Sisters working through growing pains

Sisters has long been called the "gateway" to Central Oregon, implying that it is a place people pass through on their way to somewhere else.

No longer is Sisters just a stop along the way. It is growing into the place to stop, put down roots, and stay. The residents of the city (2,573+) and surrounding Sisters Country (close to 10,000) are facing all the usual issues that crop up as a small rural town experiences growing pains.

Will the influx of new residents and more tourists spoil the very character of Sisters that draws people here? Can more traffic, more houses, and more people be successfully incorporated and still maintain the small-town, neighborly atmosphere?

The current Sisters Country Horizons visioning process is uncovering through surveys and meetings these questions and concerns and many others. When it all gets boiled down, the main concern seems to be growth versus livability and all the issues that surround that tension.

"Virtually everyone values our rural, small-town feel and access to nature - and they see growth as a challenge to those things," said Community Development Director Patrick Davenport. "At the same time, they see the opportunity for well-managed growth to bring things we really need, such as family-wage jobs and affordable housing."

While treasuring the natural environment of Sisters Country along with the commitment to community and a small-town feel, survey respondents cite traffic, growth, and housing for middle-income and low-income earners as major challenges to the community's quality of life.

The three top elements most valued by residents and visitors are the natural environment, the small-town feel, and the sense of community. The three biggest challenges facing the future of Sisters Country are seen as growth, affordable housing, and maintaining Sisters' character.

The top four vision ideas for the future of Sisters include: solve traffic, maintain Sisters' character, keep the small-town feel, and manage growth.

"Totaling input from all sources (online and printed surveys, meetings, and individual interviews), we had nearly 1,000 submissions from members of the public by the end of May," Davenport said. "And there's a high level of agreement regarding what people value about Sisters Country, the challenges they see facing us, and their visions for the future."

Issues currently being considered by the Sisters Planning Commission and the City Council mirror the concerns raised by the residents.

Council has spent over three months in workshops and meetings considering a revised noise ordinance (see related story, page 1).

The recently completed Transportation Safety Plan (TSP) refinement calls for increased connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists and the installation of several new roundabouts to improve traffic flow through town.

Council is also considering adoption of a construction excise tax (CET) to be levied on all new residential and commercial building to help provide needed funds for workforce and low-income housing. (See related story, page 3.)

Hayden Homes has been looking at building 199 new homes on the former McKenzie Meadow property next to the high school. At last week's Council meeting, Jeff Harris of Hayden Homes indicated that the approval of a CET might preclude their building the project, which has already been opposed by a number of Sisters

residents.

At the same time, due to a lack of affordable housing for middle- and low-income families, Sisters' school enrollment has been declining or flat. Businesses also have difficulty finding and keeping employees because they can't afford to buy or rent a home in Sisters, if they can even find one.

In 2017, Council agreed to provide $300,000 to help bring 48 low-income apartments to Sisters.

Short-term rentals have become another point of contention, with Realtors and investors in favor of little or no regulation, while local residents fear they are losing their neighborhoods to transient strangers. Owners are converting long-term rentals into short-term rentals, which exacerbates the problem of not enough long-term rentals in town.

The very issues, ideas, and core values surfacing in the visioning project are reflected in current activities, concerns, and projects in the area. The goal of the Sisters Country Horizons Community Vision is to find community consensus on the most pressing challenges facing Sisters Country and adopting strategies and specific action items to address those challenges so that, in the future, the residents will be living in the community they envisioned.

"The findings of the Community Input Report are very close to the 80-plus interviews we conducted back in March and April," said Ruth Williamson of NXT Consulting Group, which is advising the project. "There is a sense that this is a pivotal moment in the history of Sisters Country and that - if we do things right - our community can build on what is already great about this place to become an even better version of itself. As one person said, this is our legacy moment and we can't afford to miss it."

For more information, visit the Sisters Country Horizons website at www.sisters horizons.org or email [email protected] The project can be found at www. facebook.com/sistershorizons.