News

Say they back goal, but most see issues with parking requirements, eligibility

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes County Planning Commission is recommending denial of a Sunriver Resort request to pave the way for employee housing at the nearby Sunriver Business Park, with most members saying they back the effort but some issues need to be addressed.

The resort had proposed a zone change to allow us of a 3.25-acre undeveloped lot in the business park district, across South Century Drive from the resort community. With a hiring crunch fueled in part by challenges in finding a place to live, resort officials have proposed building housing for 200 resort employees.

Tanya Saltzman, an associate planner for Deschutes County, said the planning commission voted 5-2 last Thursday evening to recommend denial, with members saying they support the general idea but sharing concerns raised at a public hearing about parking and eligibility issues.

The applicants used the county's parking standard for dormitories, which is one space for every six beds. Some planning commissioners said they don't think that will be enough, Saltzman said.

She said the resort noted they've had 128 workers and just a dozen cars were brought, since many of the workers are from outside the area or even the country, so they believed the parking ratio would be adequate.

But planning commissioners said they are concerned that might not be adequate, particularly in the off-season, when non-employees could rent some rooms, if available. The resort officials countered that winter traffic and parking issues are usually much lower, overall.

On a related note, the planning commission also had some concerns about eligibility for the workforce housing could be too lenient, since the owners would be allowed to rent space on a monthly basis for non-employees, Saltzman said.

The proposed text amendments still will go to county commissioners for a work session, in mid-January, and a public hearing at the end of the month, to review the proposal and the planning commission recommendation, the county planner said.