Thornburgh Resort, one of the most controversial land use concepts in Central Oregon history, will go before the Deschutes County Commission in February for another public hearing.

If that sounds familiar, here’s why: The development 3 miles west of Redmond has been debated in commission hearings and court rooms since 2005.

It would leave a large footprint under its current proposal. Upon completion, Thornburgh’s almost 2,000-acre property would consist of 950 homes, at least one 18-hole golf course, resort facilities and multiple lakes. The upcoming hearing is a bit of a reprieve. Last year, Thornburgh developer Kameron DeLashmutt attempted to modify 2008 plans to better meet county requirements for mitigating excessive water use and harmful impacts to fish and wildlife.

But in December, those plans were rejected by a hearings officer, who said DeLashmutt and Thornburgh didn’t do enough to ensure the resort would actually follow through on those mitigation efforts. DeLashmutt and longtime Thornburgh opponent Annunziata “Nunzie” Gould appealed the decision earlier this month.

Wednesday, commissioners unanimously agreed to hear those appeals along with new testimony Feb. 1.

Initially, Commissioner Phil Chang was concerned with the expertise required to take on the nitty gritty details of groundwater science and fish and wildlife impacts. He was also concerned with the amount of staff time appeals from Gould and DeLashmutt would consume.

“It’s a big project,” Chang said at Wednesday’s meeting.

Before the vote Wednesday, Chang favored sending the hearings officer’s decisions to the Land Use Board of Appeals, which has taken up various Thornburgh-related appeals several times in the past. He changed his mind before the vote, however.

“I’m along for the ride,” he said.

DeLashmutt said Thornburgh would substantially reduce water usage by removing one of three golf courses, replacing lakes and irrigated parks with natural landscaping and reevaluating landscaping for all resort amenities and homes. Thornburgh promised to reduce its yearly water use from more than 442 million gallons to 287.5 million gallons.

In turn, potential harm to fish and wildlife and water consumption would be reduced, DeLashmutt’s application stated.

But some weren’t convinced.

“Policies to limit negative impacts on fish, wildlife and habitats through mitigation are vital to continued survival of fish and wildlife resources in the basin, especially in light of current and future challenges, such as climate change, that already affect habitat quality and availability for species,” Denette Faucera, the water policy coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, told The Bulletin.

Thornburgh’s location is in an area where groundwater levels are steadily declining, Faucera said.

It’s also where excessive water pumping would have an adverse effect on native trout, salmon and whitefish populations’ activity and habitats, she said.

“Increased groundwater withdrawal for agricultural, residential, and municipal needs has a cumulative negative effect on springs that further degrades fish and wildlife habitat quantity and quality,” Faucera said.

ODFW’s primary concern is that Thornburgh ought to be able to offset impacts of its development by ensuring no net loss of water or wildlife, Faucera said.

Thornburgh has been almost two decades in the making — most of those years consumed by litigation. Beginning in 2005, DeLashmutt applied for the first stage of development, which was eventually approved four years later by the Oregon Court of Appeals. DeLashmutt has persisted with resort plans through two recessions, legal and financial troubles and fierce public opposition. Gould, too, has persisted through an intense litigation process, mostly on the basis of water and wildlife conservation.

Neither DeLashmutt nor Gould responded to The Bulletin’s requests for comment in time for this story.

“As we continue to adjust, Thornburgh will become the most environmentally conscious master planned community in the West, if not the U.S.,” DeLashmutt wrote in an August 2022 column in The Bulletin. Deschutes County commissioners will conduct a public work session Jan. 23 to focus the scope of the Feb. 1 public hearing.