Lebanon Economic Opportunities Analysis

Lebanon needed to update and understand its Comprehensive Plan policies for economic development, which were last update in 2004. ECOnorthwest developed an economic opportunities analysis (EOA) for Lebanon, which provided the City with a factual base about current economic conditions and opportunities in Lebanon. The report identifies opportunities to meet the City’s economic development objectives and develop Comprehensive Plan policies and implementation strategies that capitalize on the City’s comparative advantages and address areas of economic weakness.It also provides information essential to addressing the City’s challenges in managing economic development, such as the prevalence of wetlands in Lebanon’s industrial lands, infrastructure constraints that affects economic development, and a need for revised Comprehensive Plan goals and policies. In addition to the information presented in the EOA, a key outcome of this project is recommendations for revised Comprehensive Plan goals and policies, with actions to implement the policies. Key recommendations for long-term economic development activities were: aligning the City’s econoimc development goals with planning for infrastructure development; conducting a local wetlands inventory to understand the barriers to development of Lebanon’s industrial land; actions to support business growth and retention of existing busineses; and working with partners to grow regional economc development capacity. The City Council adopted the EOA and revised Comprehensive Policies in May 2023 and is beginning to implement the recommended actions in 2023.