Conflict brews over Sisters bridge

The Timber Creek subdivision east of Sisters Elementary School looks like a peaceful neighborhood but a disagreement over a bridge is escalating.

Right now, there is only one main access road for the more than 200 homes in that neighborhood. The original property owner agreed to build a bridge over Whychus Creek (formerly Squaw Creek) as part of the development agreement. But he has no plans to build the bridge.

That leaves the City of Sisters with a safety problem. And it leaves the current developer stuck in the middle.

“I guarantee if there was a fire or flood near the school, nobody is going to get out of there,” said Gary Frazee, Public Works Director with the City of Sisters.

“The bridge is essential,” said Brian Rankin, Planning Director for the City of Sisters. Rankin said the bridge not only provides an emergency route, it gives another convenient access point for residents.

But the original property owner, Bruce Forbes, is not moving forward to build the agreed-upon bridge. Forbes would need to contribute money from his own pocket since the city’s bridge fund won’t cover the rising cost of the bridge.

“It’s really not needed,” said Forbes.

Back in 1998, Bruce Forbes and Larry Schaefer applied to build a subdivision on the 40 acres of land they owned straddling Whychus Creek. As part of the approval, the city required them to construct a bridge over the creek connecting Timber Creek to the Creekside neighborhood, then out to Highway 126. Because Schaefer has since passed away, the responsibility for the bridge lies with Forbes.

The development agreement states that phase six of the subdivision, which is now underway, triggers the construction of the bridge. The city has issued permits for water, sewer and roads to Taurus Homes but that’s as far as the developer will get without a bridge.

“We will not issue building permits until the bridge is completed,” said Frazee.

This disagreement leaves Portland-based Taurus Homes in a “tight spot” according to the company’s president. Taurus will finish site work on phase six this summer and be ready to build homes.

“Our hands are going to be tied because Bruce Forbes is not putting in the bridge,” said Jeff Low, president of Taurus Homes.

Low expects the conflict to be “forced to a higher level” soon and may need to be solved through legal action.

Forbes said the city’s Transportation Systems Plan shows a future road to the north that makes the bridge unnecessary. But City Planning Director Rankin said if a fire or other emergency choked off East Cascade, residents would still have no way out. Low points out that Forbes’ opinion about the bridge “really doesn’t matter” since he originally agreed to build it.

As new homes have been built in the subdivision, developers have paid into a bridge fund held by the City. It now totals $248,000. Since the cost of concrete and steel have recently escalated, the bridge would cost more to build leaving Forbes to fund the additional.

“If he had fronted the money at the outset and built that bridge, it would have been a lot cheaper,” said Rankin.

Rankin said the city is working to get the bridge built to make Timber Creek safer for the growing number of residents.

Taurus Homes’ president wants to move forward and complete what would be their fourth phase in the Timber Creek subdivision. Low called it “unfortunate” that Forbes is not willing to stick with the original bridge agreement.