used an assumed 40/60 split between residential and commercial in mixed-use areas, which reduces pure job totals on paper even though capacity for jobs remains in commercial and business-park zones.
Commissioners pressed whether remote work and changing commute patterns were accounted for; Nicole said staff had discussed remote-work trends with PSRC and made conservative assumptions based on available census and regional data. She also said property owners remain free to propose purely commercial projects in business-park zones.
