Destination Resort Petition

Sign A Petition to Limit New Destination Resort Construction in Oregon

The original mission of destination resorts was to promote tourism and provide an economic boost to struggling rural areas. But the explosion of destination resorts particularly in central Oregon demonstrates that we have strayed from that original mission.

Right now in Crook, Jefferson and Deschutes Counties there are six new resorts under construction and another four in various stages of planning-each with its own environmental and community impact. In Crook County alone, there are three destination resorts under construction, plus one more in the planning stage. These new resorts represent the equivalent of eight cities the size of Sisters in size and population. At build out, the destination resorts now in progress in central Oregon will total an additional 20,000 residential and overnight units covering 36,000 acres, or 55 square miles of rural farm and forest land.

The time has come to say "Enough is enough!"

We the undersigned citizens of Oregon would like to see comprehensive reform of destination resort law. The 2009 Oregon Legislature should enact a new set of guiding principles that limits the number of future destination resorts and returns them to their original mission. This can be accomplished by limiting the concentration and number of resorts within a watershed or region and expanding the list of areas that are off-limits to destination resorts.