Economic Development

Welcome to Veneta!

We are a community on the move while staying true to our small-town roots and commitment to a high quality of life. Our community is progressive, environmentally conscious, and projected to be the fastest-growing city in Lane County for the next 30 years. We are conveniently located a few minutes west of the Eugene/Springfield metro area and just 45 minutes away from the Oregon Coast. Small-town values coupled with outstanding growth, innovative initiatives, and business prospects positions Veneta as the perfect blending of lifestyle, convenience, and opportunity.

Veneta prides itself on being a community of opportunities; a strategic vision on how to move forward with creating a good balance of businesses, residents, and visitors. We pride ourselves on being a progressive but easy city to do business with…one that is responsive to business needs and inquiries while being attentive to the needs of our citizens and the health of the community as a whole.

In just over a decade we've turned infrastructure deficiencies into strengths. Major upgrades to our wastewater plant, an intertie into a regional water supply, and aggressive deployment of fiber optic investment have positioned Veneta with adequate infrastructure capacity for decades to come. Our efforts to create a downtown business district are picking up steam after a slowdown of activity during the recent recession. Our local, state, and federal partners use Veneta as an example of how community and economic development activities should be done…we call it the "Veneta way".

Opportunity

While Veneta is interested in working with a broad range of businesses, there are five specific "target" industries of opportunity. These targeted industries were selected by identifying industries that are viewed as a good fit for the area and that might consider Veneta a good fit given the City's comparative advantages.

View the City of Veneta Economic Opportunity Analysis 2015 (PDF) for more information.

The target industries that fit with the Community's aspirations for growth and are identified as having growth potential in Veneta are:

Food Processing

Food processing with a focus on specialty items. Veneta is a great location for the food processing industry, surrounded by farmland in the fertile Willamette Valley with a surplus of available industrial and industrial-commercial land.

Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services

Professional, scientific, and technical services with a focus on high-tech. The buying power of Veneta's households, residents of nearby communities, and visitors provide a market for goods and services. Residents of nearby unincorporated communities go to Veneta to shop. Veneta's role as a sub-regional center for retail and services is a competitive advantage for attracting retail and other services. More services are needed to meet the increasing demand of a growing community.

Secondary Wood Products

Secondary wood products with a focus on niche markets. Veneta does not have any remaining mills, but the wood product industry is still strong in Western Oregon. Value-added products such as furniture and specialty construction materials are sought-after.

Small-Scale / Specialty Agriculture

Small-scale or specialty agriculture including greenhouse and floriculture products. Located in the fertile, temperate Willamette Valley, Veneta is a great location for specialty agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture.

Tourism & Wine Industry

Tourism and the wine industry are staples of the Willamette Valley. Surrounded by wineries, the Fern Ridge area is also home to bird-watching, sailing, camping, and other outdoor recreational activities. Veneta has also been the home of the Oregon Country Fair since 1970.

A study undertaken by the Lane County Tourism Task Force reports that Lane County has a serious, growing gap in both available lodging and meeting space. Veneta's location, just outside of Eugene and on the way to the Coast, is a prime asset in attracting a lodging market that includes business and recreational travelers.