Paine said the opponents to the zone change (and comprehensive plan amendment)
had not had adequate time to prepare their case because the county planning
staff had not met the requirements of the hearings law. He said staff reports
must be made available to the public more than seven days prior to the
hearing.
Green agreed with the claim and granted the continuance.
The developments proposed for the land include both single family (RS--Urban
Standard Residential) and multi-family (RH--Urban High Density) homes. Traffic
in and out of the development would be over Pine Street and an extension of
Hood Street, according to Steve McGhehey, managing partner of PMR Development
Co.
He said much of the open space on the ranch property will remain open.
Hearings officer Green asked what the developer's plans are for sewage.
McGhehey said the company has worked with the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) and has done extensive testing on the site. He said
the development has a "large acreage adjacent" to home sites which can be used
for an additional drain field. He said the DEQ has "indicated our plan is
possible."
The case for approval of the zone change and comprehensive plan amendment was
presented by Sisters attorney Liz Fancher. She said the current Sisters
Comprehensive Plan, which includes the ranch property within its present urban
growth boundary, calls for changing the Urban Area Reserve zone when
development within the city reaches 75 percent of capacity.
Fancher said, "That has occurred."
Fancher said the development would not impact city traffic any more than some
uses permitted under the present UAR-10 zone classification, uses such as
schools and resorts.
Fancher said the project's largest impact on traffic would come from a
multi-family development which could have as many as 144 units.
She said the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual
indicated that should the RH parcel be developed to maximum density it would
generate 931.68 vehicle trips per day. She said a small, 600-student college,
permitted under the reserve zone, would generate 1,442 trips per day. A grade
school, high school complex would generate even more, she said.
Proponents of the zone change testified that there is a need for additional
housing in Sisters. Robert Shaw, for example, said he moved his business to
Sisters a short time ago and that he was unable to find housing inside the
city.
Shaw said he has employees in Portland that he would like to move to Sisters,
"but there are no homes." He said he favored the proposed development because
it offers a broad range of residential options.
Howard Payne, in addition to proposing a continuance, said there is no "public
need" demonstrated to justify taking the property out of its reserve
classification. He said there has been a reduction in population in Sisters
over the past 17 years and that he believes Sisters should have 110 vacant
housing units.
Gordon Petrie, also of Sisters, echoed Payne's position saying population
growth projection for Sisters have not occurred. He also said that the
75 percent development criterion for taking land out of reserve is not a mandate
to change and that the "need (for a zone change) has not been proven."
