The City of Sisters requires land use applications for a variety of developments and uses. Below is a preliminary guide on how to get started with the process.
Step 1: Contact a City Planner or Review the Sisters Development Code
It is important to know as early as possible if land use review is required for your project. Please review the Sisters Development Code and/or consult a City Planner to understand if land use review is required, what fees and code sections apply, and what to include in your land use application submittal package.
Step 2: Request to schedule a pre-application meeting
Once you have a preliminary concept of what your plans are, you can contact a City Planner to schedule a pre-application meeting. A pre-application meeting is completely optional, but can be helpful as they allow City staff and agency partners (e.g., Fire District, County Building Division) to provide a preliminary review of your proposal and to identify any potential issues to be resolved prior to submitting your land use application. Please include a site plan and project description with your pre-app meeting request. You can expect a meeting to be scheduled within 2-3 weeks of the date the request is received.
Step 3: Submit your land use application
The land use application submittal requirements are unique to each type of application. Submittal requirements are outlined in the development code and the application form. At minimum, your application submittal will need to include the application form and payment of the application fee. If additional application materials are required, these items will need to be submitted within 30 days or your application will be deemed incomplete and review will be on-hold.
- Application Form
- Community Development Planning Fees
- Sisters Development Code - Application Requirements
- An electronic copy of all application materials will need to be emailed to the CDD Department (cjenkins [at] ci.sisters.or.us (cjenkins[at]ci[dot]sisters[dot]or[dot]us)).
- Print copies of any plan sets will need to be provided within 30 days of the application submittal (11x17 inch minimum dimension).
Step 4: Review of a complete application
Once you have submitted a complete application with all the materials required to demonstrate compliance with Sisters Development Code standards, the City Planner will deem the application as complete and proceed with review. Below is a rough timeline for the different types of land use applications.
- Type I (e.g., ADU Permit, Lot Line Adjustments): 30-60 days
- Type II (e.g., Site Plan Review, Partition, Temporary Use Permit): 60-120 days
- Type III (e.g., Subdivision, Master Planned Development, Conditional Use Permit): 75-120 days
Step 5: Issuance of a land use decision
A city planner will review your application within the maximum 120-day review period and issue a decision that approves, approves with conditions, or denies your request. Next steps following the land use review process can be described by the City Planner at this point.