News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Oregon Supreme Court has thrown out an appeal of the Pine Meadow Ranch development in Sisters. Construction of homes is expected to begin next spring.
The Alliance for Responsible Land Use, Deschutes County, led by Howard Paine and William Boyer, filed the appeal last year. They challenged a county zone change that allowed high-density and standard-density residential development on approximately 50 acres of the ranch.
The Oregon Court of Appeals had earlier upheld the county decision. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on September 22.
"After they heard our oral arguments, they apparently decided it was not the appropriate case for them and they never should have heard this, in essence," said PMR DevCo. attorney Liz Fancher.
"We think it's an unfortunate decision," said ARLU DeCo. attorney Christine Cook.
ARLU DeCO. claimed Deschutes County never made the required findings that the PMR property was the most suitable for development compared to other properties, and did not use the correct data when presenting evidence that the city had reached a 75 percent level of development, necessaryfor approval of the zone change.
The dismissal probably marks the end of the legal road for the PMR opponents.
"I suppose it's conceivable that we could ask them to reconsider, but I don't believe we will," Cook said. "I think this appeal is finished. We've gone as far as we can go."
Developers were poised to carry on with the project as soon as the court decision came down.
"We're ready to move ahead as soon as we receive subdivision approval (from Deschutes County)," said PMR developer Steve McGhehey.
According to McGhehey, the county was to receive his subdivision plans on Friday, September 25. That means residential construction should begin sometime in spring or summer of 1999, McGhehey said.
Plans for the residential development call for 112 single-family homes and 109 "clustered homes."
According to McGhehey, the "attached housing" - townhouses and flats - will be priced in the $129,000 to $200,000 range while single-family homes will start over $200,000 and top out over $300,000.
McGhehey said PMR DevCo. has received 90 "letters of interest" regarding homes in the development. The largest houses in the development will be approximately 2,800 square feet, McGhehey said.
PMR's commercial development at the north end of the meadow has continued unchallenged. McGhehey said he has offers on three of the nine commercial lots available. Plans call for a hotel and an assisted living facility and two restaurants.
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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