News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
After more than eight years and countless workshops, meetings and hearings, the plan that is to guide Sisters for the next 20 years has been sent on to the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) for approval.
The Sisters City Council unanimously voted in its Thursday, November 11, meeting to submit the Sisters Comprehensive Plan to LCDC and to Deschutes County. According to city planner Neil Thompson, the plan could be returned to the council for final adoption by January.
LCDC will check the plan for its compliance with state laws and statewide planning goals. The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners must also sign off on the plan.
The plan provides an inventory of different types of lands to meet the growth needs of the community. The plan establishes a new Urban Growth Boundary that includes approximately 90 acres of new residential lands, about 60 acres of industrial lands and 98 acres of "public facility zone" lands next to Sisters High School designated for a future campus.
The plan includes high density residential zoning made possible by the advent of a sewer system. According to Thompson, the possibility for duplexes and apartments and smaller lot sizes could affect housing costs in Sisters.
"Ideally, we're going to see a mitigation of housing costs," Thompson said. "Unless the economy goes bad, I don't think we'll see a roll-back in housing prices, but we may see a stabilization."
The Barclay Meadows property along Camp Polk Road and the school district's Lundgren Mill property are slated for industrial development in the comprehensive plan. Those lands are now in Deschutes County and a hearings officer is deciding whether to allow them into the UGB and rezone them as industrial properties.
The comprehensive plan is supposed to cover the next 20 years. However, growth in Sisters appears to be outpacing the plan's timetable.
"We're guessing at growth rates," Thompson said. "I'm thinking it's (going to last) more like 10 years."
Thompson believes the demand for residential property in the City of Sisters will increase as rural subdivisions fill up and land prices rise.
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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