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The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Planners ponder development changes
By Jim Cornelius

In the face of controversy over the direction of development in Sisters, the planning commission began kicking around ideas for modifying the city's code on Thursday, January 16.

The code is based on goals of efficient use of land; meeting a range of housing needs (including affordable housing); and preserving the historical character of Sisters.

Two of those goals seem to promote greater density and different types of housing while the third seems to promote the open character of the town.

"You could argue they're in conflict with each other," said city planner Neil Thompson.

Thompson argued that current controversies may have less to do with reduced lot sizes than with changing the character of existing neighborhoods.

Several planning commissioners are reluctant to "shoe horn" affordable housing into existing neighborhoods.

Bob Temple said he favors restricting minimum lot size to 6,000 square feet with no exceptions for affordable housing. Temple did not object to the construction of duplexes on such lots, but acknowledged some concern about the city being filled up with duplexes.

Michael Black, a citizen attending the meeting, questioned the city's policy of allowing duplexes in single-family residential areas -- making it possible to put a duplex on every lot in town. Bend does not allow duplexes in its standard residential zone.

Planning commissioner Bill Merrill won some support for his proposal to ask the city council to form a task force to review sections of the code dealing with land use districts and application procedures.

Merrill also proposed a one-year moratorium on rules that allow subdivision of residential lots into less than 6,000 square feet.

Temple urged his colleagues to meet frequently to tackle the development issues during the winter.

"Come this spring when the weather breaks, you're going to have a line out your door with applications," he said.

The commissioners passed along reccommendations to the council to make some minor changes to the code, including reducing the separation between "commercial residential" uses from 1/2 mile to 1/4 mile.

Commercial residential uses include professional offices, light manufacturing contained in the home (such as ceramics) and some types of retail.

A 1/2-mile separation requirement effectively only allows one use in town.

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