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Appeals court hears Sisters land-use case
By Jim Cornelius

A fight over the development of two proposed industrial parcels on the north end of Sisters went to the Oregon Court of Appeals on January 3.

A decision could be made around the end of January on the appeal of a county land use decision allowing Barclay Meadows Business Park and the Sisters School District to develop the light industrial property.

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners approved bringing the two approximately 30-acre parcels into the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary in July of 2000, but residents of Trapper Point and the Alliance for Responsible Land Use in Deschutes County (ARLU DeCo) appealed that decision.

Trapper Point residents are concerned about losing views and having property values decline. Those concerns were not relieved by a development agreement that provided for extra setbacks.

According to Barclay Meadows representative Peter Storton, the state Land Use Board of Appeals has ruled in the developers' favor except for remanding one traffic issue back to the county for more findings.

The impact of industrial park traffic has been a sticking point throughout the battle over the developments; in fact, county hearings officer Karen Green had recommended that the county deny developers' applications due to traffic concerns.

The developers have committed more than $150,000 each -- in addition to traffic Systems Development Charges -- to mitigate traffic impact. Sisters traffic plans call for signals at McKinney Butte Road and at Locust Street on Highway 20, and the developers' funds could be used for those signals.

According to Storton, the two sides in the dispute were close to reaching an agreement outside the courtroom last fall.

Storton and Trapper Point resident Denny Ebner worked out a development layout that created view corridors and berms, provided trees and fencing and some extra setbacks and restrictions. (The school district's adjacent Lundgren Mill property was left unaffected by these plans, although it is included in all the decisions).

Storton had the authority to negotiate for Barclay Meadows Business Park and Ebner had the authority to negotiate for the Trapper Point residents -- subject their review of any deal.

"We thought we had come up with a good compromise," Storton said.

However, some Trapper Point residents were not satisfied. According to Storton, appellant Jerry Forster insisted on a 150-foot setback, a condition that was unacceptable to the developers.

Forster was unavailable for comment, but his wife Jan told The Nugget that the proposed compromise did not satisfy all the concerned parties.

"It was not in the best interests of everyone in Trapper Point to accept the proposal that Peter (Storton) made to Denny (Ebner)," she said.

With the collapse of negotiations, the case moved onto the court of appeals. That is not the end of the road, however. Any decision could end up being appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Storton emphasized that, even if they win, the developers will not "close the door on doing the best we can to create an acceptable buffer zone."

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