Our you concerned about Bend’s Growing Pains? If so, this is a must attend public/board meeting April 19th
March 17, 2018~
We have some concerns. We share a boundary with the Southwest Neighborhood Association that includes the Central Oregon Irrigation District. My husband and I and many of our neighbors walk our dogs daily on the COID property to the Deschutes River Trail. This piece of property is a wonderful asset and Bend is a wonderful place to live. However, we have been overwhelmed with recent developments including a 185 unit, a 4-story apartment building on Bradbury next to the Pavilion, 120-unit 3-story apartment building at the end of Reed Lane. In addition, the planning department is looking to future developments of 30 homes along Silver Lake, 20 across from Blakely Park and approximately 20 more with the development of the corner lot of Reed Lane and Silver Lake. Not counting the Pavilion, this equates to approximately 700 new people with about 500 new cars in this small triangle, along with the recent opening of the Memory Care facility.
There have been rumors about a secret sale of the COID property to a national developer for a potentially large housing development. Since we are (barely) outside of the boundary we are not receiving land use notices about the development. Nothing has been discussed at our monthly Neighborhood Association Round Table (NART) meetings, which has changed its focus since we have been working on becoming a city codified Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA). We know that we can’t stop development since it is entirely legal when the developer builds according to the zoning code. Neighborhood Associations are created and encouraged to participate in the required public processes to help ensure that the development is in compliance with the livability and character of Bend. After all, Bend is an “attitude” as Developer Bill Smith likes to say.
Our greatest concerns are that we are having huge growing pains and are concerned about outsiders who are only interested in making a profit. The state, city, and county have not been keeping up with Bend’s transportation infrastructure needs. Bend is designed for two-lane roads and the development is far exceeding our transportation infrastructure. Everybody talks about Bend not wanting to become a Portland or Seattle, but the land use laws are the same in Bend as they are in Portland and Seattle. We think different cities should have land use laws that are unique to the region and that cities should have limits to growth as to how large a city can be according to its natural resources to be sustainable. In my livability research, I have learned that many Canadian Provinces have limits as to how large cities can grow.
Our Association met with Bend’s Growth Management Director Nick Arnus and Communications Manager Joshua Romero at our March Public Board Meeting. At that meeting, our association collectively decided that in order to make a difference that we have to go all the way to Salem and LUBA to make a difference. We would like to hear your thoughts.
The Southern Crossing Neighborhood Association meets third Thursdays at 6 pm. Our next public board meeting is scheduled for April 19. We meet at 61478 Duncan Lane, Bend, OR. We have invited executives of Central Oregon Land Watch to be our special guests. More to come…
There have been rumors about a secret sale of the COID property to a national developer for a potentially large housing development. Since we are (barely) outside of the boundary we are not receiving land use notices about the development. Nothing has been discussed at our monthly Neighborhood Association Round Table (NART) meetings, which has changed its focus since we have been working on becoming a city codified Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA). We know that we can’t stop development since it is entirely legal when the developer builds according to the zoning code. Neighborhood Associations are created and encouraged to participate in the required public processes to help ensure that the development is in compliance with the livability and character of Bend. After all, Bend is an “attitude” as Developer Bill Smith likes to say.
Our greatest concerns are that we are having huge growing pains and are concerned about outsiders who are only interested in making a profit. The state, city, and county have not been keeping up with Bend’s transportation infrastructure needs. Bend is designed for two-lane roads and the development is far exceeding our transportation infrastructure. Everybody talks about Bend not wanting to become a Portland or Seattle, but the land use laws are the same in Bend as they are in Portland and Seattle. We think different cities should have land use laws that are unique to the region and that cities should have limits to growth as to how large a city can be according to its natural resources to be sustainable. In my livability research, I have learned that many Canadian Provinces have limits as to how large cities can grow.
Our Association met with Bend’s Growth Management Director Nick Arnus and Communications Manager Joshua Romero at our March Public Board Meeting. At that meeting, our association collectively decided that in order to make a difference that we have to go all the way to Salem and LUBA to make a difference. We would like to hear your thoughts.
The Southern Crossing Neighborhood Association meets third Thursdays at 6 pm. Our next public board meeting is scheduled for April 19. We meet at 61478 Duncan Lane, Bend, OR. We have invited executives of Central Oregon Land Watch to be our special guests. More to come…
Valerie Pharr
Chairwomen | Southern Crossing Neighborhood Association