Sisters 2040 Comprehensive Plan

Updated in 2021, the Sisters 2040 Comprehensive Plan is Sister’s primary land use document that provides a foundation for decision-making on important issues through 2040 and reflects the community’s values based on significant public input.  The Plan incorporates the required and applicable Statewide Planning Goals. The Comprehensive Plan policies are implemented primarily through the Sisters Development Code, which determines where and how new development occurs.  

Technical analyses also informed the Plan to ensure each community is properly planning for future residential and economic growth, including the 2019 Housing Needs Analysis (HNA), 2021 HNA Update and the Economic Opportunities Analysis (EOA).  All studies were based on the population projections for 2040 provided by the Portland State University Population Research Center, which are calculated into the number and type of housing units necessary to accommodate the anticipated growth over a twenty-year horizon.  The EOA estimates future employment demand as the community grows to ensure it maintains an adequate supply of land for economic development and employment growth.

A Buildable Lands Inventory (BLI) was done to analyze how much vacant (or partially vacant) land remained in the existing municipal boundary to determine whether it could adequately accommodate the projected residential and employment growth.   An Urban Growth Boundary Sufficiency Report (2023) provided the framework for evaluating the results of the HNA, EOA, and BLI to determine whether the city currently had enough land within its existing UGB, factoring in also the need for future parks and open space, schools and public facilities.  The report concluded there was not sufficient land within the existing Sisters UGB to meet the demand and identified a need to expand the UGB by between 206 and 256 acres. 

According to the State of Oregon, one way to meet demand for new homes and jobs is to expand the City's adopted UGB. The State has a specified process for expanding or “amending” the UGB of a city, laid out in Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 197.296; however, according to Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 197.296, cities in Oregon must first consider measures (called "Efficiency Measures" to utilize land within their existing UGB’s more efficiently before proposing a UGB amendment.  See next page for more info on Efficiency Measures the city considered. 

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