Growth Management
In Sisters there are a variety of growth management tools in place to ensure that as towns and cities grow, they do so in a sustainable manner that provides the uses a community needs and the infrastructure to support it. While the goal is to manage growth, it is important to note that it does not mean eliminating growth. In fact, in Oregon, communities are required to plan for growth and it is illegal to impose moratoriums on development.
Within that framework, we manage growth in the Sisters Way - preserve what is important to us, while strategically making room for our needs as a community - such as affordable housing, businesses and parks - to maintain Sisters as an attractive place to live and visit.
Please click on the topics below to learn more about the factors that shape growth in Sisters. You can also learn more about the Sisters 2024 Urban Growth Boundary Amendment.
At the heart of Sisters' growth management efforts is Oregon Senate Bill 100 - pioneering State land use legislation passed in 1973. This landmark law laid the foundation for Oregon's approach to land use planning and management, ensuring that development occurs in an organized, efficient, and sustainable manner.
On November 29, 2023, the Sisters City Council directed city staff to pursue an Amendment to the city's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Amendment to expand the city's UGB
Key to sustainable growth management is ensuring that infrastructure keep pace with development. This includes maintaining a functional transportation system, ensuring adequate water and wastewater capacity and constructing a robust park and recreation system.
On the heels of the Comprehensive Plan update, the city undertook a public process to consider land use “efficiency measures”, which are infill tools to help utilize land within the existing UGB more efficiently - to reduce or, perhaps, eliminate the need for a UGB expansion. The resulting report – the Land Use Efficiency Measures Report - identified 17 strategies the city could implement, ranking them from Hi
