Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosA rendering of the proposed Village at Sunriver, which moved a step closer to fruition Wednesday after the Deschutes County Commission signaled it will approve the necessary zoning changes sought by the developer, SilverStar Destinations LLC. The Village at Sunriver would replace the roughly 30-year-old Sunriver Village Mall with a mix of residential, retail and commercial units.
Rendering courtesy SilverStar Destinations LLC
The Village at Sunriver likely to get green light
Deschutes commissioners signal willingness to make zoning changes for new condos, commercial buildings
By Andrew Moore / The Bulletin
Published: June 26. 2008 4:00AM PSTThe proposed Village at Sunriver moved a step closer to fruition Wednesday after the Deschutes County Commission signaled it is likely to approve a new county code that is critical to the developer’s plans to replace the Sunriver Village Mall with condos and commercial development.
After numerous public hearings and four hours of testimony Wednesday, the commission moved to close debate on the matter and directed its staff to modify the proposed code in order to placate members of the commission and the planning commission, and Sunriver residents and business owners who were uncomfortable with portions of the proposed code.
“This is positive,” said developer John Goodman, whose company, SilverStar Destinations LLC, owns the mall. “We’re happy with the result and are glad the commission shares our vision. We’ve been working on this for a long time, and I think this is a big win for everyone in Sunriver and south Deschutes County.”
The Village at Sunriver development envisioned by SilverStar includes several buildings with retail and commercial tenants on the bottom floor and residential units on the floors above, with the buildings centered around plazas and a pedestrian-friendly main street that can be shut down for special events. SilverStar likens its proposed development to destination villages already built at the Squaw Valley and Mammoth Mountain ski resorts in California.
SilverStar previously said it hoped to break ground next spring but now says market conditions will dictate when the first dirt will be turned.
A new Town Center District code had been proposed by SilverStar as a way for it to build residential and retail units on the 16.5-acre mall property, which is currently zoned for commercial use only. Sunriver is an urban unincorporated community that is subject to county zoning regulations.
Near the end of the hearing Wednesday, the commission voted unanimously to add language to the proposed code that would require a developer to have a signed development agreement with any homeowners’ association that is relevant to a proposed development in a Town Center District zone.
Density concerns
Tom Luersen, the Pacific Northwest regional managing director for Lowe Hospitality Group, which manages the Sunriver Resort, waded into the zone creation debate Wednesday with concerns about the amount of residential units the new code could allow. SilverStar two months ago proposed changing the zone’s previously agreed upon residential unit density of 22 units per acre with a different measure called floor area ratio, which would allow a developer to create more or fewer units as long as the cumulative square footage did not exceed the square footage of the project site.
In his testimony, Luersen said the resort supports SilverStar’s efforts to redevelop the mall and called the FAR guideline “inventive and responsible.” However, Luersen said the resort was breaking its neutrality on SilverStar’s plans because it was concerned the FAR guideline could allow for rampant growth if another owner bought the mall.
Under the proposed FAR guideline, Luersen said up to 910 units each measuring 500 square feet could be built on the property, equaling a project unit density of more than 57 units per acre. Luersen said the example was extreme and he’s confident that’s not SilverStar’s plan. But he asked the commission to add some safeguards to prevent such a scenario, including a cap on residential units, parking requirements and certain design guidelines.
“We’re not saying (SilverStar) is going to do this, but this unintended opportunity could play out and this is why we want these safeguards to protect against it,” Luersen said.
In testimony, Goodman said SilverStar does not intend to cram residential units into the development, adding that because of an agreement with the Sunriver Owners Association, SilverStar must receive approval from the SROA before it can file a conceptual site plan with the county.
Doris Brannan, the president of the SROA board of directors, testified that SilverStar has the full support of the SROA board and that it voted unanimously to support SilverStar’s proposed FAR guideline.
Built-in flexibility
The FAR guideline was introduced to help SilverStar better meet changing market conditions and demographics, said Dave Leland, a development consultant hired by SilverStar and the SROA. With a rigid unit-density-per-acre requirement, the developer often is stuck with small units that don’t sell because the market favors larger ones, or vice versa. Leland said 60 percent of mixed-use projects fail or are not as successful as envisioned because they are hobbled by density impacts.
By adding the developer agreement requirement to the proposed code, Deschutes County Commissioner Mike Daly believes it’s a way for stakeholders to have a say in the development without codifying certain design guidelines or residential requirements best left up to those on the ground.
“You can write the code as long as a book or touch on the general stuff you want in there and the details can be worked out later,” said Daly, who added that he is pleased with the outcome and looks forward to voting on Monday.
“I think we have consensus with all three (commissioners) and the vote will be positive. … It’s taken a long time to get this far and it doesn’t make sense to delay any further. The Sunriver folks need clarity and need a decision.”
Next step
SilverStar initiated the zone creation process in May 2007. Should the zone be created by the commission Monday, SilverStar would still need to apply with the county to have the mall’s zone changed to the new Town Center District zone as well as file a conceptual site plan with the county before it can begin construction. Each comes with opportunities for public comment.
In addition, SilverStar had to change its original development plans after the SROA voted in February against selling some of its common area property surrounding the mall to SilverStar. A majority of voters approved the sale but it failed to reach a 60 percent supermajority.
Luersen said after the hearing that he thinks the outcome was fair.
“We were looking for additional control measures … and now they are linked to the developer agreement — and that we are pleased with,” Luersen said. “We want to see the village succeed and be complementary to the Sunriver Resort visitor.”
Sunriver Resort is a member of the SROA and through it and its parent company, Sunriver Resort Limited Partnership, has roughly 129 SROA votes, Luersen said.
SROA oversees approximately 4,100 buildable lots in Sunriver and roughly 3,900 have been built out with homes or condos, according to SROA.
Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or amoore@bendbulletin.com.
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