News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters was roiled by controversy last spring and summer over whether “formula food” restaurants should be allowed in the city.
The rhetoric on both sides of the question grew heated. Some citizens thought Sisters’ very essence as a community was threatened; others thought restrictions on such establishments violated basic American tenets of free enterprise.
The battle came to a head in June when the Sisters City Council rejected a proposed ordinance limiting the number of formula food establishments in town. Some citizens sought to put the matter before voters.
Then the controversy took an interesting turn. Battle lines that looked as through they were being drawn in indelible colors were suddenly erased and a group of citizens sat down to hammer out a compromise in the form of new guidelines for drive-thru establishments.
The committee that agreed to tackle the subject represented development and business interests as well as concerned citizens who sought to restrict franchises. The committee members were: Dick Carpenter, Rob Corrigan, Darren Layne, Chris Mayes, Steve McGhehey, John Rahm, Steve Rodgers and Carey Tosello.
Last week, the committee completed its work and sent it on to the Sisters Planning Department.
The guidelines, if adopted by the city, would impose new spacing requirements to avoid clusters of fast-food drive-thrus and force such operations to screen their drive-thrus from visibility. The guidelines also specify some architectural standards to ensure that the city’s Western theme is truly met.
Rob Corrigan acted as facilitator for the group. He acknowledged that getting all sides to agree wasn’t always easy.
“We certainly logged a lot of hours, let’s put it that way,” he said.
The controversy had festered long enough that people’s feelings on the issue were sensitive.
“Emotionally, people were extraordinarily far apart,” Corrigan said.
Corrigan said its a tribute to the character and commitment of the people involved that they stuck with the difficult process and came up with an end product that could be useful.
“It’s a really good group of folks that we had there that stuck with it,” he said.
While the impetus was dealing with franchise food establishments, the rules have broader application.
“The intent of these guidelines is to define basic parameters for the design and construction of future restaurants and other businesses in Sisters having a drive-up / drive-through program, such as banks or coffee kiosks,” the committee wrote. “These recommendations are meant to supplement the existing Sisters city ordinances.
“These recommended guidelines are intended to help break down the formulaic architectural treatments frequently applied to these types of buildings and better integrate them with the existing architectural context of Sisters without compromising the function of the business. By doing so, we hope to better preserve the unique visual character of the Sisters community as a place to live or visit.”
The guidelines offer spacing requirements that seek both to avoid clustering bunches of drive-thru business or completely isolating one.
“We recommend that no more than one drive-up, drive-in, or drive-through facility shall be permitted on the same linear frontage between two city streets at a distance of less than 400 feet,” the committee wrote. “In no case shall more than two drive-up, drive-in or drive-through facilities be permitted at the same intersection.”
While he acknowledged that spacing requirements were an important element of the package, Corrigan emphasized the importance of auto “stacking” restrictions.
He said that lines of cars at a drive-thru are a form of advertising — passersby see a line and know there’s a restaurant or coffee kiosk. So requiring such businesses to screen their “stacking” area is a significant impingement, Corrigan noted.
However, it is also a key to preserving some of the visual qualities people value about Sisters and retaining a pedestrian-friendly image.
The guidelines specify that: “The drive-through feature and car parking should be screened with landscaping berms, dense landscaping, retaining walls, or other features that allow light and facilitate ventilation but visually screen cars that may be stacked at the drive-through facilities.”
Other requirements include “tasteful” signage, face lighting, pedestrian-friendly amenities and architectural standards that avoid the appearance of a utilitarian “box.”
The guidelines will now go to the Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission for review and from there on to the Sisters City Council for possible adoption as ordinances.
There will be several opportunities for public input along the way.
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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