And how do cities attract businesses they want?
A map of Farmington’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Area. (Courtesy of city of Farmington)
Dear Mr. Know-It-All:
Why does the city allow so many fast-food joints in town? Don’t we have enough? How about something with more healthy options?
– I Don’t Want Fries With That
Dear Don’t,
Thanks for your question. You might be very surprised to know that most cities don’t have much control over which businesses decide to open in their towns. Recently, Mr., Know-It-All sat down with Warren Unsicker, the Farmington Economic Development Director. Unsicker says he may have a wish list of companies to open up shop here, but he has very little control over their decisions.
Before the first burger patty is flipped, or widget sold, Unsicker says many national firms have done months and months of research. They are looking at our “market” which includes Farmington and San Juan County, of course, but also includes the surrounding areas. One of the things that makes our market unique is the fact they we are a retail hub, that attracts more people than the 120,418 population of San Juan County would have you believe. When you consider the populations of the surrounding areas that travel to Farmington to shop, our “market” becomes much larger, with a population nearing 300,000 people. Unsicker says once companies discover and understand this, Farmington becomes a much bigger dot on their potential-expansion radar.
Many national businesses have criteria that has to be met before they even think of locating in a town. Maybe the business needs 50,000 people to live within a 5-minute drive of their proposed location. That wouldn’t work in Farmington/San Juan County because while we have the population, but if you haven’t noticed, we’re pretty spread out here in the West.
So why can’t cities and towns attract the type of businesses they want? Sometimes they do, but really the ultimate decision is up to the business and at the end of the day, a business’s decision to open up shop in a community boils down to a real estate transaction. If a business wants to buy a piece of property from a private owner to build and open a business, it’s completely between those two parties. That’s why a business can buy a piece of land, demolish what appears to be a pretty good-looking building and build their own structure. There really isn’t much a city government can do to stop a business from opening in town, not much, but there is zoning:
Zoning is what cities do to make sure that certain businesses are located in certain parts of town. Say Mr. Know-It-All woke up one morning and decided to open a pig farm on his “expansive” residential property in the city of Farmington. I would have a very hard, if next to impossible time doing that because the city zoning laws have decided that pig farms should not be located in areas of towns with residential housing. However, if Mr. Know-It-All wanted to buy a piece of property in an area that was zoned for pig farms, he could do that and he would be happier than, well, a pig in slop!
Unsicker says the city of Farmington does have some tools to attract businesses that the city feels offer economic benefits or those that don’t duplicate services and products that are already here. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Area is one such tool. This is an area roughly from Apache Street, south to the Animas River, bordered by Butler Avenue to the east and Schwartz Avenue to the West. Unsicker says the city could offer incentives to businesses to locate in this area because of the MRA designation.
There are some other things Unsicker says the city could consider if they were ever approached by a major business with a unique offering. Giving a business a break on having to pay sales taxes to the city for a few years may be one tool, but it’s one the city hasn’t used in recent memory.
And while you think all of these incentives and opportunities are just for big businesses or national chains, think again. Unsicker says the same rules apply for smaller businesses who want to start up. He says his office is willing to work with anyone who wants to bring unique offerings and job opportunities to our community!
Mr. Know-It-All is Scott Michlin, the general manager of KSJE 90.9FM community-supported radio at San Juan College. When he’s not answering questions here or on the radio, you might find him teaching public speaking or mass media classes at San Juan College, or serving on the board of directors for San Juan United Way, Presbyterian Medical Services, or the San Juan Symphony.
If you have a question about something in San Juan County, drop him a line at SMichlin@tricityrecordnm.com. If he doesn’t know the answer, he knows someone who does and you’ll read about it here in the pages of the Tri-City Record!
