Douglas County commissioners figure they’d better hurry up and find some places to permit new industrial parks — before it’s too late.

“We need to get them identified before future development can encroach upon them and then it can’t happen,” said Bob Johnson, commission chairman.

Commissioners agreed Wednesday night to work quickly in establishing a framework for finding logical locations for industrial development.

They informally endorsed a proposal compiled by a task force of government and economic-development officials who advise that the county needs to identify at least 1,000 acres of property for future business parks. The task force foresees three or more sites of 200 to 300 acres, plus at least one with 80 to 100 acres.

The idea is to plan ahead, so that residential areas and other developments don’t pop up alongside properties that might be perfect locations for manufacturing plants, warehouses or other large-scale operations that could bring hundreds of jobs — and millions of dollars — into the county economy.

“This is exactly the right thing to do,” Commissioner Charles Jones said. “This is probably one of the most important legacies. It’s a great legacy for this commission. We need to have a road map within a year.”

Before moving ahead, though, commissioners intend to consult with Lawrence city commissioners for their ideas. City commissioners received the same report Tuesday night, but declined to act on it after concerns were raised about the role of ECO2 — a Lawrence Chamber of Commerce effort to forge cooperation between development and open-space advocates — in the planning for future parks.