By Keizertimes staff
Keizer’s ambitions to someday turn parts of River Road into more livable, more populated areas could grow under plans being considered by the city.
That would include clearing the way for taller buildings and increasing the number of housing units.
Tweaks to the city’s planning laws could provide permission for nearly 2,000 more housing units in areas already holding the potential for 12,193 units.
The Keizer Planning Commission on Wednesday, Aug. 14, got a detailed briefing on why the changes are needed and what the impact would be.
The details are dizzying.
City officials are catching up with new state regulations governing what are called “climate friendly areas.” The idea is to pack more people and businesses into areas to cut down on commuting and to make the areas more walkable and appealing to residents.
That would involve, for example, buildings with retail and commercial businesses in the ground floor with apartments or condominiums above.
Keizer has long anticipated such development, adopting a revitalization plan for River Road in 2019 that imagined such projects.
In that way, Keizer was ahead of the state.
“We felt like we had a pretty good head start,” said Shane Witham, city planning director.
Now, the city has to account in its planning code for slightly more units per acre and for taller buildings.
The height change would have the biggest impact, according to an analysis done for Keizer by planners at the Willamette Valley Council of Governments.
Keizer limits buildings to no taller than 50 feet, which is a three- to four-story building. A major apartment complex on River Road just north of 7-11, for instance, goes to three floors.
Under the change, Keizer would have buildings up to 60 feet.
Witham said that would allow developers to erect buildings up to five floors.
The taller buildings mean more housing units could go in.
The change would impact three “climate friendly areas” already designated in Keizer, approximately in areas on River Road at Northeast Lockhaven Drive, at Chemawa Road and at Cherry Avenue.
Witham said he knows of no developer planning a major redevelopment project in those areas. The new rules, however, would give them more opportunities to devise projects.
Planning commissioners last week suggested that more of the needed housing be shifted to the Lockhaven and the Chemawa areas. Some were concerned that redevelopment in the Cherry Avenue area would displace people.
Witham and other planners are expected to return to the planning commission with options to do that.
The path to any such new rules, though, while wind through more work by the planning commission, public hearings and final action by the Keizer City Council.
Even then, don’t expect to see such combination projects on River Road anytime soon.
“We’re talking about a long-range look – what’s this going to be 20 years from now,” Witham said.
Contact publisher Lyndon Zaitz:
[email protected] or 503-390-1051
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