Informat

Front Page

Archives

Next Page

Prev. Page

Sisters, Oregon

How should Sisters grow? By Eric Dolson City Hall was packed to the walls on September 7 with people who came to fight over the future of Sisters. The city council was taking public testimony on the update of the Sisters Urban Area Comprehensive Plan. Despite the fact he city has been working on an update for four years and there are many elements, Thursday's meeting sounded more like a clash between homeowners on Pine Street who want to protect their view across the farmland of Pine Meadow Ranch and ranch owners who want to develop their property. The specific issue was Element 15, which would create a new zone, called the "traditional neighborhood district" which would allow a mix of commercial, residential and light industrial zones, sometimes referred to as "neotraditional zoning." Developer Steve McGhehey, representing the Sokol family which owns the land, spoke first. He acknowledged that the controversial "Element 15" would allow for more flexibility in development of the property, but said there was also more responsibility than required for other zones. "This is the only zone that will require a master plan. In addition, we will have to write design standards that will guide the design of all buildings and outdoor spaces..." McGhehey said. McGhehey noted that under current zoning law, "twelve acres of the site are already zoned commercial, the remaining 50 acres of UAR 10 can relatively easily be rezoned to standard and high density residential as anticipated by several earlier drafts of the zoning map... "Under this scenario, we can build a shopping center and a hundred plus units of housing guided only by the relatively simple requirements of the current zoning," McGhehey said. "Instead, the Sokols and I have chosen the most difficult and rigorous path in an effort to build a truly pedestrian-friendly, safe neighborhood that will be a benefit and an asset to Sisters and will be something that they will be proud of," said McGhehey. But not everyone agreed. Howard Paine said commercial and residential uses do not mix, and that adding new business areas "separated from the urban core equals urban sprawl." Paine said that Sisters is losing its image as a small, quaint town and that this was having a detrimental impact on local business. Former councilman Gordon Petrie had a letter read to the council in which he wrote that the Land Conservation and Development Commission would need more justification to bring additional land into the urban growth boundary, and the demographic data used in developing the plan was misapplied Beth Gifford, who lives on Black Crater Street near Pine Street and the development, read a letter from 28 residents in the neighborhood who oppose the project. Many of those residents only recently found out about Element 15, she said. Gifford said that there were no maps for the proposed development and that "mixed use is new and unproven, especially in rural communities." But not all Pine Street property owners were opposed. Colin Adams, who actually lives in Indian Ford, owns property on Pine Street. Adams agrees with the neotraditional zoning, calling it a "progressive step ... while I am concerned by the loss of view, I look at this as an enhancement to our property value, not a detriment." Steve Wilson, resident of Pine Street and member of the planning commission, also spoke in favor of the mixed zone. Wilson said he asked himself what kind of development he would like to see on the Sokol property, and that a "traditional neighborhood would give the city more control on how it is developed." The alternative, Wilson warned, could be a "six-foot high wall around a gated community." William Boyer, Chairman of the land use watchdog group Alliance for Responsible Land Use Deschutes County, told the council that residents of the city had the primary right to determine the goals of the comprehensive plan, not those with an economic self interest. "In many cities the future has been taken away from the residents by the persistence and the paid expertise available to those who pursue personal economic profits," Boyer said. Peg Lutz told the council there was plenty of vacant commercial space in Sisters and predicted that the mixed use zone would flop because it wasn't in the area where walk-in retail traffic was more successful. On the other hand, Ted Eady told the council that there was a demand for residential property and that "growth has happened outside of Sisters because there is now property available within the city." Finally the hearing was closed. Councilwoman Jean Cooper immediately suggested that there had been a tremendous amount of information presented and the council needed more time to examine the issues. She said the council could have a workshop or even return the matter to the city planning commission for further work. It was not an issue the council took lightly or would decide without adequate reflection, Cooper stressed. That point was readily affirmed by the rest of the council. No action was taken on the comprehensive plan at the September 7 meeting.