PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 7, 2018
GROWTH,
continued from Page A1
example in the area between
Shady Lane Northeast and
Candlewood Drive North-
east on Cherry Avenue, the
space is currently zoned for
industrial uses, but a mixed
use designation could add
more residential capacity and
possibly revive the space with
entertainment and shopping
options.
“Trading off might mean
something you don’t want to
see, but right now the option
isn’t even on the table,” Bo-
len said.
Aside from market head-
winds like rental rates and
existing regulatory con-
straints, Rogers said there are
geographic elements inhibit-
ing growth.
“The proximity to resi-
dential areas creates a greater
need for buffering,” she said.
Coaxing specifi c types of
growth would require im-
plementing some tools that
Keizer has only begun dab-
bling in.
“Parking behind or beside
buildings, ground fl oor win-
dows and architectural de-
tailing are the types of tools
that create the spaces people
want to be. It requires build-
ings to be oriented to the
street and entrances oriented
to the sidewalk with allow-
ances for plazas and gather-
ing places,” she said.
Bolen added that the new
building in the Schoolhouse
Square – minus the omni-
present window-cling adver-
tising – is an example of that
type of development
City reps grill consultants on growth costs, benefi ts
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Representatives of several
city council and city commit-
tees took part in a question-
and-answer session after con-
sultants took a deep dive into
the costs of growth at a work
session Monday, Aug. 27. (See
related story Growth livability
costs on Page A1.)
Garry Whalen, a mem-
ber of the Keizer Planning
Commission, asked about the
quality of the jobs associated
with three growth scenarios.
All three projected some job
growth, but Whalen asked
whether it was full-time, ben-
efi tted positions or more part-
time jobs.
Glen Bolen, a consultant
with OTAK, Inc., said the
market will decide what goes
in where, but Keizer could
stack the deck in favor of bet-
ter jobs.
“In the city of Redmond,
[on city-owned property,]
the more family-wage jobs a
business offered, the lower the
rent or sale price was,” Bolen
said.
Kathy Lincoln, a member
of the Keizer Traffi c Safety,
Pedestrian and Bikeways
(TPB) Committee, asked
what the options might be for
businesses already planning on
leaving River Road North.
Lincoln mentioned the an-
nounced closing of Keizer
Nursery as one candidate.
“We could do some small-
area design vignettes. We
should take a look at that site
– at how it could turn out –
and that might get the ideas
fl owing,” Bolen said.
Matt Lawyer, a member of
the Keizer Planning Com-
mission and Parks Advisory
Board, cautioned against
overloading the three of the
main intersections of River
Road at Lockhaven, Chema-
wa and Mandrin. If people are
suddenly priced out of living
in that area, Lawyer said, you
are going to need to add traf-
fi c controls and parking.
Bolen responded that trans-
portation modelers would be
tasked with calculating traffi c
impacts once Keizer narrows
down the direction it hopes
to head. He added that asso-
ciated problems can even defy
expectations and take care of
themselves.
SIDEWALK,
lems, ODOT occasionally
comes up with other grants,”
Dempster said. “I think there
is a better chance of getting
that money than the Safe
Routes for School grant.”
Dempster also advocated
appealing for monetary sup-
port from the city when the
2019-2020 budgeting cycle
begins next spring.
continued from Page A1
Committee Member David
Dempster was a proponent of
having a back-up plan.
“We have a Safe Routes
grant opportunity coming up,
but if we have several prob-
“Sometimes, as places in-
tensify and become more
walkable, the speed slows
down,” Bolen said.
Another component of
more intense development
will be a need for greater pub-
lic transit capacity and sched-
uling that doesn’t hinder liv-
ability, he added.
City Councilor Bruce An-
derson asked how the city
might link properties behind
River Road frontages and
reduce stress on or eliminate
access directly from River
Road.
Bolen said the opportuni-
ties for such linkages would
most likely come as property
redevelops, but with so many
small parcels and different
owners it could take a while.
Mike DeBlasi, a member of
the TPB Committee and for-
mer member of the Planning
Commission, asked about the
possibilities for different park-
ing types, like roof-level park-
ing or parking decks.
Bolen said that the cost to
create a parking spot on the
ground is about $3,000 per
space, but the cost skyrockets
once it moves upward – to
about $25,000 per space.
“Tuck-under parking is
another option that is some-
where between the two,” Bo-
len said.
When the question regard-
ing affordable living spaces
arose, Mayor Cathy Clark rose
to the defense of a manufac-
tured home park on the cor-
ner of River Road and Lock-
haven Drive. Clark said that
space remained some of the
most affordable in Keizer and
needed to be preserved.
When Clark asked Bolen
what Keizerites should be
thinking about when plan-
ning for the next generation
of residents, Bolen said public
spaces would be key.
“Public spaces and parks
were identifi ed as goals, but
there are opportunities for
public spaces. The stream near
crossword
Waremart should be a place
for people to gather. When
you intensify development,
you need to look at ways to
use the public spaces because
the demand is higher,” Bolen
said.