Facing a sea of citizens holding up colorful signs urging them to do otherwise, the Salem City Council once again voted 3-2 to approve HopeTree Family Services’ amended rezoning request.
As with all of the prior votes, Mayor Renee Turk, Councilman Randy Foley and Councilman Bill Jones voted in favor of the request; Vice Mayor Jim Wallace and Councilman Hunter Holliday voted in opposition to it.
HopeTree’s site plan for its planned unit development is shown. The red buildings are existing buildings and the yellow spaces are areas where homes would go.
Monday’s final vote green lights what will be the city’s largest development of its kind, and what has been one of the city’s most hotly contested issues, for now at least.
The five lawsuits filed by citizens earlier this year against the council and HopeTree are ongoing. HopeTree resubmitted its rezoning request and council went through the approval process again to address alleged procedural errors brought up in the lawsuits.
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The updated application, submitted on Aug. 30, is virtually the same as the original; the biggest difference is the property owner’s name, which was changed to be HopeTree’s formal name.
Some citizens have accused Turk of rushing the vote. It’s likely that when the next council members take their seats in January, the 3-2 majority will flip to be opposed to the project. Turk and Foley, who have voted in favor of the rezoning, are staying on the council. Holliday, who has voted against it, is also staying on the council and will be joined by Anne Marie Green and John Saunders, who have both expressed that they would vote against the HopeTree rezoning.
“In the 11th hour, our mayor called for an unprecedented double public hearing with the planning commission and city council, knowing that the new city council would not support the rezoning,†he said, referring to the public hearing held on Nov. 13. “The vote was pushed forward before the newly-elected city council could be in place.â€
Though council chambers were nearly full, most citizens in attendance did not have the opportunity to speak during Monday’s meeting. At the time of the Nov. 25 meeting, all of the speaking spots for this meeting were already full, Holliday said. Many citizens held up signs during the meeting, reading things like “Protect Salem! Don’t destroy our peace!†and “No vote until citizens’ concerns are addressed by unbiased third-party professionals!â€
A citizen expresses their opposition to the HopeTree rezoning with a sign that reads “Don’t let the hill spill all over good neighbors!†during the Salem City Council’s meeting on Monday.
A citizen expresses their opposition to the HopeTree rezoning with a sign that reads “Don’t let the hill spill all over good neighbors!†during the Salem City Council’s meeting on Monday.
Stella Reinhard, however, did get the chance to speak ahead of the vote. She questioned why the council isn’t protecting north Salem’s neighborhoods and urged the council to vote against the rezoning request. This would give HopeTree 60 days to “fix the process†and get input from citizens, she said.
“I have a prayer for us this season,†she said. “Let there be peace on Earth – we certainly need it, right? But we also need peace in Salem, and that comes on this issue when developers and HopeTree, the city leaders and the residents come together for a common sense solution.â€
Council already voted 3-2 in June to approve HopeTree’s request to change the property’s zoning to planned unit district, which will allow for up to 340 homes and some small businesses to be developed there. Originally, the property was zoned single family residential, meaning that HopeTree could have sold the land to a developer whether the rezoning request was approved or not.
The lawsuits point to issues with how and when the council notified the public about hearings and meetings. The votes on HopeTree’s amended application were not necessarily meant to “supersede the previous actions†of the council, City Attorney Jim Guynn said before the Nov. 13 public hearing. Holding public hearings and voting again ensures that the council carried out the process correctly, Turk said.
Citizens, many holding colorful signs to express their opposition to the HopeTree rezoning, filled the council chambers on Monday.
“Council, do you realize north Salem serves all Salem? What have we done to deserve this?†Reinhard asked during her public comment. “Redoing a process corrects nothing if you don’t fix the core issues derailing it the first time.â€
