03-20-2021, 12:27 AM
I think using the term "Employment Lands" allows for the City to look ahead on the horizon to plan for future employment uses. In particular, it is useful if they see a current land use that is "employment land' proposed to become "non-employment land". The City has to be a mix of both for a healthy City. For instance, the Seagram Lofts are no longer employment land though there are a handful of live-work units on site. If someone were to propose a new Seagram-sized distillery, they would be hard pressed to find a spot in the City. Manufacturing is also a challenge, particularly since there are some high-tech manufacturing processes that don't mix well with other land or building uses (consider additive manufacturing aka 3D printing).