Citizens to steer Sisters into the future

The process of shaping the future of Sisters — both figuratively and literally — is underway.

According to projections used by the state, the population of Sisters will nearly double by 2043. To meet the needs of a growing population, the City has embarked on the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion process. Over the next year the City will effectively decide where the city limits will be in 20 years. To aid in this work, the City has assembled the UGB Steering Committee, whose first meeting was held on Thursday, June 27.

According to the City’s project website, the core functions of the committee are to “review draft materials, assist with public engagement efforts, and make key recommendations to City Council.” The packet provided at the first meeting (and available on the city website) describes a key role of the committee as “making key recommendations to Council through a consensus decision-making process.” Before each meeting, the committee will receive draft materials and other required reading to better prepare to “ask questions and make informed recommendations to advance the project forward and make recommendations at key junctures throughout the process.”

The steering committee is scheduled to meet four total times throughout the process. These meetings are open to the public and are moderated by Scott Woodford, Community Development Director, and attended by various city staff. Also in attendance are staff of the MIG consulting firm, which has worked with the City on planning projects since 2019 and will continue to provide support throughout the UGB expansion process.

Mayor Michael Preedin appointed the 14 members of the UGB Steering Committee, including those representing specific interest groups and at-large community members. At the beginning of the June 27 meeting, members had time to briefly introduce themselves.

The interests of the City Council are represented by Preedin and and Councilor Jennifer Letz (Councilor Gary Ross attended the first meeting as an alternate in Letz’s absence). Art Blumenkron and Rick Retzman attend on behalf of the Planning Commission.

The forest interest is represented by Ian Reid, District Ranger for the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest. The farming interest is represented by Mel Petterson, who comes from a third-generation farming and ranching family out of Idaho, and who is also a former employee of the school district and current Director of Operations for the Roundhouse Foundation.

Two seats at the table are occupied by community members who own land in the study area just outside the current UGB: Bill Willitts, who is the managing partner of McKenzie Meadows, LLC, and whose family owns FivePine Lodge; and John Tehan, who owned a downtown restaurant for 30 years and has prior committee experience in Sisters.

The introductions of the six at-large citizen members began with Dr. Anna Rasmussen, a computational microbiologist, who graduated from Sisters High School and has called Sisters home for 20 years, and participated in the recent Civic Leadership Academy.

Therese Kollerer is on the Urban Forestry Board and works with the Sisters Community Leadership Initiative, partnering with the Forest Service to pick up trash from the unhoused living in the forest.

Brian Metolius is a renter in town, living in a house that “used to be John Tehan’s driveway” in the Saddlestone neighborhood, and is participating in his first committee.

Abhi Chaudhuri, who is married to a lifelong Sisters resident and has a four-year-old child, has a career in tech and is “interested in how Sisters grows in a sustainable and equitable way.”

Morgan Greenwood, who moved to town about four years ago and has children entering the middle and high schools in the fall, is a land-use planner who currently works for the Central Oregon Builders Association.

Susan Hallenberg lives just north of the current UGB and has spent her career in real estate, specializing in multi-family, market-rate, and affordable housing, and wants to avoid the “rampant growth…and seeing subdivisions pop up everywhere” that she saw in her previous home of Utah.

After introductions, most of the rest of the meeting was spent by MIG staff summarizing the UGB process, recent planning efforts in Sisters, a timeline of the project, and the Draft Land Need Report. The committee had access to the Draft Land Need Report before the meeting and were expected to have read it. Woodford also recommended they prepare by reading the city’s project website and story map dedicated to the UGB, which covered much of the same information presented during the meeting.

Some committee members believe they need more time to accomplish the work set before them. Metolius told The Nugget, “The first meeting was almost entirely informational after each committee member briefly introduced themselves. There are only three meetings left and there is so much work to do, that I sincerely hope that the coming meetings are more discussion-led.”

Chaudhuri told The Nugget that he “found it helpful to get all the context up front,” but “at some point we’ll need an all-day workshop to hash out the proposal.” Regarding the three remaining meetings, he added, “I think more time will be needed. There’s so much content and analysis to get through, unless we are expected to rubber stamp the consultant’s proposal — which I’m certainly not at this stage.”

Though there was no time for open discussion during the meeting, committee members did have about 20 minutes to ask questions, which were mostly fielded by MIG. One table in the Land Need Report suggested that existing vacant land zoned for high density residential within the city limits is twice the amount the city will need over the next 20 years.

Chaudhuri said, “I’m kind of shocked by the high density residential having a surplus, given the housing affordability challenges…that’s very, very surprising. We’ve had so many conversations in the city about having higher density housing. Is there really this much of a surplus?”

In response, Mayor Preedin said, “The answer is no.”

During public comment Peter Winch aired concerns about two vacant lots, including one owned by his family, “appropriately being included in a buildable lands calculation.” The lots, which sit between Pine Meadow Village and the city limits, do not have road or utility access and are not currently buildable. These lots total 5.6 acres. MIG’s analysis found 22.6 total acres of vacant low-density residential in Sun Ranch, Pine Meadow Village, and elsewhere in the City.

The second meeting of the UGB steering committee is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, at 4 p.m. at Sisters City Hall.

“The committee is a great slice of the city, and the thing we all have in common is that we love Sisters and want to get this right,” Metolius told The Nugget. “If any of our fellow community members have input, we would love to hear from you.”

Editor’s note: Matt McClellan’s wife serves on the UGB steering committee.