City tightens code requirements

The City of Sisters is trying to make its rules easier to enforce.

The Sisters City Council unanimously passed amendments to ordinance 324 in The Model Development Code for the City of Sisters on Thursday, January 22.

Brian Rankin, assistant city planner, said the new language emphasizes more clearly criteria that the city had already intended to communicate in the former ordinance.

"Before, if a developer wanted to rezone, he would have to demonstrate it would not have a negative effect on the city," said Brian Rankin, city planner. "Now they must update their plans (to meet the city codes) and get approval from the city council. The city had a harder time achieving the same end with the language of the (former) code."

The new ordinance directs zoning applicants to "update City of Sisters Master Plans for Water, Sewer, Parks and Transportation Systems subject to City Council approval, to reflect impacts of the rezoning on those facilities and long-range plans."

That paragraph also instructs the applicant to demonstrate the property will have adequate public facilities, services and transportation to support the maximum anticipated densities.

"Now they must look at the density," Rankin said. "Now they must examine at least the potential impact on water, sewer and streets. If it is negative, it must be remedied by the developer.

"We are trying to protect the infrastructure. We don't want to degrade the infrastructure with growth."