SEPTEMBER 30, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
KT on vacation
Submitted photo
Wrigley Field was a hot spot for recent
Keizer tourists in Chi-Town. ABOVE: Bob
and Maureen Renner. RIGHT: Kelson,
Brennan and Ethan Whalen. Send KT on
Vacation photos to kt@keizertimes.com.
Committee volunteers needed
The City of Keizer is looking for volunteers
to serve on the following committees.
• The Keizer Points of Interest Committee
identifi es, authenticates, and memorializes sites of
interest located in the Keizer area. Meetings are
on the fourth Thursday of each month at 6 p.m.
• The Public Art Commission reviews, evalu-
ates, selects, maintains, and documents all art-
work, public art, and public murals within the
city. The meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of
every month at 6 p.m.
• The Stormwater Advisory Committee re-
views guidelines and makes recommendations
to the City Council on the development of
ordinances pertaining to illicit discharge detec-
tion and elimination, stormwater runoff control,
and stormwater management. The Committee
is looking for individuals who have experience
in the development or building industry, but it
is not a requirement. Meetings are scheduled as
needed and are usually held from 11:30 a.m. to
1 p.m.
• Youth Councilor/Liaison/Page positions of-
fer opportunities for youth service on various
city committees.
Volunteer applications are available at www.
keizer.org. Individuals can also request applica-
tions to be mailed to them by calling City Hall
at 503-390-3700. Applications due by noon on
Oct. 12.
puzzle answers
Commissioners fi nd minimal
wiggle room as they seek to
expand housing infi ll options
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
It was billed as an
opportunity to give developers
more options when proposing
new subdivisions in Keizer,
but the city’s planning
commission didn’t fi nd much
room for fl exibility.
“Part of what we are
wrestling with is we want
to
encourage
different
housing types,” said Nate
Brown, Keizer community
development director. “For
example, the Herber family
(which owns the cow pasture
property on the west side
of Verda Lane Northeast)
didn’t have many options
for development other than
requesting the rezone given
the constraints of the land.
The standard, classic zoning
approach gives us everything
we’ve had in the past. If we are
going to get creative, we have
to get past the discomfort of
change.”
Brown and Shane Witham,
the city’s associate planner,
asked planning commissioners
for their input on four areas
of the city’s planned unit
development (PUD) standards.
PUDs are comprehensive
plans for neighborhoods that
encompass various types of
housing, commercial and,
sometimes, industrial areas.
The fi rst topic was on the
density allowed in PUDs.
Current standards require
at least 20 percent of open
space, but allow commercial
spaces to fall under the open
space requirement. For each
percentage point of open
space above the minimum,
developers are allowed and
equal percentage of increased
density (a 1-to-1 ratio), but
city staff and members of the
commission were open to
increasing the density bonus.
In essence, the bonus
allowed
will
increase
developers ability to create
mixed housing options, e.g.
mixing in duplexes, triplexes
and townhouses in with single
family residences.
“If we are going
to get creative,
we have to
get past the
discomfort of
change”
— Nate Brown
Community development
director
Commissioners hedged on
providing actual numbers to
increase the bonus by.
“Some small increase would
be reasonable. Something
more than 1 percent and
less than 50 percent,” said
Commissioner Jim Jacks.
Commissioners
also
suggested that the change
from single family residences
to higher density homes be
gradual.
On a question about what
types of housing should
be allowed, commissioners
were less willing to give.
Commissioner
Hersch
Sangster did not want to see
apartments mixed in with
single family residences. Even
triplexes were largely ruled
out.
They seemed more open
to increasing the different
types of housing available to
developers as the size of the
overall development increased.
Gary Whelan cautioned
against making the standards
so prohibitive that the costs to
live in a new PUD was out-
of-reach for the average family.
“Affordable housing is an
elusive deal, but we need to
make sure there is some cost
effi ciency that allows the
developer and the end user
to be part of this community,”
Whelan said.
On a question of whether
and how commercial uses
should be permitted within
PUDs, commissioners kept
the possibility open, but did
not wanted it counted as open
space in the future.
Commissioners asked that
Brown and Witham come
back to them with a proposal
for percentages of how much
space could be used for
commercial development.
The
commission
also
tackled a question regarding
allowing
private
streets
that would likely be gated.
The majority opposed the
options of private streets and
gated accesses given that the
streets would have to meet all
established standards.
Only Sangster said he
would prefer to leave it as an
option.
“If someone wants a gated
community they should be
able to have it, but they have
to assume the responsibility,”
Sangster said.
KEIZER MAYOR CATHY CLARK
JOINS GATOR AND DENISE
EVERY WEDNESDAY
AT 5:30 PM
TUNE IN AS WE TALK ALL THINGS KEIZER!