OCTOBER 26, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
School board will vote on 24J: ‘That would have a
very detrimental impact’
eminent domain Nov. 13
(Continued from Page A1)
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
No one gave public
comment at Tuesday’s Sa-
lem-Keizer school board
meeting, regarding the dis-
trict using eminent domain
to acquire 6.18 acres of va-
cant land from St. Edward
Catholic Church in order
to expand McNary High
School.
The item was presented
as a first reading with staff
recommending the board
adopt the resolution at its
Nov. 13 meeting.
The existing site of Mc-
Nary owned by the dis-
trict is fully developed and
GROWTH,
continued from Page A1
City of Donald to the list.
“Donald expanded 80 acres
last month and they worked
together with all their partners,”
Carnahan said. The partners
mentioned were some of the
same ones that opposed other
attempts to expand UGBs.
If all those hurdles were
cleared, Keizer would still need
to decide whether expansion
was worth the cost. Any new
land would need to be hooked
up to water, sewer and power
grids and that would likely
mean an increase to system
additional land is needed
to achieve the goals of ex-
panding the existing school
buildings, reconfiguring the
traffic circulation pattern,
meeting parking require-
ments and relocating ath-
letic fields.
When asked by a mem-
ber of the school board
what would happen if the
district didn’t acquire the
land from the church, Mi-
chael Wolfe, the school dis-
trict’s chief operations offi-
cer, said the district would
have to look for 6 acres
elsewhere, and while part of
the process is to minimize
disruption, one option for
development charges (SDCs),
which would drive up costs
of any new homes and might
scare away investment. Bolen
noted that Keizer's existing
SDCs are already “surprisingly
low.”
Bolen said there are two
dominant schools of thought
on growth. The first is that
growth should pay for itself.
The second is that investing in
growth pays off over time in
taxes on new and redeveloped
property.
However,
with
Keizer's frozen property tax
rate of a little more than $2
per $1,000 of assessed value,
recouping costs would likely
take years.
the board to consider is ac-
quiring nearby residential
neighborhoods.
Without the McNary
expansion, Wolfe said, “We
don’t meet the goals that
were stated to the commu-
nity when we introduced
the bond.”
The school district be-
lieves there are opportu-
nities to still find common
ground with St. Edward
but an agreement to pur-
chase the property must be
reached by Dec. 15 in order
to complete the renovations
on time—end of August,
2019.
One of the few silver linings
in Bolen's report was that
Keizer could absorb about half
the expected housing need by
simply upzoning multifamily
properties near River Road
to commercial mixed zones.
While the city could change
the zones with relative ease,
attracting reinvestment might
prove more difficult.
“That might require catalytic
projects where the city puts
some skin in the game – gets
concessions from developers –
and proves the market for other
investment,” Bolen said. “Even
though it wouldn't change the
city overnight it would change
the city over time.”
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for the purpose of expanding the school.
“The school and the church have always
been great neighbors and we started with talks
about purchasing a portion of the land and
maybe leasing other parts. They've had more
time to think about it and now they don't want
to sell their land,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said the district’s first choice has al-
ways been to purchase the land outright, but
that was never a consideration for St. Edward's
leadership, said Rev. Gery Zerr.
“We had some preliminary discussions with
the district about potentially selling or leasing
a portion of the parish’s property. But we were
never interested in selling all of the bare land
that the district now wants to acquire. That
would have a very detrimental impact on the
parish’s future,” Zerr said.
Zerr said the school district came forward
with an “unacceptable appraisal of the bare
land, far below the fair market value.” He add-
ed that no written offer for lease or purchase
was ever made.
“In our view, the district’s discussions were
not made in good faith. Then, this past sum-
mer, the district told us that it wants to acquire
all of our bare land. The district also told us
in no uncertain terms that the parish has no
choice in the matter – if we refuse to sell, the
district will sue us and take 6.18 acres by emi-
nent domain,” Zerr said.
In addition to Zerr, the St. Edward church
business manager and chair of its facilities de-
partment have been included in the evaluation
of the district's proposals.
The school board held a reading of a reso-
lution of necessity, the first step in starting em-
inent domain processes, at its meeting Tuesday,
Oct. 23. School board members will vote on
any next steps at its Nov. 13 meeting.
School District Spokesperson Lillian Go-
vus was unable to comment on what led to
the breakdown of negotiations, but added that
construction at McNary for bond-paid im-
provements is still planned for 2019.
“We began negotiations nearly a year ago,
so it was our hope that they would have been
completed by this time,” Govus said.
The six acres being targeted for the eminent
domain process would become softball fields
and tennis courts, but it’s essential to expanding
the number of classrooms, which is displacing
existing fields and parking space. Reconfigur-
ing parking is one of the highest priorities lead-
ing up to the bulk of the construction effort.
The district's goal is to establish a new traffic
flow by the beginning of the 2019-20 school
year. Keeping on track will require a deal for
the church-owned land to be struck by Dec.
15, 2018.
Wolfe said the intent of the move is not to
throw the church or its leadership “under the
bus” but the district intends to move quickly to
stay on its bond-funded construction schedule.
If the eminent domain process is successful the
church would still be compensated.
Zerr said the move toward exercising emi-
nent domain was disappointing on several lev-
els.
“The parish is disappointed with the school
district’s approach on this matter, as we have
always supported McNary and have been a
good community supporter in the past. We are
praying for a peaceful resolution, but we will,
of course, have no choice but to defend our
Constitutionally-guaranteed rights if the dis-
trict follows through on its threat to sue us to
take our property,” Zerr said.
The last time the school district used em-
inent domain processes to obtain land for
schools was during the construction of Straub
Middle School and Kalapuya Elementary
School in West Salem.
DOMAIN,
continued from Page A1
meeting, and board members
approve moving forward, the
eminent domain process be-
gins in earnest.
At that point, either as part
of the meeting or shortly af-
terward, the district will make
an offer for the land based on
an appraisal of its fair market
value. St. Edward’s leadership
will then have 40 days to ac-
cept or reject the offer. If the
offer is rejected, the matter
will go to trial in civil court
or into arbitration.
Once the courts or an ar-
biter are involved the church
will have the opportunity to
present a competing appraisal.
WorshipDirectory
These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit. Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: (503) 390-1051
KEIZER CLEAR LAKE
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
a member of Open Door
Churches of Salem-Keizer
REV. ALYSSA BAKER, Lead Pastor
Services are Sunday at 10 am
(Nursery & Sunday School for Children)
7920 Wheatland Rd N • 503-393-2402 • www.kclumc.org
PEOPLESCHURCH
4500 LANCASTER DR NE | SALEM
503.304.4000 • www.peopleschurch.com
Father Gary L. Zerr, Pastor
Saturday Vigil Liturgy: 5:30 p.m.
Sundays: 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
La Misa en Español: 12:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
SERVICES
4505 River Road N, Keizer • 503-393-4507
www.FLCkeizer.org
Sunday School - 9:00 am
Worship Service -10:00 am
452 Cummings Lane North • 393-0404
8:30 am • 10 am • 11:30 am • 6 pm
Faith Lutheran Church , ELCA
Pastor Linda Matz Easterling
John Knox Presbyterian Church
JOIN US FOR
SUNDAY WORSHIP
9:00 am
Children’s Programs, Student and Adult Ministries
1755 Lockhaven Dr. NE Keizer
503-390-3900
www.dayspringfellowship.com
and
10:45 am
www.KeizerChristian.org
Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor
Worship - 10:30 a.m.
Education Hour - 9:15 a.m.
Nursery Care Available
www.keizerjkpres.org