(m) Residential care facilities, including homeless shelters serving five or fewer persons (836), except residential homes and other structures housing families of handicapped persons and inpatient or outpatient drug or alcohol treatment facilities. (Ord No. 57-85; Ord No. 17-88; Ord No. 2-93; Ord No. 25-93; Ord No. 57-2000)

The city is revising the zone code with changes being made to this section of the code.

Perhaps it would be a good time to ask the Planning Department to speak to the SGNA community about the changes being planned.

Things you can do? Remove debris from the creek. Remove Blackberries, Ivy and other invasive weeds. Use native plants in your landscaping. Maintain shade trees to keep the stream cool for fish. Participate in Mill Creek Watershed activities along Battle Creek, Jory Creek, Waln Creek, Powell Creek, and Scotch Creek.

Check out the Water Resource site of the City of Salem ( http://www.cityofsalem.net/Departments/PublicWorks/Administration/WaterResources/Pages/default.aspx )

Want to see a good map of the streams in Salem… (http://www.co.marion.or.us/NR/rdonlyres/5D10BEEA-89B0-46BC-8D14-A5E76AB240D9/3997/NPDES_SalemWtrShed_Ltr_V4.pdf )

Our water is life giving.

John Shepard
Mill Creek Watershed Council

As always whom will be responsible. The area of SGNA near Lee Elementary is at the southern most end of the City limits. Many of the trees removed occurred while the land was under Marion County jurisdiction. Two places to start would be with asking the Marion County Commissioners to review their tree management plan with an aim to strengthen the protection of our Urban Forest. Currently a property prime for development outside city limits can have the trees removed, then be annexed to the city, avoiding the City tree ordinances requiring the preservation of 25% and or replanting of trees on land being developed.

Second would be to seek grant support for replanting trees in areas that have been cleared. Grant opportunities could be found at the State level for such projects. The Marion Soil and Water Conservation District is a place to start. They have a website at http://marionswcd.net/

If you and your neighbors have an interest in such a project I would encourage you to contact the Mill Creek Watershed Council. They meet the 3rd Thursday of the month in Aumsville. The area you described is in the Battle Creek watershed and as such is a part of the Mill Creek Councils area of interest.

It’d be nice if trees or sound absorbing walls were place between I-5 and the Foxhaven/Lee Elementary neighborhood. Salem has been stretching south, but the sound barriers don’t seem to be stretching with it. Now that the I-5/Kuebler property trees were torn out (and planned business development on that property), this neighborhood could use something to replace the trees and provide some additional noise barriers to lessen traffic noise.

Should you be concerned how healthy is it?

Should we be interested in the streams and creeks that flow thorough our neighborhood?

Who cleans up the creek when limbs and shopping carts get stuck under bridges or in culverts?

Are there fish in the streams? Where do the streams go after they flow past our homes?

City is to consider the sale of farm land to FedGov to provide for floodplain recovery to natural condition.

Is this a good idea? Should floodplain areas be wetlands or should the city keep the park land and rent it to a commercial company for farming.

Is SGNA looking into this environmental question?