© 2002
The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
All rights reserved

Send us an email

Display Advertising

Building boom raises doubts
By Jim Cornelius

Some folks in Sisters are having second thoughts about the building boom sparked by the creation of smaller city lots.

The city council and the planning commission are debating whether the city should raise the minimum lot size -- recently established at 6,000 square feet -- to alleviate the "culture shock" of partitioned lots and duplexes built close together.

"A lot of people move to Central Oregon or to Sisters because they like the culture and feel of elbow room," Mayor Steve Wilson said at a Thursday, May 23, workshop.

Residents bought property in Sisters with spacious 10,000-square-foot or larger lots and now they feel that the character of their neighborhoods is changing, Wilson said.

Many of those people have contacted the mayor with concerns about the densification of their city.

But that densification has its benefits, noted city planner Neil Thompson.

Smaller lot sizes make housing more affordable -- and allows the spreading of "affordable housing" throughout the community.

"Affordable housing, which I associate with these smaller lot sizes, should never be ghettoized," Thompson said.

"You don't put all of your affordable housing in one place."

Still, Thompson acknowledged, new zoning rules do allow big changes in Sisters' density.

The planner noted that there are some lots where there could be six housing units placed where only one was allowed before.

Wilson worried whether developers are simply "cashing in" on Sisters, maximizing their profits without concern for the impact on neighbors.

Thompson said there is evidence that much building is speculative. He said that the city has seen nearly 200 new housing units built in three years, yet the population has increased by only 20.

City councilor John Rahm acknowledged that changes can be hard on residents, but he argued that affordability should carry as much weight as the culture of elbow room.

"I think there's competing interests that have equal value," he said.

Increased density is not just a cultural question.

According to city planners, there are problems providing enough electricity to serve some of the partitioned "in-fill" lots.

City planners consider that a problem to be worked out between developers and Central Electric Co-op, but the problem was presented as further evidence that greater density might be inappropriate for Sisters.

The die may be cast, however.

The council and planners took no action Thursday night and the building goes on apace.

Thompson noted that any change in lot size would require advance notice to property owners who would be affected.

Thompson acknowledged that that could cause a rush to partition lots in advance of new zoning.

Back to front page