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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon HOuSING: Working group is taking on long-standing issue Continued from page 1 2010, contained a needs anal- ysis, inventory of existing affordable housing, and six specific housing strategies to be implemented. It was a complete action plan never implemented. And now in 2015, the same issues face a different council. The discussions at the spring Economic Vitality Summit identified the lack of workforce housing as one of the most pressing issues facing the city. Dana Perry, a resident of Sisters Country, volunteered to convene a brainstorming meeting of interested people to look at options for addressing the housing situation in Sisters. The session took place August 19, with a wide range of interests and occupations represented. There were sev- eral builders and developers, representatives of local and state housing agencies, local employers, Sisters Planning Commission members, Habitat for Humanity board and staff members, seniors, Sisters School District, Sisters Community Development Director, a member of the Deschutes County Planning Commission, real estate investors, and several inter- ested private citizens. Perry described the pur- pose of the meeting as an opportunity to understand what’s currently happening in Sisters regarding workforce housing and how community members can get involved. Attendees shared their interests in housing, mention- ing everything from creating a product that will provide more children for the school district, to opportunities for businesses to attract employ- ees who can afford to live where they work. There was also interest in greater hous- ing options for seniors. Habitat for Humanity executive director, Sharlene Weed, believes it is necessary to identify where the gaps exist in the current housing inventory and find ways to fill them. One thing on which there was agreement is the need for more apartments. The devel- opers helped the other attend- ees understand why building apartments in a small town is not easy to do. One consider- ation is the rent that an apart- ment builder can charge ver- sus the cost of the building. It takes too much energy and money to build small num- bers. Economy of scale with a large apartment complex reduces the property man- agement costs and provides a better rate of return. Mark Reed, a Portland property owner and devel- oper, estimated that 95 per- cent of apartment developers build them and immediately flip them for a quick return on investment. He said that in Sisters a new apartment complex might require a developer who is looking for a long-term investment, con- sidering the sustainability of the project rather than quick profitability. There is some affordable single-family housing already in the pipeline but it will take anywhere from six months to four years to become avail- able. In the meantime, advo- cates believe it is incumbent upon the City and interested citizens to identify as many ways as possible to encour- age more construction of single-family housing under $250,000 and also rental properties of all kinds — apartments, multifamily, and single-family. Some of the brainstorming included: looking at mecha- nisms that can be set up to raise capital; annexing land Classifieds are online Tuesday afternoon at NuggetNews.com BEYOND ORDINARY Hand-forged Architectural Ironwork Come visit our showroom in the Sisters Industrial Park today! 541-549-9280 | PonderosaForge.com | CCB# 87640 into the city specifically for affordable housing; donations of land to reduce the cost of building; employer-provided housing; as well as all the subsidy programs. Developers/builders can be attracted to build afford- able housing by offering a variety of incentives: system development charge grants, reduction or removal of plan review fees, and density and height bonuses, to name a few. The City, County, and State can help out by offering tax-deferral incentives. The group identified sev- eral next steps. The most important one is “debunking the myth” regarding afford- able housing: Affordable housing doesn’t automati- cally attract more crime and drugs. Tamarack Village on Larch Street near the post office is a good example of affordable housing that is an asset to the community. A broad segment of the community believes that in Sisters there is a need for essential worker housing, so that local teachers, pub- lic workers, and firefighters can afford to live where they work. Perry agreed to head up a group to work on commu- nity awareness and education. Anyone interested in joining in the effort can reach Perry at danamperry@earthlink.net. 17 photo pRovided Jack Williams is an outstanding guitarist. Jack Williams to play HarmonyHouse Doug and Katie Cavanaugh are opening up their HarmonyHouse house concert venue for some spe- cial music nights. On Saturday, September 5, they welcome eclectic singer/ songwriter Jack Williams. back to the HarmonyHouse stage. His audience will hear country, blues, and jazz. Williams is a poet who knows how to write simply and is known as a remark- able, magical performer with graceful good humor and hot guitar style . “Jack is singing his way across country and head- ing our way,” said Katie Cavanaugh. “We are so excited for his return here to Central Oregon! Don’t miss our good friend and modern- times troubadour here at the HarmonyHouse!” Doors open at 7 a.m., music starts at 8 p.m. Patrons are invited to bring wine to share and a favorite dish. Suggested donation is $20. HarmonyHouse is located at 17505 Kent Rd. (off Cloverdale Road) east of Sisters. For information and directions call 541-280-1821.