Oregonians are very aware and very appreciative of their natural surroundings. Nobody seems to take that beauty for granted. That explains the widespread support for rules that limit development and preserve open space. Tradeoffs must be made, however, in order to prevent sprawl. Leonard lives in the nearby town of Keizer, where new houses are built closer and closer together.
Housing developments get to look like apartment houses because there's no land to develop.
Each place has just a little patio. There's not much landscaping. Density is an increasingly controversial issue because density is increasing as communities develop within their self-prescribed growth boundaries before annexing new territory. On this sunny morning, she and a friend are sitting in a waterfront park beside the Willamette River. What I like about Salem, Leonard says, is that you can go about a mile or two in any direction and you're in the country.