Council upholds PC decision

Developer Peter Hall won affirmation from the Sisters City Council on Thursday to move forward with his residential project at the north end of Pine Street.

The Planning Commission decision relating to the proposed Clear Pine subdivision (MP 15-01) had been called up by two Council members to allow time for several concerns to be addressed. This situation has led to a new process being established so that when a notice of a Planning Commission decision is sent out to stakeholders and the City Council, there will also be included the conditions of approval.

City Councilors were faced with a Mount Everest stack of papers related to the matter at last week's meeting.

To be exact, their notebooks of materials relating to this and issues for discussion and decision were 497 pages in length. The agenda was lengthy, with the Peter Hall decision only one of 19 separate items for discussion and/or vote.

Councilor David Asson voiced his frustration with the quantity of material to study with a short time to review it.

"We can't prepare for such a topic. I'm discouraged about getting all this just today," he said.

In an attempt to partially remedy the situation, staff agreed from now on to provide the councilors with a one-page agenda item summary with salient points about each topic.

The call-up on the Peter Hall decision came because the Council needed clarification regarding the timing of the provision for affordable-housing (AH) units. In developer Hall's testimony last Thursday night he reported that "the AH units will be located in the multifamily (MFR) section of the subdivision. I will have to find a partner for the site plan of the MFR since I am not an affordable-housing developer."

In the original 2007 development agreement there was no condition regarding the timing of when the AH units were to be constructed once subsequent plans were approved. The April 30 Planning Commission decision kept the eight-unit AH requirement and accepted staff's recommendation regarding the timing sequence.

According to the April 30 Planning Commission decision, Hall or a third-party developer has 24 months from the date Hall obtains a building permit for Phase One (14 lots) to submit a site plan for the MFR zoned area of the development, including the eight AH units. Then, within 24 months of the approval of the MFR site plan, Hall or a third-party AH developer must make the eight units available for rent or sale. So it could be four years before those eight units are on the market. This was the type of timing requested by Hall.

Phase One of the Clear Pine subdivision is scheduled to break ground this month. In the 2007 agreement, Hall was required to build eight AH units in Tract A based on approval for a total of 62 residential units in Tract A and 11 additional lots outside of Tract A. Council's approval on Thursday night grants the right to construct 77 single-family homes in Tract A, none of which will be AH, and a minimum of 22 and a maximum of about 50 units in the MFR zone, including the eight AH units.

Sisters resident Ed Protas testified against the Council upholding the Planning Commission approval of Clear Pine as written.

"I am opposed to approval of the application. We have a lack of affordable housing, and this decision exacerbates it," he stated.

Hall pointed out that if the AH is not built as agreed, he can't go forward with the other phases of his subdivision. However, the written copy of the Planning Commission decision is not the same as the decision discussed by the commission at their April 30 meeting or recorded in the minutes of that meeting.

The Planning Commission had said that if the third phase was built out, there would be no more permits issued until the AH units were started, which appears to be Hall's understanding. That provision was not included in the written decision that was published and mailed out to stakeholders. The minutes from the meeting indicated that Patrick Davenport, community development director, came forward and clarified that the AH units are to be provided within 36 months of approval by City Council of the revised development agreement.

City Planning Director Davenport emphasized to The Nugget on Monday that the terms and conditions placed on Hall regarding affordable housing are "very easily enforceable." If Hall does not meet requirements, the City could withhold other approvals and/or building permits, Davenprot said.

Council voted unanimously to accept the Planning Commission's decision regarding the final conditions of approval for Clear Pine.