PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 1, 2016
More questions than answers
as pot shops move into town
presented by
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Lights, Comedy, Laughs!
Saturday, July 16th
BRAD UPTON & CHRIS PORTER will
perform at 7pm and 9pm. Admission is
only $10. Ages 21 & over only. Reserved
seating for this show. Purchase tickets at
box offi ce or at our website.
Today in History
The largest military confl ict in North American history
begins when Union and Confederate forces collide at
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The epic battle lasted three
days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia.
— July 1, 1863
Food 4 Thought
“It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow
too fond of it.”
– Robert E. Lee
The Month Ahead
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer voters will have
the opportunity to vote on
attaching a 3 percent city tax
on recreational
marijuana sales
in November.
Approval
of a resolution
sending the
matter to
ballot was
one of several
hastily-approved
measures
during a nearly
four-hour
meeting of the Keizer
City Council Monday, June
20.
While recreational sales
and the taxes applied to them
are new territory for Keizer
and Oregon, voters might fi nd
some of the language giving
them pause. The text approved
for the voter’s pamphlet
includes
the
statement,
“There is no way to estimate
the amount of revenue the tax
would provide to the city.”
However, a report released
last week suggests it might
not be as a big a mystery as
voters will be led to believe in
November.
According to mjbizdaily.
com, a marijuana industry
trade publication, the average
annual revenue reported by
dispensaries and recreational
sales shops was $974 per
square foot. That total puts
the average pot shop between
Whole Foods ($930 per
square foot) and Costco
($1,032 per square foot).
Apple retail
stores topped
the list with
a
whopping
$4,799 per
square
foot.
Revenue
per square foot
is a measure
of how effi ciently a
retailer uses space.
To date the city has only
one licensed and operating
dispensary in city limits, Alpha
Alternative Solutions near the
intersection of Hollyhock
Place North and River Road
N. Signs for establishments
known as Kush, 4785 River
Road N., and Oregon Bud
Company, 3450 River Road
N., appear to herald the arrival
of at least two more.
However, Kush’s permit
application is still under
review by city offi cials and
no one from Oregon Bud
Company has yet contacted
the city seeking a license, said
Shane Witham, an associate
planner with the city of
Keizer.
Even with a modest
estimate of 500 square foot
per business, the city stands
to reap about $44,000 per
year on just those three
retailers and, according to
city ordinance, a retailer can
open every 1,000 feet. Also,
according to the ballot text,
there are no restrictions on
how city offi cials can use the
money collected from the tax
on recreational sales.
There are also other
questions lingering about the
operation of the shops.
In February, the Keizer
City
Council
approved
amendments
to
Keizer’s
marijuana permitting process
that included rules stating that
retailers would be granted on
a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis,
but only after the Oregon
Liquor Control Commission
had granted a state retailer
license. At the same time, the
council added the 1,000-feet
requirement.
Both of those amendments
now stand the potential of
creating confl icts, said Witham.
“The rules governing
medicinal
dispensaries
stipulated
a
separation
requirement of 1,000 feet, but
those haven’t yet been applied
to recreational sales,” Witham
said. “Which means the city
may be put in the spot of
being the bad guy and telling
Making the rounds(about)
Friday, July 1-Tuesday, July 5
All American Rally presented by Rollin’ Oldies Vintage
Trailer Club at Antique Powerland. $12 admission gets
you into Antique Powerland and all its exhibits and events.
Explore up to 75 vintage trailers (pre-1980), or come and
camp with your vintage trailer.
local
weather
Saturday, July 2
Artists’ reception at Keizer Art Association for July exhibit,
Water Water Everywhere at Enid Joy Mount Gallery, 2-4
p.m. Keizer Heritage Center, 980 Chemawa Road N.E.
Saturday, July 2 – Monday, July 4
NW Civil War Council stages its annual civil war reenactment.
The location has changed to Antique Powerland on
Brooklake Road between River Road and Interstate 5.
Weekend includes camps, battles and demonstrations.
Battles scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day. Admission
is $12; free for children under 12. nwcwc.org.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Sunday, July 3
Celebration and Fireworks at The Oregon Garden, Silverton.
Open all day, regular admission until 6 p.m., free after 6 p.m.
Live music at 7 p.m., fi reworks at 10 p.m. oregongarden.org.
Monday, July 4
Capital City Spectacular Concert and Fireworks, Riverfront
Park. Daytime concerts from 1 to 7 p.m., $3 admission.
Symphonic orchestra concert, 8:30-10:30 p.m., $20
reserved open seating. Bring picnic meal, vendors also on
site. No alcohol event. Visit northwestbroadway.com for
tickets.
Tuesday, July 5
Keizer City Council meeting, Keizer Civic Center, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 7 – Sunday, July 10
Marion County Fair. See the best the county has to offer
at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. rodeo, carnival, kids
activities and competitions. Concerts on Thursday, Friday
and Saturday. Fair admission is $9 for adults, $5 for seniors
and kids 6-11, kids 5 and under are free. Free parking. For
a full schedule of fair events visit co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair.
Friday, July 8
Pentacle Theater presents The Aliens, a comedy-drama, by
Annie Baker (it’s not about Martians). Runs through July
30. For show dates and times visit pentacletheatre.org.
Saturday, July 9
Fourth Annual Donald Hazelnut Festival at Main Street,
Donald, OR exit 278 off I-5. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Raffl es, BBQ
competition, music, food court, craft vendors and more.
donaldhazelnutfestival.com.
Saint Benedict Festival-Farm-to-Fork Dinner, noon to 4
p.m., Mount Angel Abbey. Local food, wines plus beer from
the monks own brewery. $50 per person includes food,
beverages, tours and activities. mountangelabbey.org.
Tuesday, July 12
Keizer Parks Advisory Board meeting, Keizer Civic Center,
6 p.m.
Free admission all day at Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 700
State Street. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, July 13
Keizer Planning Commission meeting, Keizer Civic Center,
6 p.m.
Monday, July 18 – Friday, July 22
Barnyard Roundup VBS is scheduled from 8:45 a.m. to
noon at St. Edward Parish, 5303 River Rd. N, Keizer. All
children, age 4 (must have turned 4 by September 1, 2015)
through those completing fi fth grade, are invited to attend.
Registration fees are $20 per child or $50 per family. All
families registering will receive a free CD of the VBS music.
Call the parish offi ce (503-393-5323) for registration
information or fi nd a registration form on the St. Edward
website – www.sainteds.com.
Add your event by e-mailing news@keizertimes.com.
retailers they can’t operate in a
certain area.”
There
are
already
businesses within 1,000 feet of
both Kush and Oregon Bud
Company that have submitted
land use compatibility (LUCs)
documents expressing a desire
to incorporate marijuana sales
into their offerings. LUCs are
frequently the fi rst step to
begin the permitting process.
Complicating
things
further is that Oregon Bud
Company changed the sign at
its site without warning and
without any contact with the
city. Oregon Bud Company
was within Keizer’s sign codes
to change the sign because
it only changed the content
and not the size or placement.
Attempting to reach the
business owners through
phone numbers listed at
their website results in either
endless ringing or a fax line.
Witham said he and other
city staff have been visiting
both Kush and Oregon Bud
Company every few days to
make sure they are not open
for business without having
completed the permitting
process.
Kush’s permit to operate
in Keizer is currently under
review, and it is the only other
dispensary in Kezer – Alpha
Alternative Solutions was the
fi rst – registered with the state
as yet.
Witham said there are also
other complications in the
pipeline.
“The rules originally said
that dispensaries could only be
licensed as either medical or
recreational, but now it seems
like that is in fl ux,” Witham
said.
Construction crews have excavated the entire site that once was the intersection at Chemawa
Road Northeast and Verda Lane Northeast. Work expected to be complete in September.
Extra DUII patrols this weekend
The Keizer Police Depart-
ment will have extra patrols
out during the July 4 week-
end.
Traffi c safety offi cers will be
out looking to take impaired
drivers off the road. The goal
is to make roadways safer for
everyone traveling.
Keizer police offi cials are
urging drivers to not become
a statistic, be responsible and
look out for family and friends
during the long weekend.
Nationally in 2014, over
the 4th of July holiday (6 p.m.
July 3 to 5:59 a.m. July 7), 164
people were killed in crashes
involving at least one driver
or motorcycle operator with
a blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) of .08 or higher. Those
deaths made up 41 percent of
the 397 people killed in motor
vehicle traffi c crashes over the
4th of July period.
sudoku
looking back
in the KT
5 YEARS AGO
Boat ramp gets
funding
A $1.08 million boat ramp
at Keizer Rapids Park is one
step closer to reality, with the
Oregon State Marine Board
approving funding for three-
fourths of the project.
Enter digits
from 1-9 into
the blank
spaces. Every
row must
contain one
of each digit.
So must every
column, as
must every
3x3 square.
10 YEARS AGO
Bus service cuts
coming to Keizer
Keizer bus riders won’t be able
to hop a bus as often, starting
in September 2006, when
Salem-Keizer Transit District
service cuts go into effect.
15 YEARS AGO
District offi cials at
odds over size of
north school
The Salem-Keizer School
Board has delayed a decision
on whether to build the new
north Keizer elementary
school at 12 or 18 classrooms.
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Web Poll
Results
Should the city of Keizer
sponsor a 4th of July
celebration?
20 YEARS AGO
Boy survives 2-story
fall with no injuries
Police said the 2-year-old boy,
Jose Garcia, was playing in
an upstairs apartment on 800
block Plymouth Dr. when the
child fell through a window
screen and landed on lawn
below.
52% – Yes
48% – No
Vote in a new poll every Thursday!
GO TO KEIZERTIMES.COM