SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 4
SECTION A
OCTOBER 26, 2018
Catholic church property
New athletic fields & tennis
courts to replace existing
A
New student parking
B
New entry courtyard
C
Bus drop off
SPED bus drop off
$1.00
24J may threaten
eminent domain
Process would result in
school district getting land,
church getting compensation
Vehicle drop off
Addition
Soccer
playoffs
PAGE B1
Bus circulation
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
From the outset of bond discussions in the 2016-17
school year, Salem-Keizer School District officials made
it known that land northeast of the existing McNary
campus, owned by St. Edward Catholic Church, was
needed to move forward with a planned expansion to
accommodate a growing student body.
However, after months of talks, negotiations fell
through, said Mike Wolfe, SKSD chief operating officer.
The school district now plans to use the eminent do-
main process to condemn the roughly six acres needed
and gain possession
Please see 24J, Page A7
SPED bus circulation
Vehicle circulation
Pedestrian/Bike circulation
Courtesy Anderson Shirley Architects
What it means: Exercising eminent domain
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Salem-Keizer School
District (SKSD) Board of Di-
rectors is now considering
condemning land – through
the eminent domain process
– owned by St. Edward Cath-
olic Church that is needed
for planned renovations and
expansions at McNary High
School.
Voters approved a bond to
pay for the improvements at
McNary and throughout the
school district earlier this year,
but McNary’s landlocked lo-
cation means additional land
is required to complete the
effort.
Under the Fifth Amend-
ment, federal, state and local
governments can condemn
private property and take own-
ership of it for public use while
compensating the owner for
the fair market value.
The district needs approx-
imately six acres to relocate
two softball fields and tennis
courts that will make way for
new classrooms and additional
parking.
The school board held a
first reading of a resolution of
necessity at its meeting Tues-
PAGE A3
Please see DOMAIN, Page A7
Escalating
argument
resulted
in deadly
shot on
Cummings
Lane
Report:
Slow walk
growth
talks until
2021
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer has limited options
for growth and should wait
until at least 2021 for a new
population growth projections
before making any major
changes. That was the message
from the final report on a cost
of growth study at a Keizer
City Council work session
Monday, Oct. 22.
Glen Bolen, a senior planner
with Otak – the consulting
firm that conducted the study
– led an audience through the
findings of an analysis of what
Keizer can expect to pay in
terms of dollars and livability
if it chooses to grow.
City officials and staff are
wrestling with the challenges
presented in a 2013 Housing
Needs
Analysis
adopted
by the city. That analysis
concluded that Keizer would
fall short of the land needed
to accommodate expected
growth for the next 20
years – to the tune of 1,674
residential units or 197 acres.
Keizer could absorb some of
the expected impact through
zoning changes, but not all of
it and what can't be absorbed
might come at a high cost for
current residents.
The growth expectations
might also change in three
years. Currently, Portland
State University issues a
day, Oct. 23, which is a formal
announcement of its intent to
potentially exercise eminent
domain rights on the acreage it
needs. School board members
will vote on the action at its
Nov. 13 meeting.
If no agreement between
the church and school district is
reached before the November
Meals on
Wheels need
drivers
look for you to do that first,”
said Angela Carnahan, of
DLCD.
In the study, Keizer was
compared to three other
municipalities that attempted
to expand their UGBs. Of the
three, only one was successful.
Clark asked whether there
were any other examples of
success. Bolen said Redmond
was one city that had
incorporated new lands while
also revitalizing a downtown
core. Carnahan added the
An argument between
neighbors and friends end-
ed with one of the men dead
after kicking in the door of
a home on Cummings Lane
September 4.
Last week, a Marion Coun-
ty grand jury found the man
who fired the shot that killed
27-year-old Bryan O’Connor
was justified in his actions.
According to a press release
issued by the Marion Coun-
ty District Attorney’s Office,
26-year-old Alex Hackney
and O’Connor visited several
bars with friends the evening
before the fatal argument.
Hackney and O’Connor were
neighbors who lived at 401
and 411 Cummings Lane
N.E., respectively.
The group returned to
O’Connor’s home and a ver-
bal argument erupted shortly
before 1 a.m. O’Connor al-
legedly hit Hackney multiple
times in the face and head,
causing a large laceration
above Hackney’s eye, and then
put Hackney in a choke hold.
Hackney told law enforce-
ment officials he began to
get dizzy, but managed to free
himself and fled to his home.
O’Connor yelled threats as
Hackney ran home. Once he
Please see GROWTH, Page A7
Please see SHOT, Page A10
JUMP FOR JOY
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
McNary junior Noah Lelack and senior Noah Bach, No. 11, celebrate during the Celtics 35-
23 victory at West Salem on Friday, Oct. 19. McNary, winners of three straight, close the
regular season this Friday at home against South Salem.
growth projection for the
entire Salem-Keizer Urban
Growth Boundary (UGB),
but the university will look
specifically at Keizer when
the projections are revised in
2021.
“We verified that it’s really
not feasible to expand while
sharing with Salem. Salem has
enough capacity to handle the
regional capacity,” Bolen said.
Keizer shares its UGB
with Salem that hems in
urban
sprawl. Divorcing
the two cities will require
an agreement between the
affected local governments or
legislative action.
When
Keizer
Mayor
Cathy Clark asked whether
the city could skip the
agreement and appeal directly
to the state Legislature, a
regional representative of
the Oregon Department
of Land Conservation and
Development
(DLCD)
cautioned against it.
“We would recommend
to follow [agreement] process
first, and the legislature will
Black, White
& Gray show
opens Nov. 1
PAGE A6
Runners meet
Saturday
PAGE B2