County approves final destination resort map

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on November 21 approved a destination resort map that reduced the acreage available for destination resorts from more than 112,000 acres to 22,000 acres.

This decision has no impact on the controversial inclusion of the Aspen Lakes properties on that map. Lost in the tussle over the inclusion of the Aspen Lakes properties on the map back in early 2010 was the fact that the county was actually trying to reduce and simplify their draft map.

In March 2010 the county commissioners directed the planning staff to refine their draft of the county's first-ever resort site development map to include only properties that met the state and local requirements, and had a high probability of being developed.

Much of the land removed from the resort eligibility map with this most-recent decision actually did not qualify for resort development because it did not meet requirements such as having 160 contiguous acres.

In early September the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a finding by the state Land Use Board of Appeals which denied Central Oregon Landwatch's challenge to the county's destination resort map process.

There are still two steps required to build a destination resort in Oregon. First, the property must be mapped. Then, before any building can begin, the developer must go through the county and state planning process for a destination resort. Once initiated, this process provides significant opportunity for public input along the way.