The City of Sisters is looking to expand its Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), in an effort to create more space for its growing population.
More than 3,700 people live in Sisters, and that’s projected to nearly double in the next two decades, according to the Population Research Center at Portland State University.
However, Sisters’ Community Development Director Scott Woodford said the city hasn’t adjusted its UGB since 2005, and it’s now become more challenging to locate usable land for housing.
“We were able to understand that our existing Urban Growth Boundary wasn't going to be satisfactory to meet our future needs,” he said.
Now, the city is aiming to add around 250 more acres to its UGB. It has proposed five possible areas to pull from, which are all rural-residential lands currently managed by the county.
The public can submit online feedback for these five options until early January. Woodford said the so far, the first and fifth designs have received the best response, as they'd stick closer to the existing boundary.
“One of the factors that we've been hearing from the community is that Sisters is a very walkable, bikeable place right now,” said Woodford. “And they want to see that any expansion areas also be as close in as possible, so that residents can continue to walk and bike places.”
Woodford said the final location will be chosen next spring. It will then need approval from Sisters' City Council and the Board of Deschutes County Commissioners. Next, the proposal would go to Oregon's Department of Land Conservation and Development, where other groups could challenge it.
Woodford said the city is on track to make its UGB expansion official by September 2025.
