News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
It took months of wrangling to iron out the details, but last Thursday the Sisters City Council unanimously agreed to create a new type of mixed use business zone for a 42-acre parcel at the north end of Sisters.
The zone was created specifically to address the plans for developer Dutch Pacific's Sun Ranch Business Park, but many of its provisions will also apply to the nearby Three Sisters Business Park, which is now entering the land use process.
The "North Sisters Business Park" zone combines light industrial uses with retail and professional services and residential units, which will be presented to create an intertwined "live-work" environment.
Developer Shane Lundgren has said he envisions retail shops and cafés and restaurants that would serve the needs of the folks working and living in the park - though of course they would be available to the rest of Sisters, too.
The zone restricts retail and professional services to 50,000 square feet each within the development. No drive-through businesses would be allowed.
"I look at this as we have a major agreement on where we're going," said city planning director Brian Rankin.
The agreement also requires that the developer provide seven units totaling 6,000 square feet of "affordable" housing, which must remain affordable for 50 years. The mechanism for maintaining that affordability has not been determined, but Rankin acknowledged that that requirement will limit the equity a homeowner can develop in the unit.
It is also not clear how maintenance will be handled to meet strict CC&Rs (Covenants, Codes and Restrictions).
"These are issues that ... we just have to work ... out," said Rankin. "We've set a lofty goal, and we have to figure out how to get there."
The zone also allows residential units on part of the property which will provide a buffer between the Trapper Point neighborhood and the commercial area.
Real estate developer Steve McGhehey, who is working with Lundgren on the project, said that there are a variety of possibilities for businesses, ranging from groups of commercial condominiums with residences on top to larger spaces.
He said that Bird Gard of Sisters will move into a 10,000-square-foot space in the park.
Most small manufacturers or product developers are interested in smaller spaces, McGhehey said.
"Most people coming to Sisters don't want to drop $5 million," he said. "They want to buy something for $400- $500,000."
Land use consultant Jon Skidmore said the council decision clears the way for investors to start taking concrete action, which could mean construction starting on the site by late summer or early fall.
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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