Key Issues

As the Deschutes County Planning Commission Staff Report states "This is a complex application". There are numerous changes both to existing County Code, existing Sunriver Commercial District Code, and changes from the proposal presented and discussed at the September 27, 2007 public hearing. Below is a more in depth look at the issues we believe are key within the current proposal - and have the biggest impact on Sunriver. We encourage everyone to also review the Deschutes County Planning Commission's own Staff Report which does an excellent job of highlighting some of the biggest issues (staff report link).

Changing the current zoning from a building height limitation of 30 feet to a mix of buildings from 45 to 75 feet high (and actually higher). The current proposal language allows for heights of mixed use buildings to be measured from above natural grade (i.e. from mounds built up adjacent to buildings). As the County Staff Report states "the effect will be that the 75' building will be at 85' tall or higher" to someone standing at ground level. Add to this the additional allowance for 10' of non-occupied space at the top of the buildings for items such as mechanical equipment or atriums/skylights and the total effect will be buildings up to 95' feet high within Sunriver! It also exempts all of these buildings from the current view protection requirements written in the site plan code section (18.124.060(A)). As the County Staff Report states "This is not surprising given the height limits in the proposal."

The zoning proposal calls for an increase in density to much greater than currently allowed. It allows 22 dwelling units per acre, a density only seen within urban growth boundaries in Deschutes County. This would permit over 350 residences made up of a combination of condominiums and hotel rooms. This would be an almost 10% increase in the current number of Sunriver residences in a space approximately 0.5% of the total area of Sunriver.
The proposed zoning allows for the actual reduction in total retail from a currently available 150,000 square feet (total of all mall properties) to as little as 85,000 square feet. This leads us to believe that the focus of the redevelopment is on adding residential units where none are needed, not enhancing retail which is seen as a need by many.
The proposal calls for a an exception to the required parking spaces as called for within Deschutes county code and SROA rules to reduce spaces per unit/bedroom. The support for this reduction is via reference to resorts located at the base of ski areas (Sunriver is almost 20 miles from Mt. Bachelor) The revised proposal also permits requirements to be reduced even further if a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan is put into place. As the County Staff Report states "This could be difficult to implement because there are no criteria to determine an effective TDM plan". Also, many of the parking spaces for mall visitors are to be housed in a multi-story parking structure to be located at the entrance to the mall area.
The SROA and SilverStar Destinations entered into an agreement on December 20, 2006 calling for the SROA to: 1) Cooperate with the developer on the creation of the new zone, and 2) Communicate to Deschutes County its approval of the proposed zone revisions (link Executive Summary of Agreement from SROA). This agreement was entered into without any direct input from Sunriver homeowners. There were no public meetings, no surveys, no hearings, no mailings or articles that took place to solicit actual owners input - or even to just notify them of the SROA's intent - before they signed the agreement with SilverStar on December 20, 2006. Even the SROA Board was not unanimous in supporting the agreement (it is informative to read the SROA Board minutes from the special meeting where the vote was taken on the agreement for background - BOD Minutes link). Even subsequent to this agreement the SROA has only sent out one letter to the owners related to the redevelopment effort, on September 12, 2007. All the while they have been stating that there has been excellent communication with the owners and the public.
- It should be noted that the following item within the agreement is violated within the current proposal submitted by SilverStar:

The original agreement between the SROA and SilverStar stated that "50% of the entire Town Center District must be dedicated to permanent open space." This has been dropped from the latest revision submitted to the County - in violation of the signed agreement. The latest zoning proposal calls for up to 50% of the acreage within the development to be buildings or enclosed structures. The areas not counted toward this requirement include streets, decks and patios (less than 12" above finished grade), and parking areas - including underground parking areas (although the two-story parking structure would be identified as a structure for applying this provision). This is not the intent of the permanent open space provision within the SROA-SilverStar agreement and this language departs from the Open Space provisions within the County regulations for resort developments. There is no provision within the current Open Space regulations to allow streets or parking areas to be counted as Open Space. The County Staff Report states "it should be noted that there is no provision for requiring any public green space." And goes on to state that "the combination of no specific public or private outdoor space should be discussed." We totally agree. The current plan proposal (latest plan) provides a view of the dense building/strucure/street/parking coverage allowed by this provision.
- SilverStar has stated that the current mall area has 70% "hardscape" and that their proposal is not a large change from this. What must be noted is that the current mall has expansive pedestiran walkway and gathering areas covered with pavers that are counted in the "hardscape" calculation. A review of the SilverStar plan reveals that their "hardscape" items are buildings, parking - including a multi-story parking structure, and many streets running throughout the project. Actual gathering areas are reduced and the current wide pedestrian walkways are reduced to sidewalks along streets (although they state that the main thoroughfare through the "village" will be closed during busy times for pedestrians. Not quite the paver covered walkways we now enjoy).
The proposal calls for no required new recreational facilities, and instead states that Sunriver has "abundant" recreational facilities. This would place an additional burden on already over-used pools and bike paths. As Bill Chapman, SROA General Manager, stated in an August 26, 2007 Bend Bulletin (article link) article the bike paths and pools around the mall can get crowded. Referring to the South Pool complex between mid-June and Labor Day he stated "It's a zoo, we know we have to look at that." This was without the additional residences being added. SilverStar has added two pools to their draft plan, one for the hotel and one for the condominium guests which, if they are anything like the existing condominium pools at Sunriver, are severly underused while the guests go to the larger and nicer Sunriver Pools.
Currently Sunriver has no capacity to provide fire protection for structures of the heights called for within the proposal. The Sunriver Fire Marshall submitted a letter to the Deschutes County Planning Commission stating their concern. Sunriver Fire Marshall Letter (sorry it came from the County scanned upside down). A subsequent e-mail was submitted by the Fire Chief to the Deschutes County Planning Commission stating that although nothing has been worked out yet they are working to try to develop a workable solution for fire safety. Fire Chief's e-mail.

No Longer Applicable based upon outcome of Land Sale Ballot:

The plan, as presented to date by SilverStar, includes the purchase of acreage from the SROA that is common area owned by all Sunriver owners. The latest plan calls for buildings to be constructed on this currently open land - seven condominiums on the open space between the Abbott House condos and Abbot Drive alone. It also includes a two-story parking structure directly at the entrance to Sunriver (per the current proposal this parking structure could be even taller than the current plan shows). This change will greet visitors with a line of development (from a parking garage to condominiums) as they first enter Sunriver - not the first impression we would like to make. This open space is in the care and trust of all owners, and once it is lost it is lost forever.