News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Pine Meadow Ranch development at the western edge of Sisters will get city water, despite the efforts of citizen activists to impose restrictions.
Project developers applied for and were granted city water services in the summer of 1996, before an initiative was passed requiring voter approval to extend city services outside the city limits.
Sisters City Attorney Steve Bryant told the city council Thursday, October 9, that the contracts approved by the previous city council were binding and "there's nothing that this council can do to change those applications."
Virginia Groom of the Committee to Save Sisters told The Nugget she was not happy with the Bryant's conclusion. Groom had argued that several conditions should be met before water services were extended.
Among the conditions Groom proposed were requirements that a design and engineering plan be submitted for the project; that the city find out if treated city water would be used for fire protection and landscaping or if it would be limited to residential use; and that the city set a time-frame for determining impacts on the existing water system.
"We're not saying that they couldn't have water," Groom told The Nugget, " but these things should be looked at before we go forward because this is going to affect every citizen of Sisters."
PMR developers have consented to be annexed to the city, which is required before services can be extended.
The developers have noted that the city already provides water to users outside the city limits. They have also agreed to work closely with the city in the design of their water system and have agreed to drill a well for the city, if the system needs it, at a location of the city's choosing.
Anti-growth activist Howard Paine, who advises the Committee to Save Sisters, has argued that granting water services before annexation conflicts with the Sisters Comprehensive Plan. Paine insists that implementing ordinances should be adopted to clear up when and how services are extended.
The city council agreed to work on implementing ordinances for the extension of services, and encouraged citizen input.
However, as Councilor Sheryl Whent noted, any new conditions would apply only to future applications.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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