24
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
FOOD CARTS: Business
won approval from
city planners
Continued from page 1
input were points in favor
of food carts in Sisters;
those in favor of food carts
on the Eurosports property;
those who felt Mayor Boyd
misused his position in get-
ting approval; and those that
believed the city made errors
in granting the approved use.
As the discussions con-
cluded, Mayor Chris Frye,
who had just been selected
as mayor minutes earlier,
said, “It is complicated and
we want to give this the due
process that it deserves. Our
intention is to look at this
from several angles to make
sure everything was done
right.”
Boyd and his partner
Karen Kassy addressed the
newly seated council at dif-
ferent times but said basi-
cally the same thing.
Kassy said, “When we
applied (for the permit) we
were so careful because
we knew, with Brad being
mayor, we would be under
greater scrutiny.”
Boyd said, “I’d like to
clear up a number of miscon-
ceptions and misunderstand-
ings. First off the code has
not been changed since 2010.
Nothing is different. Food
carts will be leasing space
from us on an annual basis.
If they came for a short term
they would be paying $100
per day, but if they come
for the year, like we see in
Portland or Bend, then they
are allowed to have a busi-
ness license on [an] annual
basis.
“Another comment we
heard is about primary uses
and secondary uses, and
I don’t think that applies
here,” continued Boyd, “If it
did, Ray’s Food Mart could
only have a supermarket and
not a realtor (on their lot).
The place where McDonald’s
is would either need to be a
gas station, a McDonald’s or
a mini-mart, but you couldn’t
have three business on one
property.
“I have a land-use appli-
cation that was deemed com-
plete, that went through the
two-week appeal process; no
one appealed it. I’m prepar-
ing to get bids and start doing
site work so that it is opera-
tional this spring,” said Boyd.
“Steve (Bryant, attorney) or
council, do I not now have an
approved land-use decision?
How do I proceed?”
After further council dis-
cussion, Boyd concluded,
“At this time, because as an
applicant we have done noth-
ing wrong, and time is of
the essence, it is a seasonal
town, we would like to be
up and running by May: I am
going to say ‘no’ to re-doing
the process. This is a land-
use application, there are set
rules to follow, they were all
followed, it (the decision)
has been issued.”
In speaking to the coun-
cil, Frye said, “If we have
investigated ... and mistakes
were made … do we have
the legal authority to change
anything? Should we change
anything?”
This process started sev-
eral months ago when then-
mayor Brad Boyd applied
for and was ultimately given
city planning department
approval to locate semi-
permanent food carts on
the property he owns on the
southeast corner of Hood and
Fir at the site of his business,
Eurosports.
The approval for the
food carts was issued in
November, without review
by the planning commission.
It has been planning depart-
ment practice to notify the
planning commission before
this lower-level type of
approval (Type II) is granted,
but it is not policy, and it is
therefore not required. Once
notified, if any three mem-
bers of the planning commis-
sion so request, a site plan
can be called up for review
by the commission. Planning
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commission chairman Alan
Holzman has said that, while
the planning commission
should have been notified,
he did not think they would
have called the plan up for
review.
Mike Morgan took the
position that the city had at
least three significant con-
flicts: 1) the development
code allows an annual license
for the food carts, and that is
in conflict with the munici-
pal code which says that
any merchant who offers
merchandise from a cart is
a transient merchant and is
required to have a $100-per-
day transient license; 2) a
statement in the land-use
decision notice states that
food carts are considered
the equivalent of eating and
drinking establishments,
but Oregon law does not
make this equivalency. The
phrase food cart does not
appear anywhere in the cur-
rent city development code;
3) the development code
allows for outdoor dining
only if it is in association
with the primary use of the
property.
Ed Protas said, “I would
like to see food carts come
to Sisters, and I think they
would benefit our commu-
nity greatly. But I think there
is an appropriate process to
follow to bring about food
carts in the community.”
Bruce Bowen spoke to
his concern about the chill-
ing effect on new businesses
if the city has made a firm
decision (approval), and
then, at a later date reverses
that decision based on citizen
objections after the fact. This
concern was also expressed
by Boyd and several other
speakers.
A number of the speak-
ers voiced their support of
the food carts in Sisters in
general.
Several citizens and
Councilor Nancy Connolly
have suggested a voluntary
“redo” by Boyd, which the
Sisters businessman has
already said he will not do.
Council to hold
workshop on food carts
The Sisters City Council
will delve into the issues
surrounding the approval
of food carts at a downtown
Sisters business at their
Thursday morning workshop
on Thursday, January 15, at
8 a.m.
The approval for the
food carts was issued in
November, without review
by the planning commission.
It has been planning depart-
ment practice to notify the
planning commission before
this lower-level type of
approval (Type II) is granted.
Once notified, if any three
members of the planning
commission so request, a
site plan can be called up for
review by the commission.
That practice was not fol-
lowed in this case. According
oregon agriculture officials
drafting hemp farming rules
SALEM (AP) — Some
farmers are eager to put in
their first crops of hemp, the
marijuana cousin that won’t
get you high.
State agriculture officials
are drafting rules that would
allow growers to produce
industrial hemp this spring,
The Oregonian reports.
Hemp is a strain of the
plant that doesn’t contain
much of the psychoactive
chemical in recreational or
medical marijuana, and its
advocates tout it for a variety
of uses.
“It could save America,”
said Jerry Norton, a hemp
activist from Salem. “I am
talking about everything
from biodiesel fuel to food
to healthcare products to
paper. It’s endless. There are
thousands of applications.”
He has begun lining up
equipment and land, but he’s
not sure yet how large an
operation he’ll have, Norton
said.
Some of the regulations
under discussion have made
hemp proponents unhappy,
such as the $1,500 license for
three years.
Courtney Moran, an attor-
ney with expertise in hemp
production, called that “a
huge problem,” but she said
some producers will move
forward anyway.
“I know lots of people
ready to go,” she said. “They
want to plant this summer.”
There are also objec-
tions to a minimum-acreage
requirement of 2.5 acres and
other issues.
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to City Planning Director
Pauline Hardie, that was due
to an oversight by planning
staff.
Newly minted Sisters
Mayor Chris Frye told The
Nugget that he wanted to have
the council look into the issue
together at the workshop so
that everybody is operating
off the same information and
they can determine what hap-
pened, why, and where that
leaves the city.
The site plan was submit-
ted by former mayor Brad
Boyd. He envisions the carts
as a permanent fixture in the
back area of his lot. How
many will be there depends
on how much space each
takes up of what is allowed
— and on what the market
will bear, he said.
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