Nearly 25 acres of farmland along Gaffin Road SE in Salem will become commercial property after the Marion County Board of Commissioners approved a zone change for the site.

The board's ordinance, now posted on the county's planning website, converts the 24.88-acre parcel at 5355 Gaffin Rd SE from Special Agriculture to Commercial. The decision also grants an exception to Statewide Planning Goal 3, Oregon's agricultural land protection rule.

The property belongs to TIBA Incorporated.

The board held a public hearing on the application May 20 and approved it. The ordinance was scheduled for final adoption at the board's Sept. 23 session, and county records show the ordinance has been posted on the planning division's website.

The parcel sits on the north side of Gaffin Road, roughly half a mile northeast of the road's interchange with State Route 22. A hay compaction operation once ran on the site but ceased before 2020.

Lindsey King of Pacific Northwest Planning, representing the applicant, testified at an April 16 hearing before the county hearings officer that 17 of the property's 24 acres are already dedicated to commercial use. The remainder includes mapped wetlands and poor soils, King said, and the property was permanently disqualified for farm tax deferral more than 20 years ago.

The hearings officer found the land lacks an irrigation water right and is served only by a domestic well. Surrounding parcels within Salem city limits are developed with industrial uses, including an Amazon Locker facility, RV storage and a Salem-Keizer School District transportation center. The officer noted that roughly 185 acres between Culver Drive and SR 22 are zoned commercial or industrial, compared with about 150 acres of Special Agriculture land.

Marion County planner Alex Seifer recommended approval, noting that no active farming operations exist on the property or on the neighboring parcel. "There is a large Amazon facility near the subject property which has already brought more intensive uses to the area," Seifer said at the April 16 hearing.

Friends of Marion County opposed the change, arguing the applicant had not shown the parcel cannot be farmed and warning of a cascading effect that could push more agricultural land toward development.

No specific tenant or development project for the rezoned site has been announced. County engineering staff flagged that a previously permitted stormwater detention system on the property has likely been destroyed and will need to be rebuilt before future development. Transportation System Development Charges will apply when building permits are filed.

The ordinance takes effect 21 days after the board's final signatures. Under Oregon law, the decision can be appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals within 21 days of the effective date.