Keizer city staff reported Dec. 9 that local work tied to Oregon’s climate-friendly planning requirements is moving from study to implementation and that the city expects a Transportation System Plan (TSP) update to begin in 2025.

Staff said the city completed an initial climate-friendly area (CFA) study and will proceed with code updates to implement the state rules; those changes could include targeted increases in allowable building height and minimum density in designated areas. Staff noted the city’s River Cherry Overlay District and the 2018 Keizer Revitalization Plan positioned Keizer to satisfy some state criteria with fewer drastic changes.

The TSP update is expected to be funded largely through Transportation Growth Management (TGM) grants and could take 18 months to two years to complete, staff said. The CFEC scenario planning is a separate but related project that uses modeling to show how regional land-use and transportation choices affect greenhouse-gas emissions from light-duty vehicles; the region’s advisory committee is scheduled to meet again in January 2025, staff said.

Why it matters: state guidance intends to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from transportation through land-use and design changes. Keizer staff said a code audit and consultant work — supported by a no-cost intergovernmental agreement approved earlier by the council — will identify specific code amendments the city will need to adopt. Those amendments will go through the Planning Commission and public hearings before any action by the council.

Councilors were reminded the city participated in litigation that reached the Oregon Supreme Court; the court upheld the state rules, so local jurisdictions must now complete the required planning and code updates. Staff emphasized that previous local planning work reduced the extent of changes needed in Keizer, but public hearings and community input will be required as the code updates are developed. No ordinance or zone changes were adopted at the Dec. 9 work session.

Staff listed these near-term steps: complete the code-audit deliverable with the consultant, present findings to the Planning Commission, and schedule public hearings on recommended code changes to comply with the OAR-based requirements.