City council backs Aspen Lakes

In a 3-2 vote on Thursday, the Sisters City Council agreed to send a letter of support for Aspen Lakes to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners.

The decision came over the strenuous objections of local citizens who turned out to comment.

"The Sisters City Council wishes to express its support for retaining Aspen Lakes cluster development on the county's map of destination resort-eligible lands," the letter reads.

Despite the fact that the discussion of the letter did not appear on the advance copy of the council agenda or on the agenda at the meeting, four local opponents of the conversion of the Aspen Lakes subdivision to a destination resort learned of the meeting and were allowed four minutes each at the beginning of the meeting to express their concerns.

Two residents of The Rim at Aspen Lakes, Merry Ann Moore and Derek Cornforth, addressed what they perceive as the violation of the deeded open space agreement they were assured of when they purchased their property.

"Many of your citizens have paid premium prices to be part of this rural environment," said Cornforth.

Both also addressed the apparent violation of county and state statutes in converting a cluster development to a destination resort. Moore pointed out the danger of such development to the restoration of Whychus Creek due to the already over-appropriated water rights.

Finally, Moore addressed the issue of consistency in pointing out the council's 2008 resolution (2008-23a) expressing "...concern about the potential impacts of development... regarding a proposed Aspen Lakes destination resort." Also noted was the Sisters planning staff's written policy concerns at the time.

Mayor Lon Kellstrom was quick to point out that

"...past council decisions can't bind us," though the 2008 resolution was passed by unanimous vote with current council members Kellstrom, Sharlene Weed, and Bill Merrill signing.

Kellstrom has, in the past, opposed the council's weighing in on issues outside the city's jurisdiction. He was against the city taking a position on the Oregon Department of Transportation proposal for a passing lane on Highway 20 and opposed a previous council's resolution in support of SB 30 regarding destination resort development in the Metolius Basin.

Kellstrom told The Nugget that his change of attitude on such actions reflects the current economic situation.

"I think that changes the parameters," he said.

The passing lane "is a traffic deal," he said. "It doesn't affect our economics."

Council member Bill Merrill referred to the letter as irresponsible, unnecessary, and outside the area of the council's responsibility. He spoke strongly of his objections on the grounds that there had been no evaluation of the financial or social costs or benefits of a development that could easily house 2,000 residents at peak summer use.

Merrill and Sharlene Weed both expressed concerns about the lack of citizen input as to the appropriateness of the letter of support. They both also indicated that they did not feel comfortable with supporting a special case that was only of benefit to a single developer.

"This is simply not good government," said Weed.

City Manager Eileen Stein supported the letter, indicating that it reflects past council policy while addressing the long way to go for final resort approval and development.

Councilors Kellstrom and Pat Thompson spoke strongly in favor of the letter, noting that it spoke to exactly the kind of activity that the council supports. Both argued that the huge tourism draw would benefit the entire area.

Kellstrom told The Nugget that the council majority believes that conversion of Aspen Lakes to a destination resort would be a boon to Sisters.

"We think it would be a help long-term for Sisters," he said. "We're under no illusions about the difficulty (of conversion). I don't know if they'll get there or not."

Councilor Jerry Bogart expressed his support for the concerns that Merrill had raised, but in the face of Kellstrom and Thompson's strong support ultimately voted for sending the letter unchanged save a comment about the Whychus Creek concerns.

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet July 28, for what is expected to be their final consideration of the destination resort mapping issues. There appear to be three potential outcomes.

They could vote to approve the ordinances and procedures as they stand including the special amendment retaining Aspen Lakes on the destination resort map. They could vote to accept the ordinances and procedures excluding the Aspen Lakes amendment. Or they could deadlock, which would leave the map unchanged, with Aspen Lakes on the map and with no procedures in place to add or delete properties from the map.

Even with passage in some form, failure to pass the ordinances and procedures by a unanimous 3-0 vote would delay the implementation of the proposals until September 2011.

There are two steps to converting the Aspen Lakes properties to a destination resort. The first step is "mapping," which is the issue currently under heated discussion. The second step is "siting." The siting step involves impact statements, zoning reviews, etc. The commissioners and county planning staff have expressed their opinion that the conversion of a cluster subdivision to a destination resort will require a change in state law.

See the text of the city's letter at http://www.nuggetnews.com.

In related news, the foreclosure auction for the Aspen Lakes Golf Course and Lodge was rescheduled for 11 a.m. on September 15, according to the law firm handing the foreclosure for Premier Bank.

Sources at the firm indicated that this was "typical" for this type of proceeding and that it didn't indicate any particular change in status between the bank and Aspen Lakes. No notices are sent out other than to the county for scheduling.

When contacted, Matt Cyrus said, "That is news to me. We essentially have an agreement. Our attorneys are passing the final agreement back and forth to the bank's attorneys to resolve what are really technical details."

Editor Jim Cornelius contributed to this report.