The City of Pendleton is located north of Interstate 84 (I-84) in Umatilla County, Oregon. The Eastern Oregon Regional Airport (PDT) is located north-west of the city. The five-mile extension of the Airport Road west of the PDT Airport to I-84 was built to provide better access to both the airport and the southern portion of the Pendleton Airport Industrial Park, as well as to trigger business development at the industrial park.

Measure	Pre project	Post project	Change	% Change
Personal Income Per Capita	19,870	22,893	3,023	0.15%
Economic Distress	1.38	1.15	-0.23	-0.17%
Number of Jobs	7,344	6,967	-377	-0.05%
Business Sales (in $M's)	1,054	1,010	-44	-0.04%
Tax Revenue (in $M's)	5	6	1	0.20%
Population	16,600	16,830	230	0.01%
Property Value (median house value)	138,600	150,500	11,900	0.09%
Density (ppl/sq mi)	1,578	1,600	22	0.01%

Measure	Pre project	Post project	Change	% Change
Personal Income Per Capita	25,363	34,426	9,063	0.36%
Economic Distress	1.50	1.23	-0.27	-0.18%
Number of Jobs	38,701	38,749	48	0.00%
Business Sales (in $M's)	1,545	2,259	714	0.46%
Tax Revenue (in $M's)	15.16	16.24	1.08	0.07%
Population	72,928	76,645	3,717	0.05%
Property Value (median house value)	123,700	141,900	18,200	0.15%
Density (ppl/sq mi)	22.57	23.72	1.15	0.05%

Measure	Pre project	Post project	Change	% Change
Personal Income Per Capita	34,721	41,785	7,064	0.20%
Economic Distress	1.18	1.09	-0.09	-0.08%
Number of Jobs	2,268,970	2,323,324	54,354	0.02%
Business Sales (in $M's)	378,796	227,993	-150,803	-0.40%
Tax Revenue (in $M's)	7,839	10,428	2,589	0.33%
Population	3,700,758	3,900,343	199,585	0.05%
Property Value (median house value)	236,600	234,100	-2,500	-0.01%
Density (ppl/sq mi)	38	40	2	0.05%

Measure	Direct	Indirect	Total
Jobs	0.00	0.00	0.00
Income (in $M's)	0.00	0.00	0.00
Output (in $M's)	0.00	0.00	0.00

Pendleton Industrial Park Access Road (Airport Road Extension)

1.0 Synopsis

Construction of the access road (Airport Road extension) started in 2007. The first phase of the project was the four-mile section, starting from the old section of the Airport road (near PDT airport), and was paid by the airport. The second phase of the construction was the 1-mile connection to I-84, paid by the city of Pendleton. Both phases were completed around the same time in 2009, with a total cost of $6.25 M (in 2013 dollars). Since the completion of the new access road in 2009, the city is still working to provide utilities for potential new tenants in the industrial park. As of 2017, no new employment can be attributed to the access road project.

2.0 Background

2.1 Location & Transportation Connections

Interstate 84 is the main east-west corridor passing through northern Oregon and Umatilla County. U.S. Route 395 is the major north-south corridor in the county and U.S. Route 30 (east-west) runs roughly parallel to the I-84 within the city of Pendleton. The Eastern Oregon Regional Airport (PDT) and the Pendleton Airport Industrial Park are located near exit 207 of I-84, about three miles northwest of downtown Pendleton. The PDT Airport currently accommodates many different operations, such as commercial aircraft, small private aircraft, helicopters, military aircraft, and unmanned aerial systems (e.g., UAS aerial vehicles such as drones).

The Pendleton Industrial Park access road project completed the existing Airport road, extending it from Exit 202 to Exit 270 on Interstate 84. The completed Airport Road forms a loop with better access to the airport terminal, parking lot, tenant hangars, Army National Guard and Armory, Airport Business and Industrial Park, and the City of Pendleton Police Station.

2.2 Community Character & Project Context

The City of Pendleton is the county seat of Umatilla County, and is located in north-west Oregon. The county covers a land area of 3,231 sq. miles, 25% of which belongs to the Umatilla Indian Reservation region and the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. Pendleton, with a population of 16,890, is the second largest city in Umatilla County, housing more than 20% of the County’s total population. Between 2006 and 2014 (before and after the access road project study dates), Pendleton had a population growth of about 1.4% and Umatilla County had about 5.1% growth in population. The average population growth of the state was about 5.4% during the same period.

Health care and social assistance, retail trade, manufacturing (especially wood products and processed food), and local government jobs account for the county’s major employment sectors. The Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, which is a medium-security state prison, is one of Pendleton’s largest employers. The Blue Mountain Community College is also located in Pendleton, providing educational and vocational programs for students.

During the 2006 to 2014 period, Oregon had a 2.4% increase in jobs, while the number of jobs for Umatilla county stayed almost unchanged (only a 0.1% increase). During the same period, there was a 5% decrease in the number of jobs in the city. Local professionals believe that the great recession of 2008 is to blame for the loss of jobs in the city. Over the same period, the per capita income in state and county increased by 20% and 35% respectively. The city experienced an increase in per capita income of 15% between 2009 and 2014.

3.0 Project Description & Motives

The Pendleton Industrial Park is located within the PDT airport property and consists of approximately 435 acres of developed land with 27 tenants (as of 2015), such as Hill Meat Company and Barhyte Specialty Food, Inc. The City of Pendleton has long envisioned expanding the light industrial park to the western side of the airport, turning the farmlands and adjacent empty fields into an industrial hub.

Prior to 2007, travelers used Westgate Road (U.S. Route 30) or I-84 exit 207 to get to the old section of the Airport road and reach the PDT Airport and Industrial Park. Back then, the existing Airport road started at the intersection of the Westgate Road and Old Oregon Trail Highway, and ended at the PDT Airport without access to land west of the airport. In 2007, to provide better access to the southern portion of the industrial park and to attract new tenants to the empty parcels on the western side of the airport, the City began construction on a five-mile extension of the Airport Road to the Barnhart Road exit (or exit 202) on I-84. The City used a four-cent tax on gas, together with a federal grant, to fund the project. The construction was completed in 2009 at a total cost of $6.25 million (in 2013 dollars).

4.0 Project Impacts

4.1 Transportation Impacts

4.2 Demographic, Economic & Land Use Impacts

To support new business developments around the PDT airport, the City of Pendleton defined two airport overlay zones: the Airport Hazard Sub-district (AHZ) and the Airport Industrial Sub-district (AI). The AHZ sub-district consists of airport approach zones, such as transitional, horizontal, and conical zones. These zones are considered in the PDT airport master plan, while having restrictions on heights, type of usage, and permits. The AI sub-district is dedicated to light industrial sites.

Although the city hoped that the improved accessibility would bring manufacturers and other industrial employers to the industrial park area, the new lots are still vacant. Since the completion of the access road in 2009, no new tenants have moved to the area. Based on information obtained from business development professionals, the new lots had no access to basic utilities until recently, and even now (as of 2017), the city is still struggling with increasing costs of connecting the city’s water and sewer lines to the airport industrial park area.

The area west of the PDT airport currently consists of 525 acres of active wheat fields that were rezoned to light industrial land use. Although the city only owns 40 acres of these fields, another 113 acres will be purchased in the near future to facilitate industrial development. Based on the airport’s 2007 master plan, if the plans envisioned for the expansion of the industrial park come to fruition, an estimated 425 new jobs can be attracted to the area.

5.0 Non-Transportation Factors

The new zoning ordinance enables potential future tenants to turn the (relatively cheap) agricultural land west of the airport to light industrial use. However, the current condition of water and sewer infrastructure is a major drawback to development. Since the completion of the access road project in 2009, the city is still working to connect water and sewer lines to the industrial park. The vacant lands adjacent to the airport also have the potential for future development, but most of these lands are too costly for development due to uneven ground.

6.0 Resources

6.1 Citations

The City of Pendleton, “Eastern Oregon Regional Airport Master Plan”, 2016. Available: http://www.centurywest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/EORA-Airport-Master-Plan-Combined-pdf.compressed-part-1.pdf
The City of Pendleton, “Airport Business Park Master Plan”, 2007. Available: http://www.pendleton.or.us/sites/pendleton.or.us/files/File/community_development/planning_dept/periodic_review/Airport_Business_Park_Master_Plan.PDF
Antonio Sierra, 2016, “Million-dollar mile: Pendleton working to connect utilities to prime industrial land”, East Oregonian. [Online]. Available: http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20160826/million-dollar-mile-pendleton-working-to-connect-utilities-to-prime-industrial-land
Town of Pendleton, 2015 Comprehensive Plan. Available: http://townofpendleton.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/DRAFT-Pendleton-Comprehensive-Plan-11-16-15.pdf
Transportation Impact Analysis, Pendleton Airport Industrial Park Rezone, 2011. Available: http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/TGM/TGMProducts/5D-09.pdf
Population Estimates and Reports. Accessed December, 2017. https://www.pdx.edu/prc/population-reports-estimates

6.2 Interviews

Organization, Name, Affiliation

City of Pendleton, Steve Chrisman, Economic Development Manager

City of Pendleton, Wayne Green, City Engineer

Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation (GEODC), Judy Moore, Community & Economic Development Officer

Footnotes

Case Study Developed by University of Maryland

Project: Pendleton Industrial Park Access Road (Airport Road Extension)

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