Planners ponder ‘formula food’ ordinance

Now that McDonald’s has made its way into Sisters, city officials — pushed by citizen outcry — are bracing for more franchise fast food.

Some feel that fast food chains threaten the Sisters image.

City planning commissioners are looking at a draft ordinance that would restrict such “formula food” institutions in Sisters.

A formula food restaurant is defined as franchises and corporations in which the ingredients, menus, décor, and uniforms are identical in six or more other restaurants.

The draft is still in its early stages of development, but the language covers a wide array of constraints on such businesses. It stresses the need that the formula food business be locally owned in order to “provide important economic benefits to the community, especially in terms of revenue that remains in the community.”

The draft limits the number of formula food restaurants to four and stipulates that they “be distributed and not concentrated throughout the city’s commercial areas. No formula restaurant shall be located within a 1,000-foot radius of a property line or lease line of another formula restaurant site.”

“It was felt by the planning commission that it would be better to not concentrate the formula food because that would have a tendency to diminish the character (of Sisters) more than if they were not concentrated,” said Senior Planning Director Bill Adams.

John Rahm, who serves on the planning commission said, “We would like for them to be invisible. I know that’s exactly the opposite of what they would like to be. They want the instant reaction and recognition from people driving into town. Their intention is to be totally unambiguous.”

The draft also stipulates that the formula restaurants meet standards conforming to the development code.

“There are some architectural standards here that will keep them from being conspicuous. We’re saying, by imposing aesthetics, that your typical formula food restaurant in Bend or Redmond or anywhere USA, is basically an ugly building with a plastic roof and a plastic sign,” said Rahm.

The central issue to Rahm and many people who have registered their dismay at McDonald’s arrival centers on a philosophical and aesthetic argument.

Rahm says that many people have come to Sisters and visit here “to get away from that sort of everywhere USA. They come here because it’s a unique experience. The more you dilute that experience with the same crap that is everywhere, then I think the more you dilute her (Sisters’) attractiveness to the tourist market.”

The City of Sisters is also writing in legal safeguards to protect the municipality from litigation by those who would feel restrictions impose upon their rights in a free market.

Rahm said that the city obtained a list of dozens of towns across the U.S. and emailed questions to about half a dozen of them.

One of the questions pertained to litigation. None of the towns that responded had any lawsuits filed against them because of formula food restrictions imposed upon entrepreneurs.

“Pacific Grove (California) said that there have been people that have come in there and threaten to sue,” said Rahm.

This Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the City Hall, the planning commission will have a workshop on the formula foods draft that is open to the public, but closed to public comment. On May 12, the planning commission will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. at Sisters Fire Hall.

Should Sisters restrict formula food restaurants? Tell The Nugget what you think. Comment online at http://www.nuggetnews.com or email [email protected]