SEPTEMBER 27, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE D7
Commission: Reluctant endorsement on housing needs report
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer Planning Commission provided
feedback on the fi nal report of the Keizer Hous-
ing Needs Analysis at its meeting Sept. 11.
The housing needs report is one of three doc-
uments that will help the city chart the path for
future growth. Planning commissioners could
not change the fi ndings of the report, but of-
fered their insights on the recommendations it
contains.
The group decided to table discussion on the
big question, whether Keizer should attempt to
expand its Urban Growth Boundary, for a future
meeting. The rest of the recommendations were
covered in the meeting.
Aside from the UGB question, the report in-
cludes the following recommendations:
• Encouraging a broader mix of housing types
• Supporting affordable housing
• Find and evaluate funding tools for support-
ing residential development
On the topic of encouraging a broader mix
of housing types, Senior Planner Shane Witham
asked whether the city should take part in poten-
tial “early adopter” programs offered by the state
in relation to House Bill 2001.
The bill effectively ditched single-family
zoning in any community with a population of
10,000 or more. Depending on the size of the
community, it means allowing duplexes in sin-
gle-family zones. In Keizer, which has a popula-
tion of about 39,000, it means three- and four-
unit homes will be permitted. Keizer was already
moving in that direction with recent zoning
changes, but might benefi t from state assistance
in covering the costs associated with the changes.
“I think we are at the threshold for a lot of our
systems right now. Looking at the early-adopter
might benefi t from opportunities to invest, but
we need to be aware of any strings attached and
the effect on city staff,” said Commissioner Matt
Lawyer.
Commissioner Mark Caillier echoed the con-
cerns.
“I support diverse housing, but it’s market
driven. I’ve worked for employers who love
grants and had them blow up in our face while
others had great outcomes,” Caillier said.
On the issue of supporting affordable housing,
the main concern was what to do about parking,
which seemed like an odd starting point. Witham
soon cleared it up.
“The eye is toward multifamily housing and
how we will handle transportation issues if we
are promoting that type of development,” he said.
In other words, multifamily housing will re-
quire a different type of parking and would re-
quire the city to change existing parking require-
ments as they pertain to residential, single-family
zones.
Commissioner Jeffrey Watson offered support
with a caution.
“The easier it is to get around without cars,
the fewer cars there will be as the population in-
creases, but reducing parking in one area means
you are increasing it in another area,” Watson said.
Funding for new development or redevelop-
ment is likely to be the major obstacle. Keizer
has some of the lowest costs in the area when
tit comes to fees collected by the city, but that
means there is little left over to create incentive
programs to attract development.
One opportunity to create additional revenue
and direct it toward subsidizing affordable hous-
ing is implementing a construction excise tax. It
would increase the overall cost of a development
by up to 1 percent.
That notion did not fi nd immediate favor
among commissioners.
“I know we need affordable housing, but I
don’t know what kind of welcome mat that is,”
Watson said.
“My concern is that an excise tax can be
placed on everything from new construction to
remodeling,” added Caillier.
Other options include establishing an urban
renewal district and local improvement districts
that would collect money from property within a
specifi c area and reinvest them in the same.
While the commission punted on the UGB
question, two members, Kyle Juran and Mike
DeBlasi, were taking part in their fi nal meeting
and offered input for the day when the commis-
sion tackles the issue. The committee that over-
saw the housing needs analysis recommended ab-
sorbing the projected growth within the existing
UGB, but Juran felt expansion is needed.
“If Keizer increases density, Keizer will change.
I’m a little afraid that if we don’t increase the ur-
ban growth boundary it will affect livability, it
will change the function and feel of Keizer,” he
said.
DeBlasi said he wanted to see what sort of re-
turn Keizer would get on the large investment
required to expand the boundary.
“ The tax base is increased, but will we get [the
investment] back?” he said.
Post will run for 4th term
The Perfect Setting
for Your Wedding & Reception
Four Acres of Landscaped Gardens • Ample Parking • Private Dressing Rooms
Rep. Bill Post fi led to run
for his fourth term as the State
Representative from House
District 25, which includes
Keizer, St. Paul, and Newberg.
Post was fi rst elected in 2014.
“I truly enjoy representing
Marion and Yamhill counties.
It’s been a privilege to serve
this constituency,” said Post.
Although in a super minori-
ty, Post was involved in passing
legislation to make roads safer,
promote affordable housing,
strengthen public indecency
laws, and establish permanent
Daylight Savings Time.
In a fourth term, Post
said he would focus on be-
hind-the-counter
Sudafed
purchases, the death penalty,
address Measure 11 concerns
and expose “hidden sales tax-
es.”
For more information on
Post and his efforts, visit www.
billpost.com.
call today to see our difference
P ROVIDING
THE
S TUCTURE
FOR
O UTSTANDING P ERFORMANCE
Specializing In Commercial Construction
5655 W INDSOR I SLAND R OAD N - K EIZER •(503) 393- 0732
WWW . LOGHOUSEGARDEN . COM
CCB #15833 |
503-390-4999
WWW .R ICH D UNCAN C ONSTRUCTION . COM
creative
help
wanted
Part-Time Graphic Designer — Keizer
On behalf of our sister newspaper (Malheur Enterprise), Keizertimes is seeking
an entry-level graphic designer to join the team in our Keizer offi ce. This position
will be responsible for creating ads which will appear in the weekly Malheur
newspaper as well as various special sections. Other roles will include designing
publication covers, feature layouts, charts, tables, and infographics in support
of news content. This person will also occasionally design web advertising and
content for Facebook.
Your portfolio should demonstrate:
Preferred qualities:
• Typography (expressive and normative)
• Technical / troubleshooting
• Color theory
• Print production skills
• Composition
• Knowledge of 4-color
printing process
• Client focused creative problem solving
• Strong organization
• Attention to detail
• Excellent skills in InDesign,
Photoshop, Illustrator
Compensation and schedule:
20-24 hours/week (Monday, Thursday, Friday)
• Web content management
Competitive hourly wage
TO APPLY :
Email resume, cover letter and portfolio
(pdf or link) to publisher @ keizertimes.com
WA #RICHDDC928DE