The huge warehouse store we are all familiar with, Costco is moving from its location on Mission street to a new location along Kuebler boulevard in South Salem, just off of I5. The new building is currently being built on an empty lot on the south side of Kuebler, between 27th Avenue and Battle Creek road.
A 2007 zoning change redesignated the lot of land from residential to commercial, but with the intent for the land to be used by a “community shopping center”, as opposed to a big-box store.
Eleven years later, in October of 2018, PacTrust was given approval to develop the land and start work on the new Costco building. However, over the course of the next couple months, residents in the surrounding neighborhoods took the case to the city council, leading to the city council denying PacTrust’s application in December 2018.
The council’s denial didn’t last long though, as before December was over PacTrust had already filed a lawsuit against the city of Salem for $9.9 million dollars, to make up for the $3.7 million they spent on road improvements and taken their case to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals [LUBA] where the city’s case against PacTrust was found to be flawed in August of the following year. The case was then taken to the Oregon Court of Appeals two months later by a group of the proposed Costco’s neighbors, where LUBA’s decision was affirmed several months later in February 2020.
Once they had both LUBA and the Oregon Court of Appeals’ approval, PacTrust went back to the Salem city council in June of 2020, eventually leading to the council voting to approve the new Costco’s development on Nov. 9, 2020. Opinions from neighbors and south Salem residents were mixed, and many people are strongly opposed to Costco moving to Kuebler.
“As far as the relocation goes I think it’s great,” said Braedon Close ‘23. “But I think them moving to Kuebler was a big mistake for a lot of reasons. There were benefits that were brought to it but I almost think the cons outweigh the pros in this situation.” These cons are things like increased traffic on Kuebler, more noise for the surrounding neighborhoods and light pollution. “This part of Salem that it’s being built in, it’s not really your shopping area, it’s not really anywhere where something like a big superstore or wholesale store should be placed. It’s gonna be looking really out of place, considering the fact that it is surrounded completely by residential neighborhoods, and the amount of traffic that’s gonna come through to these neighborhoods, they’re just not ready.”
