MADRAS – The Jefferson County Commission has given the final go-ahead for expansion of a Camp Sherman lodge.

The commission decided in a unanimous vote Thursday to uphold the Jefferson County Planning Commission’s approval of the expansion application for Lake Creek Lodge.

Friends of the Metolius, a local nonprofit conservation organization, had appealed the planning commission’s decision on July 29.

In the appeal, the group said the planning commission failed to adequately address zoning requirements and improperly conditioned the approval.

Friends of the Metolius has 21 days to appeal the county commission’s decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

The proposed expansion more than doubles the number of cabins at the lodge and allows individual ownership of the cabins, according to a staff report prepared by the Jefferson County Community Development Department.

Lake Creek Lodge currently has 16 cabins available for rent to tourists. The plan adds another 23 cabins to the 42-acre site.

Under the plan, cabins would be rented out as tourist accommodations for at least six months a year, a staff report said. The county commission held several public hearings on the matter before ruling.

”The whole issue involved residential use versus full-time rental,” said Bill Bellamy, a county commissioner.

”For the rest of the issues, the developer made a lot of changes that made it (the expansion) better for the community and the environment.

It still maintains the atmosphere that the Camp Sherman community relishes.”

Toni Foster, who filed the appeal on behalf of Friends of Metolius, and Bill Kloos, the group’s attorney, couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

Gordon Jones, who recently bought the resort with his brother, Jeff, said he had no problems with the conditions placed on the expansion application.

”We’re obviously very pleased and look forward to trying to find some common ground with Friends of the Metolius,” Gordon Jones said. ”We improved our plan and modified it to address the concerns of the community.”

At issue was the county’s definition of a tourist rental cabin and whether it allowed the cabins to be individually owned.

The county’s zoning ordinance says a tourist rental cabin is a building, or series of buildings, on a parcel under one ownership. It should have cooking facilities and one or more rooms, it says, and be made available for rent to tourists by the night or week.

Tanya Ramey, senior planning technician for the county community development agen-cy, said the resort is located in a wildlife zone designed to conserve wildlife habitat.

”We have the wildlife overlay zone that protects anything that happens in that zone which could be detrimental to wildlife,” Ramey said.

According to the report, the developers will replace wire fencing surrounding the lodge with deer-friendly fencing approved by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

”The commission finds that the applicants have taken vegetation and animal life into consideration in the design of Lake Creek Lodge, as evidenced by their agreement to develop a riparian corridor plan,” the report said. In addition, the commission stipulated there could be no new commercial development on the lodge without a land-use application.

Gordon Jones, the lodge owner, said he hopes to get started on the $10 million expansion this winter.

New amenities will include a meeting hall with a staff apartment, a recreation building, rest rooms, a picnic shelter, a hiking path and a wastewater treatment plant.

Jones said he plans to renovate nine of the existing cabins and to restore the 1930s resort to historical standards.

Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at ebousquet@bendbulletin.com.