Zoning Proposal Status
The Deschutes Board of County Commissioners approved the two Ordinances that creating the Town Center zoning designation and amending the Deschutes County Code to add the definitions as proposed by SilverStar Destinations LLC. The two Ordinances can be found here: 2008-013 & 2008-015.OVERVIEW
Although there has been a lot of statements and rhetoric about the Town Center district being somehow reduced or there being some compromises the fact is that aside from the reduction in total acreage due to the failure of the land sale ballot (not due to any compromise) the actual Town Center district proposal language is essentially the same that was proposed over a year ago, only a little more obtrusive with potential increases in residential units via the addition of the FAR measurement method and increases in maximum building height via the height measurement language added for buildings with a parking garage beneath it.
- Building and enclosed structures footprints can be up to fifty percent (50%) of the gross acreage of the TC District.
- A new density measurement system for Deschutes County, Floor Area Ratio (FAR), has been included within the approved ordinances. They allow a FAR of 1.0 meaning that the total of all enclosed floor area of all floors of all buildings within the Town Center district cannot be more than 1.0 times the total actual land within the district. In SilverStar's case they have 17 acres allowing them a development size of 370,260 square feet. Below grade parking garages are not counted toward the enclosed floor area amount.
- The following heights are allowed:
Multi-Family (Stacked units) 50'
Townhomes (attached/side-by-side units) 40'
Others (to include Parking Garages) 45'
* Mixed Use buildings also may have a parking garage beneath the building that is not counted as grade for height measurement purposes. Building height is measured from the top of the parking garage or ten (10) feet above natural grade. This effectively gives the Mixed Use buildings an additional ten (10) feet of height to 70' and 85'.
** All buildings are allowed an additional ten (10) feet to be added for Projections and Architectural elements. This provision effectively adds ten (10) feet onto to all of the heights as stated in the ordinances.
*** Any building complying with these height limits is deemed to comply with the view protection requirements. This allows an exemption from the current view protection requirements in Deschutes County Code.
The Ordinances were passed despite the Planning Commissions vote to deny recommendation based upon no added provisions, and SilverStar did not incorporate any of the Planning Commissions major conditions into their language. It is also in spite of the Sunriver Special Election that was held that defeated the land sale to SilverStar for inclusion in this zoning change. And it was in spite of the hundreds and hundreds of letters in addition to public testimony given asking for a more moderated proposal and for the SROA Board and SilverStar to work with the community to reach some meaningful compromise and maks some modest changes for the good of Sunriver and the entire community. It is also in spite of a very professional and powerful presentation given by Sunriver Resort executives outlining the faults of the proposal as presented by SilverStar and their consultants and stating their desire for a more moderated proposal also. And it must be remembered that Sunriver Resort is the single largest landowner in Sunriver and would have the most to gain if they felt that this proposal was going to be the success that has been so boldly promoted by SilverStar and the SROA Board. It must also be remembered that Sunriver Resort executives, unlike those from SilverStar or the SROA Board, have actually developed and managed successful business operations within mixed use communities throughout North America. For reference as to the proponents feelings about Sunriver Resort's actions here is a copy of the letter that Dave Lewis, Sunriver Chamber of Commerce president and co-founder of "Citizens for Sunriver", sent to the Deschutes County Commissioners: Dave Lewis letter.
HISTORY
SilverStar submitted their first plan to Deschutes County in August of 2007 and it has been revised many times since. There was a work session held by the Deschutes County Planning Commission September 13, 2007 with the first public hearing held September 27, 2007. These were both on an incomplete application but were held, according to county meeting minutes, because there had already been 4,500 notices of the meeting mailed to the public. At the conclusion of this hearing the Commission moved to keep the public record open and held an additional public meeting on November 8, 2007 at the Great Hall in Sunriver. This meeting had much greater attendance than the first hearing and saw a standing room only crowd. Just under 30 people gave statements to the commission with opponents to the current zoning proposal outnumbering supporters by a 2 to 1 margin. The third, and final, public hearing was held December 13, 2007 and again had a large attendance. The Commissioners reviewed answers submitted by SilverStar to questions previously submitted to them by the Commissioners. Again the public testimony was given primarily by individuals opposed to the application. At the conclusion of this hearing it was moved that the public testimony be closed and that the written record be open until January 3, 2008.
The Commissioners deliberated and voted on the application at their public meeting January 10, 2008. The preliminary vote was 4 to 3 to deny with no changes to the application. After Commissioner Pace proposed some conditions on the proposal, namely a slight reduction in total density (from a total of 583, 22/acre, to 500, 18.86/acre) and an increase in minimum available commercial space (from 85,000 sq.ft. to 120,000 sq.ft.), the proposal was forwarded on to the County Commission with a 6 to 1 vote. However four of the Commissioner's still commented on the record that they felt the density as forwarded on to the County Commission were still too high.he Deschutes County Commission will be holding a hearing and then vote on SilverStar Destination's application for a new zoning designation within Sunriver , the Town Center District. This will allow Sunriver Homeowners and interested parties an opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns before the very commission that will be voting on the proposal (the Planning Commission just makes a recommendation but has no authority to approve applications). Two work sessions have been held, February 27 and April 9th. The first public hearing is scheduled for April 30th. The first public testimony hearing was held April 30th in Sunriver.