News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters voters will decide May 18 whether to annex all the land within the city's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).
The Sister City Council unanimously agreed at its Thursday, February 24, meeting to put the annexation measure before the voters.
"I think it's time to get this on the ballot so the voters can tell us what they want," said councilor Maggie Hughes.
Only residents of Sisters will vote on annexation. The city has already obtained consents for annexation from more than 50 percent of the landowners in the area that would be annexed. According to City Administrator Barbara Warren, 20 out of 37 property owners have returned consent-to-annex forms. Two have refused consent; 15 others have not returned forms.
"By getting the consent to annex in this way, you eliminate the vote in the contiguous area," city attorney Steve Bryant told the council.
Sisters Mayor Steve Wilson said the city stands to gain some $9 million in taxable assessed value in the annexation. Another approximately $10 million in assessed value is not taxable because the land belongs to churches or schools.
"This isn't going to facilitate some kind of growth," Wilson said, noting that three major subdivisions (Pine Meadow Ranch, Timber Creek and The Pines) have already won approval for development from Deschutes County.
In a separate action, the council agreed to put the proposed Barclay Meadows Business Park on the ballot for annexation after the developers have completed required land use procedures including inclusion in the UGB and a zone change.
Barclay Meadows had previously asked to be placed on the ballot for an "advisory" vote which would pre-approve annexation after land use procedures were completed. However, state officials told the developer and the city that they do not approve of that process.
Barclay Meadows attorney Tia Lewis told the city council that the developers hope to have their work completed in time for the September election.
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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