News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A road runs through it?
The site of the Sisters Middle School -- or at least a portion of it -- will stay in public facility (PF) zoning to allow for the future placement of a couplet through the property.
The Sisters City Council affirmed that position during a workshop on Thursday, May 3.
The school district has promised to sell that property and use most of the proceeds to pay down bonded indebtedness if a new school bond passes May 15.
However, to get the $1.5 million estimated value of the property, the land would have to be re-zoned for commercial use. The zoning on the property was changed from general commercial (CG) to public facilities (PF) late last year.
Land in the PF zone would be considerably less valuable than commercial property.
"Given its location, the most appropriate zone for the old middle school is obviously general commercial," said school board chairman Bill Reed. "The city council is really just trying to provide for the possibility of a future road through a portion of the three-acre site."
Wilson noted that the draft of the Sisters Transportation System Plan calls for a couplet running along Hood and Main Avenues, to be constructed some 15 years in the future.
According to Wilson, if a couplet is needed, planners and citizens have expressed a clear preference for a Hood/Main couplet over a Hood/Cascade couplet.
"Our job is to look at all the needs and all the aspects of the community," Wilson said.
Both the city and the school district could end up getting what they want.
The school district could dedicate a portion of the property for the couplet and the rest of the property could be eligible for upzoning. That would probably increase the value of the property, creating more street frontage.
"The board is confident we can work with the city council and ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) to provide for any necessary road easement through a portion of the three-acre middle school property and at the same time maximize the proceeds from the sale of the property with commercial zoning," Reed told The Nugget.
Wilson said that such possibilities "ought to be discussed."
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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