City will require affordable housing

Anticipating urban growth, the City of Sisters is trying to maintain the "feel" of Sisters and still provide adequate housing.

The Sisters City Council made a decision Thursday, January 22, that will shape commercial and residential development in areas currently just outside the city limits.

The council approved amendments to ordinance 324 of the Model Development Code for the City of Sisters. The new provisions limit commercial services and require some affordable housing.

If the city's Comprehensive Plan is adopted in the spring, the code will apply to three sections of land that will be added to the urban growth boundary: an area southwest of Pine Meadow Ranch; one northwest of Sisters High School; and one northeast, by the Edge of The Pines subdivision (see map, p. 16).

Each area will be zoned as a "neighborhood center" and will vary in size from about 30 to 50 acres.

The new ordinance adds a first-time guideline for developers requiring them to build at least 10 percent of the houses in the neighborhood centers as "affordable housing."

The ordinance also combines the city's previous residential and commercial development codes to create a "mixed-use" neighborhood. A mixed-use neighborhood gives the developer more freedom to plan the layout by allowing him to build a commercial building in a residential neighborhood, said Brian Rankin, city planner.

"It's like the carrot and the stick all at once," Rankin said. "There are good requirements (for affordable housing), but on the other hand, look at the flexibility. Developers have expressed approval of the arrangement."

The purpose is to attract developers, create a setting similar to the existing areas of Sisters and provide more affordable housing, Rankin said. The city has identified the need for affordable housing, but has disagreed on the best method to achieve that goal, Rankin said.

This ordinance takes steps towards that goal by requiring five percent of the housing units to be affordable to families making 30 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) and five percent be affordable to families earning 31 to 50 percent of the AMI.

The AMI for Deschutes County is $54,000, which means the affordable housing in these neighborhoods will apply to residents making less than $16,200 up to $27,000 per year, depending on classification, according to city planner Neil Thompson.

Developers will also be limited to developing no more than 10 percent commercial and 10 percent park or open space, according to a city report.

The ordinance gives a list of the commercial, residential and institutional buildings that can be built. It restricts the developers from building any commercial building with more than 5,000 square feet of floor space, or a width or length of 80 feet.

"A Wal-Mart and automobile places will not work," Rankin said. "We're limiting intensive commercial centers to preserve those along the highway and in the downtown area. The commercial (for the new neighborhoods) is only little stores."

The hope is to create a pleasant neighborhood which meets diverse housing needs and allows residents to stroll to the park, or to church and stores, Rankin said.

"It will be similar to the Sisters feel in existing neighborhoods," Rankin said. "They will be able to walk down the street and see different housing types and get coffee. It hopefully will decrease the use of the automobile because everything will be in walking distance. Maybe they will have a grocery store, a video store and some medical offices."