Resort mapping goes before county

The future of Aspen Lakes as a destination resort is once again in the hands of the Deschutes County Commissioners.

More than a dozen local citizens gave often emotional testimony at the Deschutes County Commissioners public hearing on the county's destination resort remanning on Monday, April 5.

Most of those testifying opposed five new recommendations of the Deschutes County Planning Commission.

Supervisor Tammy Baney indicated several times that she had expected the number of potential resort sites to be refined to a smaller number of sites that would qualify and actually could be developed. If adopted, four of the five resolutions submitted by the planning commission, significantly increase the number of sites that could meet the criteria.

Derek Cornforth, representing The Rim at Aspen Lakes Association, neighbors to the Aspen Lakes subdivision, summarized the opposition: "Any reasonable interpretation of motions 2 and 4 is that they have been written specifically to support the efforts by planning commission chairman Keith Cyrus to convert the completed rural clustered subdivision of Aspen Lakes into a destination resort."

Motion 2 would remove staff recommendations that platted subdivisions become ineligible for destination resorts. Motion 4 would add cluster developments that have at least 50 percent of their sites dedicated to open space.

Sisters resident Merry Ann Moore testified that the planning commissions recommendations, if adopted, would set a bad precedent.

"This is an applicant-driven provision that would set a precedent for owners of other types of land to also ask for exceptions to rules that are supposed to apply to everybody," she noted. "A housing subdivision is not a resort. The process and rules for applying for a cluster development are different from those for a destination resort. The property rights of those living in and near cluster developments should be respected."

The Cyrus family's efforts to allow for conversion of Aspen Lakes to a destination resort were rejected in 2008 after numerous hearings. Planning commission chairman Keith Cyrus has recused himself from actually deliberating on and voting on decisions related to the destination resort zoning, but his influence on the process has been questioned by citizens.

Due to the apparent disconnect between the expectations of the commissioners and the recommendations of the planning commission, commissioners Baney and Alan Unger voted for a continuation until the April 19 meeting. Citizen input will also be taken at that meeting.

Peter Gutowsky of the county planning department submitted a matrix comparing state regulations to existing country requirements and to the proposed Planning Commission changes.

"I love a good visual," said Baney, asking that an additional column be added for citizen input. Links to copies of this excellent matrix and the supporting dialogue can be found at

http://www.co.deschutes.or.us/boardCalendar/docs/3085/Ordinances_001-002_-_Dest_Resort_Map_Amend.pdf.

At the commissioners' direction, the planning staff has been working to prepare a resort site development map that only includes properties that meet the state and local requirements and have a high probability of being developed.

Gutowsky noted that realistically 95 percent of all subdivisions are not likely to be developed as resorts.

Baney noted that the intention was to only allow sites back on the map that met the requirements and that strongly requested to placed back on the map.

The current planning commission recommendation puts all sites on the map unless a site specifically requests to be taken off.

The commissioners, local officials and those commenting were strongly supportive of the planning staff's efforts to bring this contentious and often confusing issue into a visual and verbal format that could be understood by those affected by the resort zoning and those voting on the issue.

It was noted by one observer that "We have as many approved but yet un-built 'resort lots' available as we have built in the last 30 years."