SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 50
SECTION A
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer is now one of more
than two dozen Oregon cities
classifi ed as severely rent
burdened by the Department
of Housing and Community
Services.
The news came in the
form of a letter from the
Oregon Department of
Housing and Community
Services to city leaders as
part of a new legislative
requirement. The designation
as a severely rent burdened
city means that more than a
quarter of renter households
are paying more than 50
percent of the household
gross income on rent. In
Keizer, 27 percent of renters,
about 1,400 households,
fall into the severely rent
burdened category.
In the overall picture,
Keizer is just over the
line that triggered the
designation, but the city is
required to address the issue.
City
offi cials
must convene a
public meeting to
discuss the causes
and consequences
of rent burdens,
the barriers to reducing rent
and possible solutions.
The effect of rent burden
is striking current city
residents in a variety of ways,
and at different stages of life.
Christine Braning Reed
felt a sense of sticker shock
as she began looking for an
apartment when the rent on
the home she was living in
increased beyond her means.
Most apartment complexes
required an income of at
least three times the monthly
rent on the applications.
Reed’s household income,
which includes a disabled
$1.00
RENT BURDEN$
draw eye of state
Grant may
make RR
crossing
quieter
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The City of Keizer is apply-
ing for a federal grant that, if
successful, could mean a
quieter railroad
crossing on
Chemawa
R o a d
North-
east near
Keizer
Station.
T h e
city coun-
cil
approved
moving forward with
the Consolidated Rail In-
frastructure and Safety Im-
provements grant application
at its meeting Tuesday, Sept.
4. A 2016 estimate from Bur-
lington Northern to retrofi t
the space as a quiet crossing
came in at $123,000. Those
costs are likely to have in-
creased and Keizer would be
required to provide a 50 per-
cent match, but city’s street
fund is fl ush enough to cover
the expense.
“The grant focused on
safety, so we have an uphill
battle, but this has been an is-
sue in our community,” said
Community Development
Director Nate Brown. The
crossing was updated about
a decade ago and meets ac-
ceptable safety standards,
which could contribute to
the uphill battle.
The current stationary
horn at the crossing rever-
berates through nearby resi-
dence most hours of the day
Please see CROSS, Page A10
daughter, is roughly $2,800
a month between PERS
and Social Security benefi ts.
The rent on a two-bedroom
apartment is roughly $1,000
in Keizer.
“I had to downsize so
much it was unreal. We had
two weekends of garage sales
and then I just junked the
rest. I saved what I wanted for
my kids and put it in storage
so I have the bill ($160). I
have had to really curb the
grocery shopping because I
can’t buy in the bulk because
there is no storage here in the
apartment,” Reed said.
While each act of culling
her possessions was diffi cult,
she’s had the most trouble
adjusting to the little things,
now gone, that made her
house feel like a home.
“I had to give up all
my potted plants that I
love because we can’t have
that much on the porch
or grounds. I was told we
don’t rent the outside. I
loved having fushia plants
hanging on my porch and I
can no longer do that. I had
to give up my rose gardens
and some of the roses I had
planted at the house were
from my husband’s funeral,”
she said. Reed’s husband died
of a terminal illness in 2006,
between that and the housing
crisis, her brother purchased
her home and allowed her
to pay below-market rent for
the past decade.
Adding to Reed’s current
hardships, she was recently
diagnosed with breast cancer
that, between co-pays and
surgeries, will only add to
the budget crunch she was
already feeling.
“I am only hoping that
God continues to provide
for me. I thought this move
I would be able
to save some
money but now
with the cancer
I don’t know
what I am going to do. I
might have to go get a part
time job. I don’t know,” she
said.
When Keizertimes asked
Facebook readers about
their
experiences
with
rent
burdens,
multiple
commenters noted their rent
has climbed by leaps and
bounds in recent years often
with little or no renovation
to the facilities themselves.
Some reported their rents
had increased by $500 or
more in the past six years
and several had taken on
MHS football
fields female
kicker
PAGE B1
9/11
Memorial
PAGE A3
Please see RENT, Page A10
Council candidates
focused on growth
Smith runs
to follow
Ryan
DeBlasi
competes
to secede
Anderson
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
When Michael DeBlasi
moved to Keizer from the
Medford area six years ago, he
didn’t waste any time before
getting involved.
DeBlasi,
a
resource
coordinator
with
the
Department of State Lands,
was appointed to Keizer’s
Planning Commission in
September 2013 and has
maintained the role ever since.
More recently, he joined the
Keizer Traffi c Safety, Bikeways
and Pedestrian Committee
and now he’s set his sights
on replacing outgoing City
Councilor Bruce Anderson
in the November election.
Anderson is stepping aside,
but DeBlasi will face Dan
Kohler in the election.
“I felt this would be the
next logical step,” DeBlasi said.
“At the time, I didn’t know
that Bruce and Amy (Ryan)
weren’t running, but I felt
there were some differences
in how they viewed growth
and how I do.”
DeBlasi views the city
as an ecosystem all its own,
and that development should
take place in such a way as to
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Elizabeth Smith’s crash
course in how Keizer grows
began 23 years ago when she
moved to the city working in
the banking industry.
Smith was often one of
the fi rst people new residents
met when they came in to
open accounts, but changes
at home added other dimen-
sions.
“Before Weddle Elemen-
tary School happened, my
kids went to three different
elementary schools and we
never moved,” Smith said.
Smith is running to re-
place Keizer City Councilor
Amy Ryan who is stepping
aside. Her opponent in the
contested election will be
Shawn Lapof.
Smith, who is now a home
loan sales manager with Cali-
ber Home Loans, said the
close attention she’s paid to
Keizer growth throughout
her career make her a good
fi t for the council, particu-
larly as some of the biggest
conversations happening at
City Hall are turning toward
the city’s future.
“I’m very detail-oriented
because the person I have to
convince in my job is an un-
derwriter dealing with data
Michael DeBlasi
support other elements.
“I don’t want River Road
to turn into a Lancaster or
streets like that where people
are whizzing by giant parking
lots and big signs. I want
to see development that is
fi nancially benefi cial and
improves the quality of life,”
he said. “It’s not a traditional
downtown street and any
development should move
in a direction away from
[Lancaster’s design].”
In
somewhat
recent
discussions about a Safeway
fueling center at planning
commission
meetings,
DeBlasi frequently voiced
concerns over allowing it
to go forward. Allowing the
gas station near the center of
the city would likely mean it
would be a fueling center for
the foreseeable future with
little alternative other than
someday tearing it down and
replacing it.
Please see DEBLASI, Page A7
Salem-Keizer
football
round-up
PAGE B4
Elizabeth Smith
and rules,” said Smith. How-
ever, as wife to a disabled vet-
eran and mother to a child
who struggled with addic-
tion in the past, she’s gained
appreciation for the social as-
pects of fi scal decisions.
“We often think a system
is working, but then hear
that it is not working from
the people using that system.
When people get emotional
it's because there’s something
behind it,” Smith said.
Aside from her work in
the fi nancial sectors, Keizer’s
current growth trajectory
has had a direct effect on her
business. She recently had to
relocate her offi ce to Salem
because Keizer simply didn’t
have the type of offi ce space
required by Caliber Home
Loans’ corporate offi ce.
“It was still diffi cult to
fi nd in Salem, but we don’t
have that here at all,” Smith
said.
Lady Celts
fall to West
Salem
PAGE B1
Please see SMITH, Page A7
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