Citizens ponder future of USFS land

The fate of some 62 acres of Forest Service land at the western end of Sisters still looms large on the community's horizon.

The Forest Service needs to sell the land to finance construction of new headquarters facilities for the Sisters Ranger District, replacing its inadequate and aging current facilities. The City of Sisters and members of the community want to ensure that future development of the property is compatible with the character of the community.

Last week, citizens, planning consultants and city officials examined four potential options for future development - three alternative types of mixed commercial/retail/housing development and one that would make the property a park. (See story page 19 for details on the four options).

The three development options were crafted by planning consultants hired through $74,900 in Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) grants. The fourth park option was developed as part of the City of Sisters' ongoing parks master plan process.

All the options were discussed at a community forum on Wednesday, June 15, followed by a city council/planning commission workshop on Thursday morning.

City Manager Eileen Stein explained that the options were developed to "eliminate some of the uncertainty" regarding what can be done with the property. That uncertainty is cited as one reason the property failed to receive any bids when it went up for auction in August 2008.

All of the options for potential development fall below the threshold that would trigger the state's Transportation Planning Rule (TPR), which would force a developer to provide extensive and expensive mitigation for traffic impacts - impacts that could be delineated anywhere from Salem to Bend.

Mayor Lon Kellstrom noted in the Thursday-morning workshop that the options presented get rid of that hurdle to a sale.

"That's a deal-killer from the word go," he said. "It's not now. That's huge, not to have to deal with that (the TPR).

Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony spoke at the beginning of the public forum Wednesday evening.

"We fully understand that if this property does sell, it will be a big change for the community," he said. "It's also a big opportunity."

Anthony noted that, "we're required to get fair market value for the American public for the sale of public lands."

It's not clear what that fair market value will be. The Forest Service sought at least $14 million in the auction last year to cover the cost of constructing new facilities and to contribute to a new headquarters site in Bend.

The Bend site has been built, funded with stimulus money, removing that need from the equation. And construction prices have plummeted in the past three years.

"Our facilities are the same," Anthony told The Nugget. "What's different is the construction adjustments."

While some estimates put the potential cost reduction at 25 to 30 percent - which would reduce the bill from $14 million to between $9 and $10 million - no definitive estimate of the property's value has been established.

"That's still a piece of work I'm trying to get our staff to do, to get an estimate of that," Anthony said.

Advocates of turning the acreage into a park noted that it might be simpler for a public entity or entities to come up with the money to pay for the land than it would be for the private sector to act in the current economic climate. However, no source of public funds has yet been identified, and it remains to be determined whether the Forest Service would be willing or able to engage in a direct sale rather than a competitive bidding process.

In creating the three development options, planning consultants provided a market analysis that identified advantages for development, along with significant challenges.

The site's proximity to downtown Sisters, along with its visibility from the highway and the size of the site, make it attractive to developers. But the ongoing weakness of the economy, the deep inventory of retail space, residential units and light industrial space all pose challenges for a developer hoping to fill the space in a reasonable length of

time.

Based on input from the forum and workshop, city staff intends to bring a comprehensive plan amendment to the council and the planning commission to indicate that all four options are legitimate design options for the property.

Restrictions on the level of development would be enforced through zoning for a "plan district."

In the Thursday workshop, Councilor Pat Thomson - echoed by others - emphasized the importance of keeping the Sisters Ranger District headquarters, along with the associated jobs, in Sisters.

"One thing that's going to be a definite hit to our local economy is if the Forest Service says 'we're going to take those 50-100 jobs and move them 18 miles away to Bend,'" Thompson said.

While agreeing that keeping the Forest Service in Sisters is important, Councilor Sharlene Weed argued that the council's top priority should be ensuring that future uses of the property enhance quality of life in Sisters.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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