On its website, Pahlisch's Deschutes Landing development describes itself "as the next step in authentic Northwest living" with "unparalleled views of the Three Sisters Wilderness, the historic Old Mill District, and the heart of downtown Bend."
Apparently, one prospective buyer thinks his unparalleled view would be ruined by the sight of - how gross! - a dog park across the river. And thanks to him, and Pahlisch, the fate of the park is in jeopardy.
Pahlisch has complained that the Bend Metro Park & Recreation District didn't go through the proper paperwork for getting the park approved. As a result, Park & Rec has had to file a formal application that will go before the city planning and zoning commission sometime later this month.
Pahlisch didn't lodge its complaint about the park until mid-July, even though the Park & Rec board of directors voted to approve it back in January and the park opened in May. What happened in the meantime?
"Anytime you sell a house or a property, people want to know the approved uses of what happens around them," Dan Pahlisch, sales manager for Pahlisch, told The Bulletin. "So it came as a bit of a surprise to everyone when that park went up. And to be honest, we're trying to close on one of our properties, and it's become an issue."
Ah, there's the rub.
Pahlisch's claim that the dog park came as a surprise is dubious, to put it kindly. Park & Rec has been talking about creating new dog parks for about five years. The planned locations of the new parks have been known for many months. There were public hearings, and Park & Rec worked closely with the city on siting the parks. Unless Dan Pahlisch had his head stuck in a hole in the ground for the past year or so, there's no way he could have been unaware that this park was on the way.
So why the bitch now? Because a prospective buyer doesn't like the idea of the dog park, and that could threaten a sale - one that Pahlisch probably desperately craves, the real estate market being what it is.
Offhand we can't understand why anybody would object to having a dog park clear on the other side of the river from his home - is he afraid a crazed Bichon Frisé is going to swim the Deschutes and attack him? And ironically, Deschutes Landing touts its "direct access to riverfront parks and trail systems" in its own sales pitch.
Whatever. The bottom line is that Pahlisch is willing to deprive the community of an amenity that everybody can enjoy - the city's only off-leash dog park with water access - for the sake of (maybe) closing a sale to some prissy-pants who apparently thinks the river, and both banks of it, should be treated like his personal property.
We hope the city will throw Pahlisch out on its ear. Meanwhile, to drive home a point about good corporate citizenship, here's THE BOOT to Pahlisch's posterior.
