An open letter to Sisters City Council

You all need to remember that the citizens of Sisters elected you to represent those of us who live in Sisters, not big builders that hit and run, not having to live with the consequences.

The previous administration allowed Hayden and others to violate codes and agreements. Who approved Sisters Woodlands? Who approved the ugly green fence? Who allowed those monster houses to be painted black? And who approved the steel monsters on Barclay? Previous administration did. And so did you. Why did they allow something so ugly in our city? Or, did the builder promise to keep the trees and didn’t? And now they want to increase commercial building because Bend has no more room. Great idea? Let’s make Sisters the next Bend!

I am happy to see you have paid some attention to the comments of the citizens of Sisters and are doing something positive with Sunset Meadows, requiring the builder leave more trees; they did reduce the number of houses.

However, they still need to hide the houses from scenic Highway 242, and they still need to make sure the homeowners in Brooks Camp are protected from the townhomes looking into their backyards and houses; they need to make sure traffic flow does not impact school traffic or other residents.

It is very important that the City monitors the contractor to make sure they follow the final agreement and plans and does not receive special treatment to violate city codes for setbacks.

Also, how many “affordable homes” will this create?

Next, look at the Sisters 2040 Comprehensive Plan. It was designed to protect and conserve Sisters’ natural beauty, the quality of our air and water and wildlife habitat, and we want Sisters to maintain our small-town look. I am guessing that our planners and City Council didn’t read or understand what the citizens want. So, let’s let the big builders from out of town cut down our old, big historic trees, add many more cars to our roads, and drive wildlife out of their natural habitat. So let’s give away everything Sisters stands for and what the citizens want, just so big builders can make more money.

The previous administration gutted the Chamber of Commerce and took it over themselves. How effective will that be? Now you hire an executive director for Explore Sisters, to make us a destination. How much will that cost the Sisters taxpayers and what is the return on investment for our businesses and the taxpayers? What does it mean to insure “the right person at the time in the right place?” Sounds a little snobby to me. I think the Chamber had done a great job on this in the past, at less cost to us, the taxpayers.

Now the owner of property that the Space Age gas station sits on is going to build a truck stop. They will force C&C Nursery, our major source of plants and shrubs, to close their location and find a new location or force them out of this business. They are our local friends and have been a major part of our community for years. Richard’s Farmstand will be gone. How about the impact on our classic Sisters motel? It has been a big part of Sisters for a long time.

Does Pliska Investments really care?

This decision will be made by the Community Development staff, with no input from the citizens/tax- payers of Sisters unless the Planning Commission or the City Council (the people we elected to represent us, not big business) decides to do so.

Highway 20 is a state highway. We can’t reconfigure it, so where will traffic go? Down Hood or Washington or Jefferson? What will that do to our streets? Will Pliska pay for the repairs? By the way, we currently have five gas stations. Do we need more?

Once again, big business wants to move in, impacting the citizens of Sisters. Will we have any input into this?

Again, remember we voted for you, the City Council, to represent the tax paying Sisters residents, not other folks who don’t live here and don’t pay taxes. How much more of Sisters are you going to give away? Remember, it is your responsibility to protect us!