A private developer is pushing for a massive expansion at Black Butte Ranch that could add 350 new homes and 1,200 acres of land to the resort.

But substantial land use issues may require legislative action to be resolved, a prospect that could derail the project before it gets going.

The resort is almost completely built out at 1,251 homes. A development proposal that was approved by the ranch’s board of directors and will go to a vote of homeowners this fall could add 1,200 acres to the resort, bringing its total area to 3,000 acres.

Though a private developer, Jeriko Development Inc., would foot the bill for roads, sewer and other infrastructure, and share revenue from home sales with the ranch, there is mounting opposition from homeowners concerned that such a large addition would change the culture of the resort.

”There are people that feel from an economic perspective it’s absolutely foolhardy to not go forward with it,” said Jean Nave, a former longtime homeowner at Black Butte Ranch.

”And then there are other people that think it will destroy the ranch, it will destroy the feeling of the ranch.”

”To say it’s an uphill battle to me is an understatement,” Black Butte Ranch Board Chairwoman Lynn Stafford said. Stafford was one of three board members who opposed the plan. Six others approved it.

The ranch’s board voted last month to forward the issue to homeowners. Board members also explained their votes in letters sent to the owners. But people on both sides of the debate acknowledged that getting two-thirds of homeowners to approve the proposal will be a tough sell.

”I think anybody pro or con will tell you that it will be a difficult percentage to obtain,” said board member Larry Davidson, who supports the plan.

”The dialog is going to continue,” Black Butte Ranch General Manager Loy Helmly said. ”It’s far from being a done deal.”

If approved, the proposal would let Jeriko, a partnership of two Bend developers, start building on a 1-square-mile tract of land west of the current resort.

Jeriko owns the land on which it plans to build, while the land to the east and adjacent to Black Butte Ranch is owned by the U.S. Forest Service. Black Butte Ranch is owned by its homeowners association.

Home parcels in the new addition would range from .5 acre to 2 acres each. The Forest Service parcel could be swapped for other land elsewhere in the region, allowing the resort to use it as a natural buffer and to connect the developed parcel with the main ranch. The two parcels total 1,200 acres, though homes only would occupy about half that.

Two-thirds vote

According to information circulated to homeowners after the board’s vote, 835 owners must vote in favor of the measure, effectively a two-thirds majority of owners. If someone doesn’t vote, that is counted as a no vote.

”The chance of it passing is pretty slim,” Nave said.

Stafford was similarly pessimistic, estimating the measure had about a 10 percent chance now of passing a vote of owners.

The ranch is planning a series of town hall meetings across the state this summer for residents to learn more about the plans.

Proponents estimate that the home sales would bring in as much as $68 million by 2022 for the ranch, money that could be used to create reserve funds and pay for extensive renovations of some of the resort’s 30-year-old buildings. A task force that reviewed the proposal before the board’s vote last month estimated that Jeriko would spend $9.5 million on infrastructure improvements alone, according to that committee’s report.

”For the first time in ranch history, we have a consolidated budget that projects a net operating loss,” board member Doug Boeschen wrote in a letter explaining his vote in favor of the proposal. The deal, he and other proponents said, would put the resort in a much stronger financial position.

But Board Treasurer Mike Emmons disagreed that the resort’s finances were unstable.

”The ranch is in a very strong financial situation,” Emmons said. ”It has no long-term debt.”

Land use issues

The sizable land use roadblock arises because Black Butte Ranch is classified as a resort community, which is distinct from a destination resort. The distinction means there are heavy county restrictions placed on physical expansion, even if nearby land is available and can be developed.

”It’s going to take some legal wrangling to make it even happen,” Nave said. Attorneys for the ranch and developers are not sure exactly what approval would be needed, whether from the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals, the state Legislature or some other entity.

”It has to go through the state land use process, and that’s going to take a while,” Helmly said.

But regardless of the hurdles, Davidson said that testing the water by bringing the issue to a vote of owners is important. The plan represents a rare chance for the resort to expand without taking on much risk because the developer would pay for so much, he said.

”Hypothetically down the road, maybe nothing ever comes together with the developer,” Davidson said. ”It doesn’t bind us. We’re not entering into a contract with this vote. It just allows us to go forward and see if it’s merited.”

Proposed expansion

* Existing acres: 1,800

* New acres considered: 1,200

* Existing homes: 1,251

* New homes proposed: 350

* Cost to install infrastructure (paid by developer): $9.5 million

* Expected revenue for ranch, by 2022: $65 million-$68 million

Source: Black Butte Ranch