Keizer planning commission narrows proposed Keizer Station text amendment, removes car lots and standalone parking

Keizer — The Keizer Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council advance a text amendment to the Keizer Development Code for Area B of Keizer Station, but with key deletions. At its Nov. 12 meeting, the commission approved a motion sending the proposed Code changes to council while eliminating automobile parking not associated with an allowed use, vehicle sales with secondary repair, and automotive dealers from the list of newly permitted uses.

The amendment under consideration (Case 2025‑17) was prompted by a letter of intent for the small triangular parcel next to the transit center and revisits a recent change that allowed drive‑through restaurants but retained a prohibition on gasoline service stations. Shane, planning staff, told commissioners the city previously allowed a conditional drive‑through restaurant and at council’s direction initiated a broader review after an LOI for a car wash and oil‑stop user was filed. He said the proposed additions came from standard industrial classification groupings (e.g., SIC 754) to capture automotive services such as car washes and quick‑lubes.

Commissioners split over whether adding broad SIC categories would invite unintended uses. “I’m a hard no on dealers and the secondary repair piece,” Chair Paul Lawyer said, citing noise and impacts to nearby residential areas. Several commissioners said they could imagine quick‑lube or small oil‑change facilities that would operate quietly and be compatible with the area, but they worried that vehicle sales or secondary repair could create nuisance impacts and not fit the walkable, mixed‑use vision for Keizer Station.

City legal and staff emphasized that a legislative text amendment does not approve any particular business. Shane and legal staff explained that even if the code language is amended, an applicant would still need to return for master‑plan and quasi‑judicial conditional‑use review, where site layout, queuing, hours, and other conditions could be imposed and further public input would occur.

Tammy Kunz, a Keizer resident who spoke during public comment, said she had no problem with most automotive services but opposed a car lot next to the school and a retirement community near the triangle site. “I can’t picture it being a car lot,” Kunz said. Commissioners referenced that concern during deliberations.

The commission’s motion, as adopted, leaves drive‑through restaurants and certain automotive services in the code pathway but removes the three categories it judged most likely to conflict with neighborhood expectations. The motion passed unanimously with one absence. The recommendation now goes to the Keizer City Council for its review and final decision. Staff said it would correct drafting details in the ordinance text before sending materials to council.

The next formal step will be the City Council’s consideration of the commission’s recommendation, after which any applicant seeking to develop the triangle site would have to pursue site‑specific master plan amendments and conditional‑use/quasi‑judicial review.