After
making revisions to address concerns over wildlife protections and wildfire
control, the proposed 50 home Tree Farm development plan on Bend’s west side
has been approved by Deschutes County Commissioners.
In a decision September 23 the commissioners agreed that
issues raised by a hearings officer who turned down the original plan had been
adequately addressed.
The new decision includes revisions that will:
·
require a
30-foot home setback from slopes with grades greater than 20 percent, or a
fireproof barrier such as a wall if less than the setback.
·
involve a new
access road from NW Crosby Drive for emergency and fire access
·
include more
than 90 percent open space within the 530 acre project, with homes sited
outside of traditional wildlife migration areas.
The
Tree Farm is a venture of the Miller family which has owned timberland and wood
products companies in the region for many years and has logged the property in
the past. Other investors are West Bend Property 2, which
includes Brooks Resources, Tennant Development, Kirk Schueler and Ron White.
Developers
have said the project is an example of a transitional buffer from higher
density neighborhoods within the city limits to the east and public lands and
large private property parcels to the west.
For more detail on Tree Farm follow
this link to an earlier post:
