The Metolius balance
Carla Axtman
LCDC member (and former State Rep) Greg Macpherson published a nice guest opinion in the O yesterday, touting the necessity of protecting the Metolius, while still allowing for some development. The important information in the piece (IMO) is unfortunately buried toward the bottom:
Based on these concerns, the commission designed a management plan for the Metolius area. Mindful that its action would affect the landowners who have invested time and money in good faith pursuing resort approvals, the commission allowed scaled-down versions of two proposed projects. The smaller would be limited to 25 home sites, plus a 10-unit lodge, and the larger would be limited to 100 home sites, plus a 20-unit lodge. These scaled-down projects will benefit Jefferson County, and the commission is ready to work with the county on resort locations outside the Metolius area.
(Emphasis Carla)
I've spoken to a number of key folks involved in this process who are saying that this compromise plan is a great thing. Those who want the Metolius protected can live with it, the developers are saying they can make it work (according to the Bend Bulletin..which of course I can't link because of their assinine firewall) and the locals who've protested the larger resorts seem to be copacetic as well.
Apparently it's just the Jefferson County Commission that's still bent, based on the reports I'm getting on yesterday's committee hearing on the bill. I'm still working on unraveling that angle...so I'm leaving that here for now.
This compromise providing smaller-scale development seems to jive well with the recent study released by Central Oregon Landwatch and Fodor & Associates from Eugene.
The study was based on the proposed Thornburg resort, slated for Redmond. Thornburg is described in the study as a "fairly typical of destination resorts being built in Oregon in terms of its overall profile." It goes on to describe the resort as a mix of homes, overnight units, land and recreational facilities. Your typical golf course resort, I think.
The overarching conclusion by Fodor is that after the resort has been credited for all known payments and tax revenues it will generate, local governments and local taxpayers would be left with a cost burden of $46 million. The cost is expected to be picked up by taxpayers and not the resort "through some combination of higher taxes, reduced public services, and lower facility service standards."
In a nutshell: big golf course resorts don't generate new net revenue...just the opposite.
There's also the fact that large scale destination resorts are just flat not doing well, in general. The owners of an exclusive resort in Montana just filed for bankruptcy. A Colorado-based outfit had to halt construction (numerous times, as well as lay off workers) because they can't make it financially. Luxury golf resort Black Rock North which overlooks Lake Coeur d’Alene is also in serious trouble. In Oregon, owners at Eagle Crest are getting pissed off at ever increasing HOA dues with "bait and switch" policy changes. The economy is also placing the possibility of failed resorts in Oregon square into the "reality" column:
"Right now the banks are just taking a position that they are not in the real estate lending market anymore," Pahlisch said. His planned Hidden Canyon resort is on the back burner until at least next year.And last month a New Jersey bank backed away from a loan at the last minute that would have funded the construction of a hotel at Pronghorn, Denney said.
"We're effectively on hold right now. We've really slowed down our construction schedule. We've got things scaled back from our original budget, timeline, etc," said Christopher Pippin, project manager for Remington Ranch, which opened a sales office in downtown Prineville last year and has stopped construction after finishing a nine-hole golf course.
Right now, no one is mentioning bankruptcy. But the possibility of failure is real. In Idaho, a judge agreed Wednesday to let an outside company run ailing Tamarack Resort, a victory for Swiss bankers trying to recover $273 million from a syndicated loan to the central Idaho vacation destination, The Associated Press reported.
"We're weathering the storm, but it's obviously very difficult out there," Pippin said.
Large, sprawling, land-gobbling resorts are out. Small, niche resorts are in. This may be the win-win all sides are looking for.
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1:20 p.m.
Apr 8, '09
The overarching conclusion by Foder is that...taxpayers would be left with a cost burden of $46 million. The cost is expected to be picked up by taxpayers and not the resort "through some combination of higher taxes, reduced public services, and lower facility service standards...In a nutshell: big golf course resorts don't generate new net revenue...just the opposite.
So destination resorts redistribute wealth upwards to the wealthy in rural areas just like publicly financed sports stadiums do in the cities! Looks like we still have more in common than we realized.
Apr 8, '09
A friend of mine that works in the capitol tells me that the House Republicans just hired Bill Sizemore's real good friend Tim Tricky to run their campaign committee.
Apr 8, '09
The real conclusion of the report is that it's not just exurban golf course subdivisons but exurban subdivisions in general that are so expensive. By that measure, although the proposed Metolian resort doesn't have a golf course, it still has 450 proposed residential units. That's not as many as Thornburgh has proposed, but it's still a lot of units. (Think City of Sisters 10 years ago). This is still an expensive model.
Eco-resorts are a great direction for Oregon to go in. But in doing so, let's wipe out the old model resorts entirely and ensure that future resorts are oriented primarily or even exclusively on overnight accommodations and true tourism.
Apr 9, '09
Nice to see a little more rounded coverage of the Metolius situation. I know many of the folks in Jefferson County are a little more "torn" over the situation than is usually reported. They're not all a bunch of hicks wanting to abuse the pristine nature of the river. There are valid arguments and good people on both sides of the argument.
Apr 9, '09
Look, the whole "Eco" label shouldn't be repeated, because these developement are nothing but DEVELOPMENTs of what were undeveloped timber lands. There is nothing earth-friendly about these housing developements. They are a degradation of the the Metolius basin, and nothing more.
Furthermore, with respect to the development on Green Ridge, you cannot site a development like that in the middle of critical mule deer wintering grounds without impacting the herds that rely on that acreage. Wintering deer are in a state of slow starvation. Any additional stress - like dogs chasing them - weighs against their survival.
What chafes me the most is that it has been the public's steadfast protection of the Metolius and surrounding Deschutes National Forest that has helped make it the unique setting it is. Now these wealthy developers want to exploit what the public has protected, and want us to swallow their promotions that their chipping away at the edges won't change things...very much. "See it's eco, warm and fuzzy"
I've spent too much time there to believe those lies, and don't for second.
And remember, if these places go in, thereafter it will be a never ending process of applying for permits for more expansion, more water use, more fire protection, and on and on.
I recomend purchasing these parcels outright and annexing them to the Deschutes N.F. or do a land trade for acreage outside the Metolius basin in a less sensitive area.
Apr 9, '09
I'm happy to see that Carla has become reasonable on this issue (maybe she always was ...).
As opposed to "Springer," who is spouting the same ol' Portland ecofreak nonsense that is nothing more than a mirror image of the worst development-mad reactionaries in Jefferson County.
Apr 9, '09
Carla,
In speaking with the Madras Mayor and one of the Jefferson County Commissioners today, it has nothing to do with the actual plan, but how the process was handled by LCDC. Local leaders feel as though they were completely hijacked from the process and left in the dark. Two of the commissioners spent several days in Salem this week expressing their views to that end.
I know you've written several posts here criticizing Jefferson County leaders, but I think you fail to realize how willing they are to find a compromise through good collaboration. They just feel like the rug was pulled out from underneath them without a chance to give input or feedback (especially since LCDC and the Governor had already made up their minds without consulting local leaders in the first place).
4:08 p.m.
Apr 9, '09
Jason:
I have no doubt that's what they're saying to you.
I'll have more to come on the issue of the Jefferson County Commission, the process, their complaints, etc soon.
Apr 9, '09
Jason, apparently you are unaware that local government leaders are too stoopid to be able to look after the best interests of their geographic area. The only land use planning that counts is centrally located in Salem where they know best about darn near everything.
In this case the process was hijacked and pulled out from underneath them for their own good. Kind of like deciding that adults can't smoke in their own cars if children under 16 are in them. you really may need to be re-educated at one of the soon to be established re-indoctrination centers.
Apr 9, '09
You wanna balance? No friggin' development; Metolius as it is. That's a balance. That's a balance everyone can live with.
Apr 10, '09
Carla -
The press on the eastern side of this issue is entirely different than the press on the western side. I wonder why?
Nobody on the western side is covering the Planning Commissioner that has filed suit on this issue. It's been even in my little paper here in Prineville.
(By the way, there are two commissions, and you keep writing like there is only one. There is the County Commission that runs County government, with a County Judge in charge; and there is the Planning Commission. They are two different things. The County Commission only becomes involved with a planning decision when they are appealed from the Planning Commission.)
The issue of perception is key here.
In the city, if a logging truck runs over a bike rider, we are up in arms about logging trucks. Here on the east side, if a logging truck runs over a bike rider, we wonder why that bike rider was in front of the logging truck.
The ONLY protection we in rural Oregon have against the State riding roughshod over us is the legal processes established to give us some measure of local control. When the State steps in an takes even that away, why even bother? The "compromise" for the Metolius is very close to where I think the Jefferson County Planning Commission would have ended up on their own. But having the process taken away, like they were little children, is an insult past reconciliation.
It was a declaration of war.
Apparently the State has no future plans to cooperate with those of us on the eastern side. Again, we on the east side have an entirely different perception of what is even the problem.
This isn't about some river valley, its about the raw and naked abuse of power.
11:57 a.m.
Apr 10, '09
The press on the eastern side of this issue is entirely different than the press on the western side. I wonder why?
It doesn't seem entirely different to me. I've seen the Oregonian write just as much uninformed crap on this as the Bend Bulletin.
Nobody on the western side is covering the Planning Commissioner that has filed suit on this issue. It's been even in my little paper here in Prineville.
That could have to do with the fact that the suit was just filed. I have been paying extremely close attention to this and I didn't know about that suit until two days ago.
(By the way, there are two commissions, and you keep writing like there is only one. There is the County Commission that runs County government, with a County Judge in charge; and there is the Planning Commission. They are two different things. The County Commission only becomes involved with a planning decision when they are appealed from the Planning Commission.)
I've only written about the Jefferson County Commission because they're the ones involved in the zoning piece (at least that's what I understand). But now that you mention it, it would be a very good and appropriate idea to write about the role of the Planning Commission on this too. Thanks for the idea.
In the city, if a logging truck runs over a bike rider, we are up in arms about logging trucks. Here on the east side, if a logging truck runs over a bike rider, we wonder why that bike rider was in front of the logging truck.
I never presume that any issue is that simplistically viewed from either urban or rural points of view. That sort of boiled-down notion of perception is counterproductive and insulting, in my opinion.
The ONLY protection we in rural Oregon have against the State riding roughshod over us is the legal processes established to give us some measure of local control. When the State steps in an takes even that away, why even bother? The "compromise" for the Metolius is very close to where I think the Jefferson County Planning Commission would have ended up on their own. But having the process taken away, like they were little children, is an insult past reconciliation.
I suspect that you've not looked at this particular issue very closely, Steve. The argument that "local control" is being usurped in this case is not only ludicrous, it's unfounded. Hundreds and hundreds of locals have protested these resorts and the way this has been handled by Jefferson County. I am working on a piece that I hope will enlighten more on this part of the issue as well. Stay tuned.
Apparently the State has no future plans to cooperate with those of us on the eastern side. Again, we on the east side have an entirely different perception of what is even the problem.
Some residents who live east of the Cascades have a different perception on this than those who live on the west side. Some don't. It's not that simplistic and frankly you should be asking the Jefferson County Commission exactly why the state is not only legally able to be involved in this process..but the County chose a process that specifically allows it.
This isn't about some river valley, its about the raw and naked abuse of power.
Perhaps..but not by those in whom you think.
Apr 10, '09
[UrbanOverlord- As opposed to "Springer," who is spouting the same ol' Portland ecofreak nonsense that is nothing more than a mirror image of the worst development-mad reactionaries in Jefferson County.]
As a four year resident of Camp Sherman, I make no apologies for wanting the Metolius Basin to remain as it is.
I appreciate the folks who battled the USFS back in the 1980's when their "Little Buck" timber sale had clearcuts planned right down to the river's edge. Hard as it might be to believe, that timber sale boundary encompassed the campgrounds along the river.
Here we are almost 25 years after Little Buck, and it's another fight for the Metolius' future. In fact, the permanance of these developments makes them even worse than clearcuts.
Apr 10, '09
[SCB - It was a declaration of war.]
From my view, war was declared when the three Jefferson county commissioners voted to re-zone those two private in-holdings to allow for massive resorts.
For folks not familiar with the Metolius landscape, the greater percentage of the land is Deschutes National Forest - public land. The two "resort" parcels were private timberlands that had been managed as timberlands for decades, with zero development.
These were the only two private properties proximate to the Metolius that were large enough - all other issues ignored - to contain "golf course" resorts.
Jefferson county's commissioners knew how controversial this would be. That people were not going to quietly allow the Metolius to be degraded. And yet they went ahead. Now they can live with the fallout; they've richly earned it.
These resorts aren't the first knucklehead ideas for the Metolius to come out of Madras. Other's in the past have included -
Punching through a road, in the lower Metolius roadless area, to connect the road at Bridge 99 with Lake Billy Chinook.
Paving to the riverbank the road above Camp Sherman.
Fortunately, local opposition killed these schemes.
Apr 12, '09
I think this is a good compromise position. But come one folks this area of The Metolius is hardly pristine wilderness even now. Have you been up there tent camping? From many of the tent camps you can see the motion sensor lights as bright as day light up across the river.