Enter the City of Sisters and you might think you’ve been transported back to the old West (just ignore the cars) or perhaps you’ve stepped right into a “Hallmark” holiday card. Named for the Three Sisters Mountains—a nearby picturesque trio of volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains—Sisters was established in the late 1880s at the intersection of two cross-Cascades wagon roads. The City capitalized on the beauty of the area’s natural environment and, in 1978, the City Council made that 1880’s-style western storefront a part of its zoning ordinance.

Sisters had experienced significant population growth and development activity since its 2005 Comprehensive Plan update. Vacant property was annexed and developed, and its economy accelerated as the city became a tourist destination—Gateway to the Cascades—with a burgeoning trade sector. Along with that came transportation impacts, a loss of native vegetation and ponderosa pine trees and a strained housing market because of increased second homeownerships and short-term rental conversions, among other pressures. Housing became less affordable, which led to retention challenges in the labor market for local employers.

The 2040 Comprehensive Plan now manages growth and mitigates its impacts, with updated goals and policies, a Housing Needs Analysis and Economic Opportunity Analysis and an Urban Growth Boundary Sufficiency Analysis to accommodate future growth. 

A Community Advisory Committee, consisting of a diverse group of residents, and a Stakeholder Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from local agency partners, guided the effort. The new policies also reflect input from hundreds of Sisters residents who participated in the engagement process through a series of community conversations, open houses, tabling at local events, online surveys and written correspondence.