Wednesday, August 12, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
11
Temporary-use permits have been a bone of contention
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
An ongoing sticky wicket
for the Sisters City Council
has been the subject of ordi-
nances regulating temporary
businesses, transient mer-
chants, and public events here
in Sisters.
There is a contentious his-
tory surrounding this issue,
starting with Wild Mountain
food stand’s owner Ky
Karnecki, whose year-and-
a-half-long battle with the
City resulted in an ongo-
ing lawsuit. The application
by Celia Hung in 2014 for
a temporary-use permit to
stage events on the vacant lot
located on the corner of Oak
and Cascade created another
boiling point in City politics
and another threatened law-
suit. The approval of food
carts at Eurosports, after staff
determined food carts to be
the same as restaurants, cre-
ated controversy at the close
of Mayor Brad Boyd’s term
last year. Boyd threatened
to sue if the approval was
overturned.
The result of all these con-
troversies has been an ongo-
ing effort to hone the City’s
code in an attempt to elimi-
nate loopholes, lawsuits, and
the need for constant inter-
pretation to meet special
circumstances.
The person charged by
the Sisters City Council with
leading this effort in crafting
a serviceable document is
Lynne Fujita-Conrads, City
financial officer, working in
concert with City attorney
Steve Bryant. She takes the
decisions made by Council
and turns them into carefully
crafted draft documents that
are then returned to Council
for review, modification, and,
hopefully soon, approval.
The updates to these par-
ticular ordinances are being
proposed to accomplish sev-
eral Council goals: close
loopholes in existing ordi-
nances regarding business
licenses; simplify and clarify
code language; and preserve
the appearance of remodeled
Cascade Avenue.
During the draft review at
the August 6 Council work-
shop, Mayor Chris Frye pro-
posed another goal of pro-
moting the vibrancy of local
businesses and the economy
of Sisters.
Up to this point in time,
the business license ordi-
nance made no provision for
a temporary business license.
Under the proposed modifica-
tions, any business in opera-
tion over 45 days shall apply
for a regular business license.
The recommended tempo-
rary business license would
be allowed for a minimum
of four and a maximum of
45 consecutive days, issued
for a single period per year,
with no renewals and exten-
sions. The business would
be required to comply with
the city’s 1880s theme. There
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would be a $100 applica-
tion fee with a $10-per-day
charge. Nonprofits would
simply pay a $10 application
fee. An example of this type
of business would be a sea-
sonal Christmas tree lot.
The transient merchant
license seems to provide the
greatest consternation for the
Council. As outlined in the
draft modifications, a tran-
sient merchant would be able
to apply for a license for a
three-consecutive-day period,
six times per calendar year,
on the same property. The fee
would be $100 a day, with
nonprofits paying $25 a day.
An example of this type of
business would be a vendor
who sets up four times during
the summer for a weekend in
the same location to sell their
handmade crafts.
Still undecided is where
these transient merchants can
be located and how many
can be on any one prop-
erty at the same time. Based
on the experience of other
tourist “theme” towns like
Leavenworth, Washington,
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and
Ashland, Oregon, the stricter
the ordinances, the easier to
enforce, and generally fewer
merchants are able to con-
form to the requirements. In
those towns, all transient mer-
chants are limited to locating
in one specified area of town.
The public event per-
mit is required for events in
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City parks, streets, and pub-
lic rights-of-way. Fees have
been revised to account for
staff time, public safety, and
impact on city infrastructure.
Public events are not allowed
during citywide events such
as the Folk Festival and Quilt
Show. Application and park
fees are based on the number
of people attending the event,
with individual vendor fees
of $10 a day, and $5 a day
for nonprofits. An example
of this type of event would
be the Doggie Dash being
held at the Village Green this
Saturday.
The old temporary-use
permit (TUP) — the object
of many of the past contro-
versies for the City — will
be eliminated and will be
replaced with the temporary
business license.
of contention is between the
year-round brick-and-mortar
businesses that pay property
tax, contribute to the com-
munity, and provide employ-
ment opportunities, and the
low-overhead businesses that
operate out of tents, stands,
and mobile carts. Local busi-
nesses see transient mer-
chants as taking advantage of
the business climate created
by existing businesses with-
out the long-term commit-
ment and expense incurred by
downtown merchants.
Some see the alterna-
tive vendors as providing a
vibrancy and activity that is
appealing. Others think they
detract from the overall ambi-
ance of the newly refurbished
downtown. It is all subjective
and difficult to quantify.
The bottom line is this:
the bottom line is this:
City Council, after hearing from the residents and
business people, are responsible for making the
decision as to what the overall vision is for Sisters.
The debates about the food
carts, large groups of vendors
in one location, and in the
past, allowing extensions on
temporary-use permits, are
really about the types of busi-
nesses that should be allowed
and encouraged in Sisters.
One of the main points
City Council, after hearing
from the residents and busi-
ness people, are responsible
for making the decision as
to what the overall vision is
for Sisters. And out of that
vision will come the appro-
priate ordinances to support
the vision.
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