Appeal Tribune Wednesday, January 3, 2018 3B
Silverton’s growth, measurable and immeasurable
YOUR TURN
KYLE PALMER
As a lifelong resident,
I’ve obviously watched
Silverton go through a
number of changes. Com-
mercially, residentially,
and logistically, this is not
the same city that I grew up in, or even
the same one that my kids grew up in.
We’ve grown in very measurable
ways, and in immeasurable ways. I’ve al-
ways drilled that down to some specific
markers, and I feel the same as a resi-
dent that I do as the mayor.
1. Traffic. Obviously, this is the one
that generates the most comments on a
daily basis, and I too admit that I’m ex-
tremely frustrated when I have to sit at a
light through two cycles or have a long
wait at any non-signalized intersection.
I travel Main Street, McClaine Street,
C Street and Water Street multiple times
per day due to my route between home
and work, as well as some daily errands
that are work-related. I see our traffic at
its best and at its worst and there’s no
question that we have “rush hour”
changes.
That said, as anyone will notice dur-
ing summers, spring break, winter
break, etc., a huge factor in those
changes is related to school traffic. I
would be interested in seeing some sta-
tistics on school-bus ridership; see if
there has been any identified shift away
from the mode and toward more parent
drop-offs.
Obviously, a bus with 30 children
aboard takes up less space than 30 par-
ents dropping their kids off.
In my opinion, the precipitous rise in
traffic is not solely (or maybe even most-
ly) a direct result in population changes;
there have to be some other factors as
the explosion of traffic doesn’t track par-
allel to the same rise in residents, though
we have seen rises in that area as well.
Perhaps, we could benefit from a
movement to reduce fuel use by carpool-
ing kids (or a “use the bus” movement) if
there has been some reduction in school-
related “mass transit.”
Additionally, there are some engi-
neering changes that may help; chang-
ing the lane orientation traveling north
and southbound at the C and McClaine
signal will help. We don’t need a dedicat-
ed left-turn lane if you’re on C and facing
Westfield, but we desperately need a
right-turn-only lane there. City staff is
working with ODOT to make changes
here that will relieve much of the back-
up.
2. Commercial Changes. We’ve had
some businesses set up (or plan to set up)
shop here that some residents think is a
sign of Silverton becoming Keizer or
Beaverton, according to social media
comments. Dollar Tree, Dollar General,
O’ Reilly’s Auto Parts, and Dominos all
represent an increase in corporate
“chain” identities that have brought
mixed feelings.
That said, these kinds of businesses
don’t come to Silverton without market
research that supports such a decision
and there’s every indication, in most of
those cases anyway, that the community
has validated their decision to locate
here.
In this area, Silverton seems to have a
split personality. Some want no corpo-
rate interests. Some want no more com-
mercial development at all. Some love
the new choices. Some wish they offered
living wage jobs only. Some are thankful
for any new employment. It really de-
pends on who you ask.
That said, many also think we can con-
trol the content of a prospective busi-
ness. We can only ensure that a business
meets our zoning requirements (one of
which is a 20,000 sq. ft. maximum), and
ensure that the design elements are com-
patible, which is a criteria that is always
evolving. If a business buys or leases
property that is zoned appropriately,
there is no way to stop them from siting a
business there.
3. Residential Development In-
creases. Certainly, the Silver Place
Apartments are one topic that gets fre-
quently mentioned to me. Oddly, I’ve met
very few residents who are happy about
the addition to our city, but they seem to
be filling quickly just the same.
It’s been well publicized that a specif-
ic state law basically required this to be
approved, and any third grader can see
that the impact on an already bad area
will be significant.
As has been noted often in the past
few months, the city’s comprehensive
plan is due for an update. This is a tool
that can be in the center of helping us lay
out an appropriate roadmap for Silver-
ton’s future, and it would appear that
there is council support to begin the
process of an update.
That said, there never will be any le-
gal tools available to stop growth, short
of a catastrophic problem in our sewer
and/or water processing system, and
even that would just be temporary. What
is vital, however, is that we create a guid-
ing document to make sure that our
growth is both controlled and intention-
al.
Much of our municipal code has been
created in a “reactionary” state of mind,
adding language to make sure something
negative that has happened can’t happen
again. While this is probably true of most
cities, it’s time that our development
code become more proactive, envision-
ing our future and planning the way that
we will get there.
Despite the undeniable changes in all
of these areas, and the fact that this is no
longer the city that I grew up in, I still
feel strongly that this is very much the
community that I grew up in.
Silverton is not a collection of streets,
houses, and commercial buildings, it’s a
community of people who still practice a
small town way of thinking and interact-
ing. That is what makes our community
unique and amazing. And in that respect,
Your Turn
Have a topic, issue or viewpoint pertinent
to Silverton or the east Willamette Valley
you would like to share? The Silverton
Appeal Tribune welcomes letters to the
editor up to 250 words, or submissions to
the Your Turn section, from 600 to 750
words, on topics of broader interest.
Contact Justin Much at 503-508-8157 or
jmuch@salem.gannett.com.
the place that raised me is alive and well.
I was in Portland recently and no one
even made eye contact with me on the
sidewalk, but I can’t enter our post office
once without running into three people I
know and exchanging a hello with at
least one person I don’t.
When someone on social media men-
tions that they just moved to town, they
are typically greeted with a chorus of
welcome statements from others. Silver-
ton is a desirable place to live and always
has been, and we can expect more people
to realize that and come here seeking the
same things we hold dear.
We will grow and we will change — it’s
inevitable — but it doesn’t mean we have
or ever will lose our sense of community.
Our residents must play an active role
in shaping how Silverton evolves. Walk
through our downtown once a week; use
local businesses and their welcoming at-
tentive staffs for all of your needs; at-
tend and lend your voice to city council,
planning commission, or committee
meetings; volunteer for one or more of
our incredible service organizations.
That is how we ensure that what
makes us special will continue regard-
less of any other changes.
Kyle Palmer is the mayor of Silverton.
He can be reached at kpalmer@silver-
ton.or.us, 503- 873-5701
Congress saves pot patients from crackdown
JONATHAN BACH
SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
Federal protections for medical mari-
juana patients are safe for now thanks to
an emergency resolution passed by Con-
gress Dec. 21.
Protections offered under the Rohra-
bacher-Blumenauer Amendment will
need to make it into a final congressional
spending package to extend past Jan. 19.
That's the expiration date of continu-
ing resolution, a temporary measure
that keeps the government running
while federal lawmakers hash out the de-
tails of their 2018 fiscal-year spending
plan. President Trump signed the emer-
gency resolution Friday.
While weed remains federally illegal,
the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amend-
ment stops the Justice Department from
cracking down on patients where state
law permits medical marijuana use. U.S.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has con-
demned use of the drug.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore-
gon, said, "Patients around the country
who rely on medical marijuana for treat-
ment — and the businesses that serve
them — now have some measure of cer-
tainty. Our fight, however, continues to
maintain these important protections in
the next funding bill passed by Con-
gress."
Jered DeCamp, who co-owns marijua-
na retailer Herbal Remedies in South Sa-
lem, was happy to hear the news. In addi-
tion to being an owner, he's a medical
marijuana patient and grower.
"It's nice to know they're protecting
us," DeCamp said, though he wished the
provisions extended past January.
Congressional lawmakers passed a
similar continuing resolution Dec. 7 to
keep the government open through Dec.
22.
The newest extension comes after
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, an-
nounced he would cosponsor a bill to de-
criminalize marijuana across the nation.
Passage of the Marijuana Justice Act of
Cannabis plants growing in a cultivation space inside Croy's Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska.
ELIZABETH EARL/PENINSULA CLARION VIA AP
2017 would make the Rohrabacher-Blu-
menauer Amendment obsolete.
The amendment is named for U.S.
Reps. Blumenauer and Dana Rohrabach-
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Reach staff reporter Jonathan Bach
by email at jbach@statesmanjour-
nal.com or by phone at 503-399-6714.
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