Gotzenwil land reserve: development and budgetary consequences

Winterthur is experiencing dynamic growth. The city still has land reserves that would enable it to grow well into the future. In 2010, the city began to grapple with the issue of whether and in what ways it might use existing land reserves in the district of Gotzenwil. In particular, the city of Winterthur was interested in evaluating the impact that settlement development would have on its population development and budget planning. The results were then used as a basis for conducting objective and professional discussions on the advantages and disadvantages of various development proposals.

The city of Winterthur commissioned EBP to examine the long-term impact that various settlement-development options in Gotzenwil would have on the city budget. In approaching this assignment, we used relevant population-development and economic data (e.g. pertaining to necessary investments in additional transportation infrastructure, schools and other public services and city expenses and tax revenues) to model the impact which settlement development could be expected to have on the city’s budget planning.

In a report submitted to the City Council, we outlined the budgetary consequences of the various development proposals. We also used the financial data we gathered to make recommendations on the possibilities for phased or partial development of the land reserves in question. These results provided a sound basis for decision making on matters of settlement development by the members of the City Council.