Support Gutenberg College

At the planning commission hearing last week the first of several hurdles was barely cleared by an applicant who is working to move a small college to Sisters. The former Multnomah Publishing building, across from the post office, has been vacant for over two years and the applicant, Gutenberg College, believes the building would be an excellent place to relocate from Eugene. I think it is a great idea, and so do several other folks.

More than 22 people testified at the hearing. Three had relevant words of caution, but none recommended a vote against the text amendment allowing a college or university to locate in the industrial park. Everyone else testifying was either in favor or enthusiastically in favor of approval. After a thorough review applying upper level planning criteria, even city staff recommended approval.

However, because the building is within the transitional light industrial zone, two planning commissioners voted against the text amendment. Their reasoning left me baffled, especially after hearing overwhelming testimony in favor of the amendment.

One of the no-vote commissioners stated that what was important was not what other communities did, but rather what we want in Sisters. He went on to imply that the development code should be written in stone and not held up to re-evaluation or scrutiny on a regular basis.

The other no-vote commissioner, with no experience in hands-on commercial development and its extraordinary costs, proposed that if the commercial code rather than industrial code was amended to allow colleges it would be much better for the school to buy raw land and build new rather than utilize a perfectly suitable and existing vacant facility located across the street!

This made about as much sense as another suggestion which was that, because the building was originally designed with loading docks for manufacturing, we the people should consider instructing the building owner to continue paying the mortgage, heat, maintenance and taxes for Lord only knows how many more years in the off-chance that someday somebody MIGHT want to use the building for something that is in strict conformance with the uses defined by the development code, like making widgets or a school for carpenters or machinists.

The current development code for the light industrial park allows for vocational schools, and one astute commissioner pointed out that his reading of the definition of vocational school would allow for a multi-year degree program in accounting.

Could someone please explain to me why an accounting or even trade school should be allowed in this building but a school of academic learning should not?

Unlike some of the folks that have sent me feedback following the hearing, I don't believe the two no-vote planning commissioners have any vendetta against this college or any other coming to Sisters. Rather they possess an uncompromising belief that land use should be neatly defined and separated into respective physical zones. There is obvious merit to this line of thinking in some limited situations.

However, the no-vote commissioners' recent words and actions relating to the college's site application have not been helpful or sensible. Fortunately, as we saw at the hearing, there are an abundance of levelheaded folks living in our area who have no intention of allowing well-meaning but extremist ideology to prevail over old-fashioned common sense.

This has been but one of several hurdles the college will need to leap over in their effort to move to Sisters. One of the next hurdles is the conditional-use permit application and again is heard and debated before the planning commission. Please consider coming to the hearing and doing your part to make it clear to the commissioners exactly what we the people want in Sisters.

Kris Calvin is the owner and operator of Earthwood Homes in the Sisters Industrial Park and a participant in the creation of the Sisters Development Code.