BEND — Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair changed her vote Wednesday on restrictions she had previously approved for new destination resorts in the county.

That means the restrictions now won’t go into effect.

On July 26, Adair initially voted in favor of the rules, which were proposed by local land use advocacy nonprofit Central Oregon LandWatch, along with fellow Commissioner Phil Chang. Commissioner Tony DeBone voted against the new rules.

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State law bars new destination resorts from being built within 24 air miles of an urban growth boundary containing a population of 100,000 or more unless residential uses are restricted to resort staff and management.

LandWatch aimed to bring Deschutes County into compliance with that state law by proposing a change to the county’s destination resort rules.

“The existing state law may indeed be enough to prevent certain new destination resorts within 24 miles of the Bend (urban growth boundary). However, because of some potential interpretations of certain language in the law, this application would ensure that the longstanding state law is effective here in Deschutes County,” LandWatch attorney Rory Isbell wrote in a March email to The Bulletin.

LandWatch, which declined to comment on the record for this story, initially called the commissioners’ 2-1 vote in July the “end of an era” for destination resorts in Deschutes County.

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That all changed when Adair flip-flopped.

Adair said at the Wednesday commission meeting: “After spending a considerable amount of time reviewing the extensive record including over 570 public comments, and, upon further reflection, I wish to make a motion to reconsider the motion and the vote that was previously taken.”

She gave no further public explanation, and she did not respond to The Bulletin’s requests for comment.

Chang said he was surprised and disappointed by Adair’s decision Wednesday, which left him speechless.

“I walked out of there thinking, ‘I so wish the people of Deschutes County had the opportunity to vote on this issue rather than being represented by elected officials beholden to special interests,’” Chang said.

Despite how jarring the vote change may be, it’s well within a commissioner’s right, said Tarik Rawlings, a county planner. The rules weren’t officially in effect yet. Wednesday was supposed to be the first of two readings to adopt the rules, but, instead, Adair asked to reconsider the vote entirely. DeBone was in favor of reconsideration while Chang was not.

Since the majority of commissioners ultimately denied LandWatch’s proposed policy change, it isn’t allowed an appeal process through the Land Use Board of Appeals, a state appellate body, under case law, Rawlings said.

Chang called LandWatch’s application dead, but he pointed to Crook County, where voters passed a ballot measure in 2008 that gave way to strictly limiting new destination resorts.

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“If your elected leaders aren’t going represent you,” Chang said, “Then you need to take democracy into your own hands.”