News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters residents can weigh in on a new development code being crafted by the City of Sisters at public hearings on Wednesday, June 20, and Thursday, June 28.
The Model Development Code & User's guide for Small Cities, created under the auspices of the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the Oregon Department of Transportation, provides a simple format for rules covering residential, commercial and industrial development.
According to city planner Neil Thompson, the code will replace the Sisters zoning and subdivision ordinances with a single, more compact document.
The code is, at least in part, a response to the new development potential unleashed by the Sisters sewer system. The code will "increase flexibility in the amount and kinds of uses allowed in all zones," according to Thompson. "While this may increase housing and business options, it will result in greater density in some neighborhoods."
The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development is paying a substantial part of the cost of crafting the new code. Some city officials worry that DLCD is pursuing an agenda of "densification" that is not compatible with Sisters.
"I have some reservations about -- for want of a better term -- the 'social engineering' aspect of it," Mayor Steve Wilson said in an interview in May. "I don't think the current culture of Sisters is going to adapt easily when zero-lot-line (multiplexes) start appearing."
Wilson said he worries that state land use planners want a density in Sisters that would lead to a population of 9,000 people or more in 20 years.
The City of Sisters could be liable for up to $5,000 in planning costs if the city council doesn't adopt the new model code this month. However, planner Thompson noted, he has budgeted for that eventuality and the crafting of the code is not being driven by a deadline.
Thompson does, however, hope for approval on June 28.
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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