Regarding the rezoning of 770 Winding Way SE (Case No: CPC-ZC-SUB19-12), those in the neighborhood are officially requesting a reasonable extension to review this plan and have time to provide fair feedback and representation.  The request for feedback with New Year’s deadline was dropped a few days before Christmas, when most households are unavailable, traveling, spending time with family, and not able to receive the notice and provide the attention it deserves.  We’ve found the unavailability to also be deservedly true for the City of Salem staff.  It is difficult to believe this was not a strategic decision, and we request the neighborhood be given the respect of fair notice with opportunity to respond.

The Welcome/Winding Way neighborhoods are longtime established neighborhoods, tucked away as a hidden gem in Salem.  You would never know the geographically elevated neighborhoods exist, unless you take a turn on Welcome Way.  The neighborhood is defined by it’s quiet, safe, tree-lined streets, separated from the glow and noise from Commercial Street.

We oppose the proposed plan for commercial rezoning.  The project encroaches too far up into the Alderbrook/Wood neighborhoods, will forever alter the essential character of the neighborhood, poses a threat to the health and safety of the neighborhood, and the scale does not blend or compliment existing surrounding area and neighborhoods.  

The proposed plan appears imbalanced with Welcome Way taking the burden of all additional traffic produced by the new CR Zoning, the sub-division plan, and new traffic funneled from 12th Street.  The new 12th Street alignment will introduce a new option to massive amounts of traffic to continue straight to Welcome Way, providing an invitation for many to consider Welcome Way as a new Western route.  This will create an unintended consequence of Welcome Way becoming a new artery headed West and beyond through the Welcome Way neighborhood that does not have streets beyond designed to support the traffic flow and no sidewalks.  There is also currently a dangerous blind corner where the new proposed private road will funnel new traffic. The community can provide feedback and several examples of this affect.

The overall negative impact we face is loss of residential “quality of life”, forever losing the character of the neighborhood, introducing new issues of light pollution, noise pollution, and most importantly traffic/safety issues within a close proximity.