News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Mountain Shadows RV Park will be allowed to site semi-permanent "park model" trailers on as many as 13 percent of the park's 106 sites, as soon as the Sisters City Council gives final approval later this month.
The city council voted 3-1 on Thursday, July 27, to change Sisters' RV code to allow the trailers, which resemble small mobile homes. Because the vote was not unanimous, a second vote is required at the next council meeting, August 10.
RV park manager Tom Anderson has been negotiating with the city for over a year to win approval of the units, which he hopes will offer a year-round revenue source for the park.
Park model trailers are officially designated as RVs. Owners generally choose a site for the trailer, drop the axles off and build a deck around the unit. The owners use the trailer for a vacation cabin.
The city had been reluctant to allow the trailers, due to concerns about people using them as long-term residences.
Under the revised code, the park trailers may be occupied for 182 days out of any 12 month period. Mountain Shadows must keep account of the occupancy and faces a fine of $500 per day if lodgers overstay their time.
Decks must remain unattached and the wheels and axles have to be left on-site.
Tim Clasen cast the dissenting vote. He wanted to impose landscaping requirements of one tree per RV space1 as part of the approval, "just to break up the sea of RVs."
Councilor Lon Kellstrom acknowledged the desire to have more trees, but argued that imposing landscape requirements on the park now, long after it opened, would be unfair.
Mayor Steve Wilson doubted that planting 106 additional trees would be feasible, due to the park's extensive underground utilities.
Clasen also expressed some concern about allowing Mountain Shadows to monitor compliance with the occupancy restrictions. Wilson noted that the city can audit compliance, the same way room tax reporting is audited.
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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