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Keizer to review Willow Lake settlement language after council asks staff to explore options for limited development
Summary
Council tasked staff to review the 1990s settlement and related zoning that limits development near the Willow Lake/Wastewater Treatment Plant area and to identify options for amending the agreement or zoning to permit different uses, subject to regional and environmental constraints.
The Long Range Planning Task Force heard a briefing on a decades-old agreement and associated zoning that restricts development within an area near the Willow Lake wastewater treatment plant.
Background
Staff explained the settlement originated in the mid-1990s after development concerns near Windsor Island Road and was carried forward with an overlay that limited certain land uses and created an “odor impact overlay zone.” The overlay and subsequent zoning decisions — including agricultural and industrial designations in parts of the area — were adopted to reflect operations at the regional Willow Lake treatment plant, which is operated by the City of Salem under intergovernmental arrangements.
Council direction
Council members asked staff to identify what options exist under the settlement agreement to allow additional types of development or to amend the agreement, and to evaluate the legal, environmental and intergovernmental approvals such changes would require. Staff confirmed some properties in the zone are private and some are owned by Salem, and noted any changes would be complex because the treatment plant operations and odor management involve multiple jurisdictions.
Next steps
Staff said it will analyze the settlement agreement language, consult legal counsel as needed, and return with options including required approvals and likely timelines.
Ending
Council members said the matter is worth studying because the area is largely dormant and could be put to productive use if constraints and protections can be resolved.
