6
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Of a certain
AGE
Sue Stafford
Columnist
The benefits
of sharing
There is a current pub-
lic service announcement
being shown on TV, spon-
sored by the nonprofit pro-
gram Home Share Oregon
whose mission is <to pre-
vent housing instability,
foreclosure, and home-
lessness through home
sharing.=
Services include rental
listing service, roommate
matching, secure message
and background screens,
and lease generator and
rent-payment processing.
For a single, older man or
woman, or a couple, with
a more than big enough
house, house sharing could
provide a great way to
avoid loneliness and social
isolation, create a new
friendship, and provide a
new stream of income.
Such an arrangement
could allow an older resi-
dent to stay in their home
longer by having a room-
mate who could help with
chores and maintenance
and ensure that the home-
owner is not alone in case
of an emergency.
For the person seeking
a place to live, they can
move into an established
home, possibly not needing
a lot of furniture and other
household accoutrements,
while paying less than full
rent for an apartment.
Over the years, I have
had a variety of fam-
ily and friends live with
me for various lengths
of time and it has always
been a positive experience.
While living in Bellevue,
Washington, I had a
woman from Argentina
live with me for over a
year. We met in a training
program in California, and
she was working on her
master9s degree, getting
her Green Card, and hop-
ing to stay in the U.S. That
was a fun time and resulted
in a longtime friendship.
I had a great roommate to
talk and laugh with and a
knowledgeable, multilin-
gual traveling companion
who broadened my world
by sharing her culture with
me.
By opening your home
to someone you are com-
patible with, you can
have someone to share the
housekeeping and mainte-
nance chores while receiv-
ing additional income. I
know I worked on smooth-
ing some of my own rough
edges with someone else to
bump up against.
With the continuing
shortage of affordable
housing in Central Oregon,
and specifically in Sisters,
if you have room, you
might consider sharing
your home with someone
facing housing insecu-
rity, social isolation, fore-
closure, or an uncertain
tomorrow.
In our changing world,
with rising prices and
shortages of all kinds, per-
haps returning to a model
of shared housing, which
is common in many other
countries, makes a lot of
sense, offering numerous
benefits to all involved.
Home Share Oregon
provides assistance with
creating a home-sharing
profile, has tools for creat-
ing alternative rental agree-
ments, and can help match
compatible homeowners
and renters/roommates.
They can also provide a
certain level of security not
available with running an
ad in the classifieds.
For more information,
go to the Home Sharing
Oregon9s website, www.
homeshareoregon.org.
Sisters moves to protect heritage trees
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
A little housekeeping in
Sisters9 codes will provide
some extra protection for
Sisters9 most prized trees.
On recommendations from
the Urban Forestry Board and
the Planning Commission,
Sisters City Council unani-
mously voted to approve
amendments to ordinances of
the Sisters development code
and municipal code pertain-
ing to urban forestry and pro-
tections for heritage trees.
Sections in the develop-
ment code having to do with
the Urban Forestry Board and
public trees were updated and
moved to the municipal code,
adding protection for heritage
trees. The benefit of shifting
the language out of the devel-
opment code to the municipal
code is that tree removal on
public property and public
rights of way will become
enforceable both during and
outside of land-use applica-
tions and proceedings. The
move will provide greater
clarity to staff and members
of the public.
Sisters9 public works
director will be responsible
for management of the City9s
public trees and oversight of
the Urban Forestry Board,
rather than the Community
Development Director.
The change will not
impact the City9s ability
to comply with the Arbor
Day Foundation9s Tree City
requirement (Sisters has been
a Tree City for 14 years)
relating to review of exist-
ing trees on private property
during development and
street trees associated with
development.
A heritage tree has been
defined as a tree that, because
of its age, size, type, histori-
cal association, and/or hor-
ticultural value, is of special
importance to the city.
Some of the key points
related to heritage trees
include:
" The preservation of
PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD
Sisters is known for its trees. The City of Sisters is trying to shore up its
codes to make sure they’re protected.
mature trees within the city
is a preferred alternative
to removal and replanting.
Mature trees reduce air and
water pollution, provide sum-
mer shade and wind breaks,
and require less water than
establishing new landscaping
plants.
" The Public Works direc-
tor, Urban Forestry Board,
City Council, or any indi-
vidual or group of individu-
als interested in identifying
and preserving heritage trees
may nominate any public tree
for heritage status. The Urban
Forestry Board will review all
nominations and may recom-
mend to the City Council that
any nominated tree be desig-
nated as a heritage tree. They
will consider certain criteria
in determining whether to
recommend any particular
tree for heritage designation.
" The City will maintain an
inventory of all heritage trees
as part of the Urban Forest
Management Plan.
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