Habitat partition plans rile neighbors

Merl Monroe stands by one of three houses that may be moved in across the street from his home. Photo by Jim Cornelius

Plans to put three Habitat for Humanity homes on a 16,770-square-foot-lot have raised the ire of neighbors in Edge of the Pines at the east end of Sisters.

Several neighbors argue that siting three homes between Maple Lane and Tamarack Lane creates too much density for the neighborhood.

"We feel they're just trying to crowd too much on there," said Merl Monroe, who lives across Tamarack Lane from the site. "The people immediately around it are set against it."

Monroe said he has no objection to affordable housing in his neighborhood. In fact, Monroe has worked on eight Sisters Habitat for Humanity homes in Sisters.

The Sisters Habitat for Humanity proposal would partition the lot into three smaller pieces of 6,256 square feet, 4,880 square feet and 5,634 square feet.

The minimum lot size in the City of Sisters is 6,000 square feet, but Habitat is taking advantage of a 25 percent affordable housing bonus that allows lots as small as 4,500 square feet.

The Sisters Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors issued a statement, saying that "we acknowledge that some current residents do not welcome the increased density that is occurring. Nonetheless, we take seriously our obligation to make maximum use of our resources in faithfulness to our mission to provide affordable, decent housing to eligible families in Sisters."

The lot was sold to Habitat For Humanity by Wayland and Alice Ann Stephenson for $80,000 -- well below it's $130,000 market value. That is the kind of donation Habitat relies on.

"The way it is now," said Sisters Habitat Executive Director Sharlene Weed, "if we don't put a (third) house there, that's $30,000 (in land value) that we're losing.

"That's hard fought-for money," she said. "That's donations, that's grants, that's Thrift Store volunteers working their hearts out."

The current controversy reflects a kind of "culture shock" that has been rippling through the City of Sisters since a sewer and new codes have allowed greater density.

Last spring, then-Mayor Steve Wilson said that some residents feel that the character of their neighborhoods --with big, pre-sewer 10,000-square-foot lots -- is being radically altered.

Dave Ellison, who lives next to the proposed Habitat partition, certainly feels that way.

"We bought this house because we wanted some space," Ellison said. "Now we're all going to be crammed together; the kids won't have any place to play. It's just wrong.

"I don't know where the city gets off (partitioning) lots into such small parcels anyway," he said.

City Planner Neil Thompson will take comments on the application for partition until December 13. He said he has not completed his review, but he said his initial impression was that it would meet the requirements for approval.

According to Weed, neighbors have been invited to share their concerns with the Sisters Habitat for Humanity board of directors at their monthly meeting on the third Tuesday of each month.

For more information call 549-1193.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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