Sisters planners say no to RV park structures By Jim Cornelius

The City of Sisters has knocked the wheels off plans to place semi-permanent mobile homes at the Mountain Shadows RV Park.

The Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission, in their March 19 meeting, unanimous

ly refused to endorse a change to city ordinances to allow the siting of "park trailers" at the Mountain Shadows RV Park. The trailers, which resemble small manufactured homes, are officially designated as recreational vehicles by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Wayne Scott, owner of Mountain Shadows, and Bill Berman, a sales representative for Salem RV, wanted the commission to revise city requirements limiting the length of time an RV is allowed to stay on a site to three months out of any six-month period.

Scott and Salem RV had planned to sell the "park trailers" on several sites at Mountain Shadows. According to the RV salesman, the trailers, which sell for around $50,000 would serve as temporary vacation homes for their owners.

The salesman said that the axles are dropped off the trailers when they are brought into a site, and a deck is built around them. Requiring the units to be moved after three months would make the project impossible, he said.

The salesman acknowledged that the trailers are not conventional travel trailers.

"It's a niche market, if you will," he said, "very specialized."

He said the trailers are common in Arizona and are becoming popular in parts of Oregon. Owners buy the trailers, then sign a long-term temporary residence lease with the park where their trailers are sited.

The salesman said that the sites attract stable buyers, often retired people, who are likely to participate positively in the community during their visits.

"They're good people that you like to have around," he said.

Scott testified that the sites would not create a permanent mobile home park.

"These will be weekend and for vacation-type things that people come to," Scott said. "There will be nothing permanent at all."

Scott said length-of-occupancy restrictions would continue to be strictly enforced.

The idea got a cool reception from the planning commissioners, who expressed concern that the trailers are not appropriate for the function of the park.

"I just have difficulty, the state notwithstanding, seeing this as a recreational vehicle," said new commissioner Jean Cooper.

Commissioner Dorro Sokol expressed concern that the sites could lead to a sub-standard housing situation at the park. Scott refuted that concern, saying that he does not want a "ghetto" situation any more than the city does.

Scott may next bring the question of changing the ordinance to the city council.

The RV sales representative argued that the length of stay requirement has no real purpose, and that the city should bring its ordinances more in line with "common usage."

But Commission President Daryl Carper rejected that approach.

"This is Sisters," he said. "That's what you've got to remember."