News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters will add 30 acres to its Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) as a result of long-awaited approval of the Sisters Comprehensive Plan by the city council on Thursday, July 28.
The plan, which is to guide Sisters’ development for the next 20 years, includes the expansion of the UGB to include what is now known as the McKinney Meadows Village property near Sisters Middle School owned by the family of the late Bill Reed, Bill Willitts and Curt Kallberg.
The land will become a master-planned residential development, according to the developers’ attorney, Steve Janick.
Kallberg told the council the developers plan “to make this (development) the crown jewel of Sisters.”
Plans call for “one-in-10 affordable housing” and housing for seniors.
Kallberg told The Nugget after Thursday’s public hearing that details of the affordable housing have not been worked out.
One idea, he said, was to build shells for Habitat for Humanity that would be finished out by volunteers and Habitat families.
Kallberg emphasized that it was important to all the developers that the “affordable housing” look the same as other housing in the development.
The expansion wasn’t without controversy. Other developers whose land didn’t make the cut argued against the move.
Tia Lewis, an attorney representing John and Peggy Tehan, who seek inclusion of 10 acres of land they own at the northeast end of Sisters, argued that the Tehan land should have precedence because it is “exception land” under state law. That non-resource land has a higher priority for urbanization under state planning guidelines.
The McKinney Meadows property is designated resource land.
However, city planner Bill Adams argued that the McKinney Meadows property would be bumped higher on the priority list because it better suits the city’s needs for development, offering a bigger chunk of land in close proximity to schools and churches with sewer and water services readily accessible.
Doug Sokol of Pine Meadow Ranch argued with passion and at length that the city should include much more acreage — including a portion of Pine Meadow Ranch.
“That’s the purpose of the UGB, to plan for the future,” he said.
City planners had originally intended to bring more than 100 acres into the UGB with the comprehensive plan update.
But a downward-revised population forecast forced the city to recalculate the amount of land needed for development.
Adams said the city could bring in more land “at our peril” — meaning it would jeopardize county and state approval of the comp plan.
The board of commissioners and Department of Land Conservation and Development must sign off on the plan.
Still, some on the council clearly believe that 30 acres will not be enough to accommodate demand for housing.
“All the lands will be brought in,” said Mayor Dave Elliott. “It’s just when.”
Councilor Lon Kellstrom sees the timeline as a short one.
“We’ve been talking about being back at the table in five years,” he said. “And that’s going to happen.”
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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