News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission, at its May 19 meeting, withheld approval for two new subdivisions in Sisters. Commission members said they needed more information on traffic and impact on the surrounding community.
Developers Mark Ford and Rick Francis of Bend are proposing a 56-lot subdivision called Coyote Springs off Locust Street. The development would occur in three stages, with a community drainfield occupying the third stage until Sisters' sewer system comes in.
Scott Buckles, representing 28 residents of the neighboring 4th Sister Lodge, testified that condominium residents are concerned about cars using their driveway to access the development. They also want to be sure there is a natural buffer between their homes and the new development.
"We're not sure that this development is in total harmony with what we've got going there," Buckles said.
The developers said they are planning a project to "look like Sisters" and fit in. Ford said that the presence of a multi-unit housing complex could devalue adjacent lots, so "we are actually selfishly motivated to retain as many trees as possible in that area."
They offered assurances that traffic patterns in the development will not affect the 4th Sister driveway.
The planning commission withheld approval because a final traffic study for the development did not come in time to review before the hearing.
Commissioner Wayne Kimball also noted that the proposed design included lots that are smaller than the 10,000-square-foot minimum lot size required in Sisters. The lots were drawn in anticipation of smaller lot sizes requirements when the sewer comes on line.
However, Kimball said, plats should be submitted according to current law, not what the law may become.
The planning commission also continued the hearing on the 22-lot Creekside subdivision. That subdivision is a spin-off from Bruce Forbes' Timber Creek subdivision, which received preliminary approval for 14 lots earlier this year.
Bend builder Rob Orton hopes to develop 22 lots on the south side of Squaw Creek. The houses would use a community drainfield on Forbes' property on the other side of the creek.
The development would be on a long cul-de-sac, with a single highway access.
Orton can develop the 22 lots without triggering a need for alternate access, according to city planner Neil Thompson. Forbes can develop part of Timber Creek before that development needs a second access.
Commissioner Kimball pointed out a potential problem at Locust Street and Cascade Avenue by Sisters Elementary School, where traffic is already very heavy.
Commissioner Kimball argued that a bridge across Squaw Creek is needed to take traffic from the Timber Creek development to Highway 126. That route would cross the Creekside development.
Orton testified that the Oregon Department of Transportation does not want a bridge there.
Members of the planning commission expressed concerns that piecemealing development in the area will add traffic in the area without creating any solutions.
"It all ties together," Kimball told Orton. "It's not just your little part of it."
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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