Food stand saga has more twists

The saga of the Wild Mountain food stand at the east end of Sisters continues to unfold with a variety of unexpected twists.

The Sisters planning commission did not support owner Ky Karnecki's request for a development code revision that would allow temporary structures to remain on-site year-round. At their meeting last Thursday, the Sisters City Council appeared to back the planning commission, but a procedural issue postponed final action to the April 12 meeting (see related story, page 5).

In January, the Sisters City Council voted in a temporary 90-day extension of Karnecki's temporary use permit (TUP) to allow Karnecki to remain open and to give him time to press his case to the planning commission, which he did to no avail.

Karnecki was also campaigning to make the temporary 90-day extension a permanent extension. This concept too failed to get support from the planning commission.

Karnecki and his vocal supporters have accused the city staff, city council and planning commission of being hostile, giving preferential treatment to a similar business, and exercising unequal enforcement of the pertinent codes.

There are currently only two current Sisters businesses affected by the TUP conditions under discussion. Richard's Produce, behind Space Age Gas, which has been selling seasonal agricultural products for the past 12 years, and Wild Mountain, where Karnecki has been selling jerky and mushrooms since 2011.

Within the past several weeks, city staff discovered that Richard's Produce was granted permanent status in the year 2000, after a site plan review, under different rules and with an entirely different planning staff.

Deputy planner Eric Porter told The Nugget that when he came to the city as planning director in 2007, he was unaware of the earlier decision granting Richard's Produce permanent status. He put Richard's Produce on an annual TUP cycle. Apparently out of confusion, Richard Greene did not mention his 2000 review status, and paid his fees and operated as a TUP business.

Richard's Produce was never required to comply with the building removal clause of the TUP. However, both Richard's and Wild Mountain received written notification earlier this year that at the end of their 2012 TUP they would have to remove their buildings. The recent discovery of Richard's Produce's permanent status exempts Greene's business from this requirement. Some questions about ADA compliance remain.

Observers of the situation question how one stand received no enforcement action (which would have been moot if anyone knew of its permanent status anyway) while another came under scrutiny.

Porter indicated that due to the size of the city and the small city staff, code enforcement is largely "complaint based."

If no issues are raised about a business, it may escape attention, even if it is not completely compliant with codes.

At the end of Wild Mountain's current 90-day temporary extension, Karnecki will be able to apply for a 180-day TUP for his business. This means that under any circumstances, Karnecki will not be required to move his structure until November 2012.

In both oral and written statements, Karnecki's supporters have implied that the requirement to remove the building each year was a surprise to Karnecki. However, in Karnecki's original application for a TUP, Karnecki describes his proposed building as "...an 8-foot by 16-foot structure constructed on skids for access and removal." Porter also reports having discussions with Karnecki about having "... a building that could be easily removed."

Porter declined to comment on Karnecki's contention that Porter told him that the removal clause would probably not be enforced.

The city has recently reduced the cost of a site plan review for permanent status (for buildings between 200 and 1,000 square feet) from $2,000 to $500.

Karnecki has been encouraged to apply, but as he stated publicly at the most recent city council meeting, his current business plan does not support the expense.

He would have to add at least sidewalks and curbs to his existing site.

To add a final colorful twist to this saga, the food stand is apparently going to have a moment in the national spotlight.

Karnecki has reported that an article on Wild Mountain and its unique offerings will be in featured in an upcoming issue of Martha Stewart's Living magazine.