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Keizer staff urges quick adoption of Climate Friendly Areas and associated code tweaks
Summary
City planning staff told the Keizer Planning Commission it must adopt two Climate Friendly Areas by June and will bring a package of related text amendments — including modest height and density increases, parking code revisions and walkable-design standards — to align local code with state directives.
Keizer planning staff on Wednesday told the Planning Commission that the city must move forward this year to formally adopt two Climate Friendly Areas (Lock Haven Center and Chemawa Center) and to package related text amendments to the development code.
"So at some point, we're going to actually have to formally adopt those," Shane, the city planner, said. He told commissioners the adoption will require modest changes to the development code, references in the comprehensive plan and small increases in allowed building height and density to meet capacity modeling.
The work is part of a larger set of items staff labeled priorities for 2026. Shane said the CFA adoption deadline is in June and that staff have been coordinating CFA work with a regional scenario planning study and the upcoming Transportation System Plan (TSP) update, arguing a timely local action would reduce repeated piecemeal changes later.
Commissioners also reviewed a series of related code projects intended to be considered alongside CFA adoption: parking‑section revisions (landscaping and nonrequired parking‑lot standards), walkable‑design text amendments (driveway spacing and building massing) and several design‑standard adjustments to address middle‑housing and corner‑lot issues.
Councilor Duran and other commissioners voiced impatience with continuing state rule changes and supported moving the package forward for commission review. "I think we're just getting kind of tired of responding," the Chair said, urging staff to bring the materials back so the commission could make a recommendation to council.
Before the work‑plan discussion began, commissioners unanimously approved the Nov. 25 minutes after Don provided a corrected version removing an erroneous absence notation for the youth liaison.
What happens next: staff plan to return with formal draft text amendments, notices and staff reports that will allow the commission to hold public hearings and forward recommendations to council.
