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Nine out of 10 people who live in Keizer leave town to go to work.

City Planner Nate Brown said that’s bad. Oregon cities and counties depend on property taxes, but homes do not bring in as much property tax money as commercial and residential properties. Meanwhile, residents require more city services than businesses.

The solution might be to expand Keizer’s city limits to enable more businesses to move to the community.

A citizens advisory group started meeting Aug. 29 to do an inventory of available land in Keizer. Brown said members will likely meet five times before going before the city council with a recommendation in April. Their next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 3.

The end result of this land-use inventory might be a recommendation to expand Keizer’s urban growth boundary.

Keizer, despite a population of 37,000 people, is a relatively young city. Connected seamlessly to Salem’s northern boundary, it was incorporated in 1982. Most of the city’s businesses are located along River Road N., and the 227-acre Keizer Station complex off Interstate 5 on Chemawa Road.

Johnson Reid LLC of Portland, a consulting firm, has been hired by city officials to perform an analysis of Keizer’s land-use needs.