News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The City of Sisters continues to hone the details of changes to its code for transient merchant licensing.
At a workshop last month, financial officer Lynn Fujita-Conrads took input from city councilors on proposed changes to the code. Any changes will have to go through a public hearings process and be formally approved by the council.
Confusion over code created contention recently, especially over an application by Celia Hung for a temporary-use permit for events on a privately owned lot on the corner of Cascade Avenue and Oak Street.
Under currently proposed language, the temporary-use permit would be replaced. A temporary business license could be obtained for the purpose of "conducting of a business of limited duration at a single location continuously operating for a minimum of four and a maximum 45 consecutive days." No renewals would be allowed on a particular property during one calendar year. A business operating more than 45 consecutive days would have to have a permanent business license and follow the City's land-use process. There would be a $100 application fee and a $10-per-day impact fee. A nonprofit would be charged only a $10 application fee.
Throughout the code revisions, nonprofits are given considerable consideration in terms of fees charged.
Transient vendor licenses for transient merchants would be limited to a three-consecutive day period, six times per calendar year per property, with a fee of $100 per day.
Public events would be defined as taking place on either public or private property and have different fees depending on the size of the event. A public event on private property would be defined as an event in the Downtown Commercial District involving more than 10 vendors/merchants. Public events on private property would be limited to a three-consecutive day period, six times per calendar year per property. Regardless of size of the event, there would be a $10-per-vendor fee.
Event promoter Richard Esterman, who attended the workshop, does not like the $10-per-vendor fee.
"No other city in Oregon does that," he said.
City attorney Steve Bryant urged the council to be clear about its goals so that he can help Fujita-Conrads craft effective language.
"From 30,000 feet, what do you want this to look like?" he said.
Councilor Chris Frye said, "We've had a lot of things that didn't fall into the old code, and we were making all these exemptions."
He said that the purpose of code reform, as he sees it, is to close loopholes, provide a rationale for fees and restrictions and be responsive to public comment on how events affect businesses on the newly remodeled Cascade Avenue. The revised code would also require compliance with the City's 1880s theme, which would "honor the remodel."
Figuring out how exactly a temporary event complies with the theme could be sticky.
City Planner Pauline Hardie said that it would be helpful "to clarify what 1880s means" in the context of events.
The council has also consistently expressed a desire to create "equity" for businesses in the downtown core that are invested year-round in the community.
The code language will likely be "work-shopped" at least once more before a formal revision is drafted and begins wending its way through the process.
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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