Events planned on vacant city lot

Sisters entrepreneur Celia Hung has applied for a temporary use permit (TUP) to stage events on a vacant lot on the corner of Oak Street and Cascade Avenue.

Hung, owner of Bend/Sisters Garden RV Park, has a long-term lease from property owner Nick Veroske on the former Chevron gas-station site, which has been vacant for the past nine years. She plans a variety of projects, from food-pairing events to a motorcycle show to promoter Richard Esterman's Sisters Artists Marketplace on the weekend of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

Hung's plans have drawn fire from neighbors who were notified of the TUP application. City Planner Eric Porter reports receiving some 30 letters expressing concerns about the visual aesthetics, parking and whether the city's Western theme will be applied.

"The concerns raised are extensive," Porter said. "It would surprise me if this doesn't get appealed or called up by the planning commission."

From Hung's point of view, the concerns raised by neighbors are misplaced and based on rumors and anxieties rather than "correct information."

Some local folks have expressed dismay that a "tent city" will spring up at the west entrance to town, just as Sisters is completing a multi-million-dollar project to enhance its streetscape.

Hung points to the quality of her RV park as an indicator of how she plans to approach staging temporary activities. She and her staff have created an RV park that is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in the nation.

"With my involvement, I want to set the tone and the class of the place, so it won't be the runaway situation everybody has been so afraid of," she said.

For example, she said, she plans to have high-quality canopies erected on the site so it won't be a "tent city."

Hung's concept calls for some weekend events and some mid-week activities to draw local people from Bend and Redmond. Esterman, who is working as Hung's business and marketing director, said that the events will not be held continuously.

Hung said her desire is to bring in more visitors in the summer and to provide events at Thanksgiving and Christmastime that will extend the season.

"The slow season is really slow," Hung said. "Everybody suffers. I would like to generate much more traffic and build up the business in the area. That's my intention."

Hung has plans to build a hotel on property at Pine Meadow Village, and part of her motivation is to ensure that there is more off-season traffic to make such a project viable.

Porter told The Nugget that Hung will be required to comply with the Western theme, which may complicate the application. Hung points out that city code regarding the Western theme addresses buildings. It only refers to canopies as additions to structures.

"The bottom line is, a canopy is not structure," said Esterman.

Esterman asks whether the same standard would be applied to other events that use tents or canopies.

"Where are you going to draw the line?" he said.

Hung and Esterman have a solution in mind if the theme requirement sticks, but they intend to challenge its applicability.

"We're doing everything the city asks," Esterman said. "The city's been very accommodating and neutral. They're doing their job."

The 180-day TUP application has been deemed complete, Porter reported. The planning staff expects to render a decision this week - then appeals can begin.

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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