3/3/2009 1:10:00 PM Legislation could save 'The Metolian'
Developers make case for The Metolian
The developers of The Metolian, a proposed "eco-community" in the Metolius Basin, made their case for the concept of a new type of resort in a public meeting Tuesday, February 24.
About 30 people came to FivePine Conference Center to hear the partners in the planned community explain how it could enhance the environment of the basin.
Camp Sherman resident Shane Lundgren, a principal in the project, expressed frustration at the current bid led by Governor Ted Kulongoski to ban all large-scale development in the basin, arguing that it is derailing Oregon's land use law.
But Lundgren also said he understands and shares the concern of his neighbors who want to protect what for many is a sacred area.
"Our hearts are very much in line," he said. "And I hope to be working in partnership with you in the near future."
Jim Kean, a Portland entrepreneur who is partnering with Lundgren in the project, said that The Metolian would bring ecological benefits to the Metolius Basin and important outdoor experiences to an increasingly sedentary population that is losing its connection with nature.
Kean noted that the 627-acre building site is a "hard-used property" formerly used for timber harvesting by Willamette Industries.
He said that The Metolian site, located about 1/2 mile off Highway 20 is "hardly a pristine site."
Kean and engineers associated with the project said that they plan to add topsoil and restore the flow of streams across the property that have been disrupted as part of a "30-year plan to redress at least some of the damage of the 20th Century."
That plan also includes spending money offsite - around $598,000 per year - in habitat restoration, trail maintenance, wildfire prevention and other environmentally positive activities.
According to Kean, funds will be raised through allocation of 10 percent of homeowners fees in the community and further allocation of 1 percent of closing costs to an ecological fund.
Kean argued that such funding is critical as the U.S. Forest Service is continually starved for funds to maintain forests.
Kean said the work that The Metolian could generate in ecological restoration could create jobs ranging from trail work to higher level work for biologists.
After a brief power point presentation, the development team broke into small groups to answer individual and specific questions from those in attendance.
The presentation drew modest attendance compared to hearings on banning resorts, but those in attendance felt better informed about plans for The Metolian.
Marie Clasen of Sisters found the concept presented by the developers innovative and compelling.
"I'm not sure if I totally agree with where... the proposed resort is going to be, but it's a very interesting concept," Clasen said. "I'm still in the learning about it phase."
David Grady said he has concerns about the impact of the proposed 450-residence on Sisters.
"I was impressed with the attention they're paying to the ecological details; I think they just need to recognize that there is some cost to Sisters as well as benefit," Grady said.
Debbie Newport told Lundgren that she thinks he has to educate the public more on what The Metolian is.
"When we think of development we go back to a model that is 30 years old and gave us Black Butte and Sunriver and this is very clearly a different concept," she said.
The battle over resort development in the Metolius Basin intensified last week with a barrage of new legislation and agency action aimed at restricting large scale development in the area.
The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) released a draft of its Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC) designation that would effectively kill both proposed developments in the Metolius Basin area.
The Ponderosa, planned on roughly 3,500 acres along Green Ridge, proposes 2,500 homes and at least one golf course. Provisions in the ACSC draft providing a development buffer of three miles around the basin would prohibit its development even outside the actual boundaries of the Metolius Basin.
The Metolian, proposed on 627 acres inside the basin, would also be scuppered under the ACSC draft.
However, legislation introduced by the House Agriculture, Natural Resource and Rural Communities Committee would allow The Metolian to go forward as an "eco-community." The legislation would create the new designation of eco-community outside the requirements of current destination resort rules.
Developer Shane Lundgren, a Camp Sherman native, told The Nugget that the legislation introduced last Thursday recognizes that The Metolian has been something different from a conventional destination resort all along.
The Metolian is conceived as an "eco-resort" using sustainable building design and zero groundwater. The resort would serve people interested in environmental education as well as eco-friendly activities such as hiking, horseback riding and other activities in the surrounding woods.
The development would not have a golf course - a standard feature of conventional destination resorts - and developers propose to invest some $600,000 per year in habitat and environmental restoration activities in the Metolius Basin.
"We've had quite a bit of support for a new paradigm that wouldn't resemble a destination resort," Lundgren said.
Lobbyist Hasina Squires echoed that statement, noting that "we have had a very receptive audience with a number of Democrats on our proposal and concept. I see this as a step to acknowledge that our project has never been a destination resort."
The legislation, which has not yet been assigned a bill number, is tailor made to fit The Metolian. It requires that an "eco-community" be sited on no less than 200 acres and no more than 640 acres and use no groundwater.
It allows 180 overnight accommodation units and retains the destination resort calculation using that basis to allow 450 residences.
"The legislation mirrors our site layout," Squires said. "It is what we planned to build."
Lundgren told The Nugget that the legislation would allow a smaller-scale development, because without destination resort requirements to spend $9 million on onsite recreation facilities, there is less pressure to amortize those dollars through the sale of properties.
Lundgren and his partners hosted an informational meeting at FivePine Conference Center on Tuesday, February 24, to describe plans for the site and to invite public comment and questions.
While the proposed bill could allow The Metolian to dodge a fatal bullet from the ACSC designation and from other legislative efforts to ban large-scale development in the Metolius Basin, opponents of any development in the area remain unconvinced by the "eco-community" designation.
Erik Kancler, executive director of Central Oregon LandWatch could not be reached for comment at press time, but he is on the record stating that The Metolian, while an interesting concept, is not appropriate for the Metolius Basin.
Other local activities have expressed scepticism about any legislation that would allow large-scale development to move forward in the Metolius Basin.
Davis has argued that development in the basin threatens a sensitive hydrological system that supports important fish and wildlife populations.
Posted: Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Article comment by:
Catherine Grishaver
Regardless of how "green" the resorts would be, you can't ignore the colossal size they are proposing and how many more footprints it would bring to the fragile ecosystem. We need to preserve what makes this land so sacred, not pave over it.
